In many Italian films shot during the 60s-70s, women had secondary roles or seemed to be entirely forgotten by the plot. Men turned indeed into the real protagonists of most films, among them also the so-called spaghetti westerns.
This genre actually seemed to completely erase women from the big screen, preserving in this way the patriarchal values they incarnated. Even the traditional mother figure usually represented standing next to a ranch, watching the men as they left on their horses, suddenly disappeared from westerns.
Yet Sergio Leone dared to portray a strong woman living in a prevalently male universe in C'era una volta il West (Once Upon a Time in the West, 1968) in which Claudia Cardinale stars as Jill McBain, challenging the men who surround her.
Leone's westerns were dramatically stylish films that also influenced with their costumes and shots the world of fashion.
Many fashion photo shoots throughout the years were inspired by Leone's films while long, black dusters, tan coats and pants and cowboy hats often entered the world of menswear (echoes of Sergio Leone seemed to appear also last January at Alexander McQueen's catwalk show for his menswear collection).
The Cannes Film Festival paid homage to Sergio Leone (he died 20 years ago, so 2009 marks a special anniversary) with a unique screening today of the restored version of Giù la testa (A Fistful of Dynamite, 1971). For today, though, I want to leave you with the trailer from Once Upon a Time in the West one of my favourite Sergio Leone films. Enjoy.
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