Any Gun Can Play - The essential guide to Euro-westerns
In diesen 480 Seiten starken Buch beschreibt Autor Kevin Grant die Entwicklung der Euro-Western von ihren Anfängen über ihre Hochzeit bis zum unvermeidlichen Ende. Das Hauptaugenmerk liegt dabei natürlich auf dem Italo-Western, aber auch die anderen europäischen Western, wie z.B. die deutschen Karl May-Produktionen werden dabei nicht vergessen.
Das Buch ist mit zahlreichen Bildern angereichert. Der Bildteil setzt sich dabei aus Szenenbildern, Aushangfotos, Werbemotiven und Kinoplakaten zusammen. Dabei wurden Motive aus aller Herren Länder benutzt. Die Bilder, die den Text auflockern sind dabei in schwarz-weiß gehalten, aber das Buch verfügt darüber hinaus noch über einen 64 Seiten starken Teil mit farbigen Abbildungen.
Das Vorwort zu diesen Buch hat kein geringerer als Franco Nero selbst geschrieben.
Im Anhang des Buches befindet sich ein 47-seitiges "Who is who" des Eurowesterns, in dem die wichtigsten Protagonisten des Genres mit Kurzbiographien gewürdigt werden. Komplettiert wird der Anhang dann noch durch eine 37-seitige chronologische Auflistung der Euro-Western von 1955 bis 2009.
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FOREWORD
By Euro-western legend Franco Nero, star of Django, A Professional Gun and Keoma,
among others.
PREFACE
Including author acknowledgements
INTRODUCTION
An overview of Euro-westerns, their origins and characteristics, plus the major
professionals whose careers they launched, prolonged or transformed.
TARGET PRACTICE
Early Euro-westerns were hit-and-miss affairs, but A Fistful of Dollars is not
the only film worthy of recognition from the genre's formative period.
A BULLET SPENT, A DOLLAR EARNED
In the wake of For a Few Dollars More, the genre matured and broadened its
horizons, presenting a misanthropic world-view, leavened with irony, that
perfectly matched the tenor of the times.
RELATIVES AND RELIGION
Many Italian westerns skewed their content towards the home market, serving up
stereotypical stories of troublesome females and feuding families often seasoned
with a satirical or critical treatment of religion.
"GOD FORGIVES... I DON'T!"
Euro-westerns posit a world where betrayel is rife and violence ever-present,
taking the theme of revenge to extraordinary extremes.
"DON'T BUY BREAD, BUY DYNAMITE"
Euro-westerns were unashamedly populist, and many of them adopted a left-wing
stance in the late Sixties, reflecting the influence of radical filmmakers and
the political atmosphere of the times.
BEWARE OF FAKE GUNS
While American westerns had Jesse James, Wyatt Earp and Billy the Kid, European
filmmakers invented a pantheon of their own, populated by the likes of Django,
Ringo, Sabata, Sartana and Trinity.
HYBRID WESTERNS
Many Euro-westerns were hybrid of cultural traditions and film-making styles,
but also tones, subjects and settings, with elements such as mystery, comedy,
horror and martial arts not uncommon.
DESOLATION AND DECONSTRUCTION
The genre burned brightly but briefly, and by the early Seventies it was in
decline. This chapter examines what these latecomers have to offer, and whether
they have been dismissed too lightly.
WHO'S WHO IN EURO-WESTERNS
A biographical A-Z of the most important and prolific actors, directors,
composers, etc.
EURO-WESTERN FILMOGRAPHY
A chronological listing of European westerns.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
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