Sunday, April 18, 2010

New Book Re-issue

Once upon a time in the west, Clint Eastwood earned himself a fistful of dollars - and instant stardom - when his 'Man With No Name' rode into town. In the mid-sixties Eastwood's Dollars trilogy with director Sergio Leone - “A Fistful of Dollars”, “For a Few Dollars More” and “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” - gunned down all opposition at the world box office and created a visceral new brand of anti-Western, dubbed 'Spaghetti Westerns' by critics bemused by the films' popularity. Spaghetti Westerns' cynical morality tales of revenge, betrayal and mercenary avarice were filmed in the desert badlands of Almeria, Southern Spain. Eastwood's immortal 'Man With No Name' is the enduring symbol of the genre, but Leone and Eastwood weren't the first, nor the most prolific filmmakers to make Spaghetti Westerns, and this Kamera Guide reviews the best of a wild bunch, including cult classics “Django”, “The Big Gundown”, They Call Me Trinity” and “NavajoJoe”.

Spaghetti Westerns analyzes the genre, from the most famous offerings - “Once Upon a Time in the West” and the Dollars trilogy - to offbeat fare, such as “Cemetery Without Crosses” and “Django Kill”. It charts the Spaghetti Western careers of Lee Van Cleef, Terence Hill and Klaus Kinski as they rode to international stardom. Maestro Ennio Morricone's groundbreaking Western scores are also appraised. In addition to an introduction to the genre, 34 of the best Spaghetti Westerns are analyzed in detail, illustrated with color posters and stills. There is also a multi-media reference section, listing essential books, websites, DVD releases and soundtracks.

This is a book for the new fan of the genre and also gives a lot of pleasure for the die hard long time fan of these films. It covers the films in basic terms and gives an introduction to the best and most well known of the Spaghetti Westerns. This is a revised edition of the original book Howard did and he's added a section for additional reading, DVD releases, CDs and even websites. Howard's easy to read style covers more than just the films listed and he references and develops into the chapters most of the films of Euro-western. This is a must have book for your library and since it has such a low cost why not give one as a gift this year to a friend or relative.

2 comments:

  1. How does this book differ from Hughes' Once Upon a Time in teh Itallian West?

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  2. It's not as thorough or as definitive with the subject matter. This is more of a beginners introduction to Spaghetti Westerns.

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