12 Once in Paris there was once Sergio Leone

Paris pays homage to the great Italian director Sergio Leone, with an exhibition in the fall.

The care that Vittorio De Sica put in the details and the epic learned by the greats of Hollywood, with an eye to the contradictions of an Italian who has experienced the war: that's how Sergio Leone made the story of myths legendary to the cinema like the West or America.

And now, after more than half a century, he himself has become a myth: he is called "Once upon a time Sergio Leone", to paraphrase the titles of his famous films, a major exhibition promoted by the Cinémathèque Française in Paris, from October 10th to January 27th 2019, edited by the Bologna Film Library.

The two film libraries announced this at the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, just ended in Bologna.

Born and died in Rome (1929-1989), Leone was an actor, screenwriter and producer, as well as director: although he has only directed the production of 7 films (from 1961 to 1984), he has profoundly influenced the history of cinema.

The exhibition will be the central event of the homage that the Cinémathèque Française will dedicate to him and which also includes a retrospective and the publication of the book 'The revolution Sergio Leone', by Christopher Frayling (announced in Bologna tomorrow afternoon for a lesson, ' The cinema according to Sergio Leone ') and Gian Luca Farinelli, director of the Cineteca di Bologna who has worked for years on the cinema of Leone, with the restorations of his films (such as Per Fistful of Dollars, presented by Quentin Tarantino in Cannes in 2014 for the 40 years of the film) and several other exhibitions and publications.

"Thinking back to his apprenticeship" - underlines Farinelli - "Leone recalls: 'I learned more from De Sica in a few weeks of work than in the following years when I was paid as assistant to the great American directors'. The care that De Sica puts into details impresses him ".

Di De Sica also appeared in Bicycle Thieves (1948). "Starting from 'For a few dollars more' - he adds -" Leone can afford to support his fascination with the past and his documentary obsession with myth. He takes care of every detail, from the construction of the scenographies to the choice of weapons. Leone knew the subtle differences between each Colt and commissioned Aldo Uberti, a craftsman from Brescia specialized in reconstructing vintage weapons, to make the models he wanted. A cinematic fable to work must convince viewers that what they see is really happening: 'In this sense, and only in this sense, I am a child of neorealism'", he said.