Beginning February 17th, 2012, the Egyptian and Aero Theatres will pay tribute to Italian director Sergio Leone, who began his career with the sword-and-sandals opus Colossus of Rhodes in 1961.
In 1964, inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, Leone helmed A Fistful of Dollars, which starred then virtually unknown Clint Eastwood. The picture proved a mega-hit in Europe and did well enough in the U.S. to encourage United Artists to release its sequel, For A Few Dollars More, and the majestic conclusion of the trilogy, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Next up were Leone’s operatic masterworks Once Upon a Time in the West and the tragicomic Duck You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite). It wasn’t until 1984 that his next effort was released, a magnum opus about Prohibition-era Jewish gangsters in New York, Once Upon a Time in America, starring Robert De Niro. Sadly, it turned out to be the maestro’s swan song. Sergio Leone died in 1989, having influenced a generation of filmmakers and audiences.
Films in this screening series include, Duck You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite), Once Upon a Time in the West, A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and Leone’s seminal western epic, The Good the Bad and the Ugly.
The “Once Upon A Time: The Films of Sergio Leone” retrospective takes place from February 17th through February 24th, at two locations: The Egyptian Theatre, located at 6712 Hollywood Blvd, in Los Angeles, California; and The Aero Theatre, at 1328 Montana Ave (at 14th Street), in Santa Monica. Check the schedule to find out which location will be playing the film you’re interested in watching.
CLICK HERE for the complete schedule of films in the series.
Check out the trailers for the films in this series, below, and click on their titles to purchase them.
Duck You Sucker Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THn36Mwmv7U
Once Upon a Time in the West Trailer
This is a great movie featuring Charles Bronson, Jason Robards, Henry Fonda and football legend Woody Strode.
A Fistful of Dollars Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqvK80XGJkA