Personally, I thought the same as Phil. I bought it, had a cursory look through it, and then put it aside, waiting for the Christmas/New Year festivities to pass over. (I got mine for £30 odd from ‘Amazon UK’).
First impressions…an informative - can’t do without - chunk of a book, and certainly enough to test the strength of your coffee table.
It’s written by Sir Chris Frayling, so you know that you are going to get value for money.
On skimming through it briefly, it has many pics I’ve never seen before, as well as what appears to be a wealth of interviews and anecdotes from Sergio’s closest associates.
This epic contains everything, from Leone’s humble beginnings, to his unfulfilled ambitions.
As already said, I’ve only skimmed through this…but I’ve perused enough to realise that any Sergio Leone fan should grab this while they can - lest it go the way of ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ by Peter J. Hanley, which is now so popular that it is difficult to obtain.
That’s just my advice, amigos and senoritas…Grab it while you can.
P.S. What comes across with this welcome Sergio Leone release from Sir Christopher Frayling - as always - is his on-going love-affair and affection with Leone and the 'Spaghetti Western…
You can almost feel the passion for the subject on every page…It’s a most heart-rending, emotive account of one of the greatest screen personalities of all time.
Thank you, Sir Christoper Frayling, from myself, and all at ‘SWDB’, for putting so much time and effort into proving that an Italian upstart that the American Western film makers looked down upon, has now proved to be one of the most legendary film Directors ever born.
VIVA, LEONE!