'The Western belongs to all of us' is the title of a public lecture at the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster in June when a Distinguished Professor at Lancaster University takes to the stage.
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling will speak about Sergio Leone and the making of the 1968 film, Once Upon a Time in the West on Sunday, June 5 at 2pm.
Sir Christopher's publications cover a wide range of topics from theoretical work on practice-based research in the arts to work on gothic film and literature, historical studies of costume and production design in cinema, and his most recent work on the representation of art and artists on Hollywood films.
But perhaps his most well-known work is the pioneering research on the Italian western, beginning with his landmark 1981 book, Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys from Karl May to Sergio Leone, the first serious critical analysis of this genre.
This talk emerges from this extensive and influential body of research, and concentrates on Sergio Leone's epic 1968 Western, drawing on interviews with Leone and screenwriter Bernardo Bertolucci.
Dr Bruce Bennett, of the University's Film Studies department, said: "Christopher's innovative work played a key role in ensuring that the Italian Western was recognised by scholars as a major genre of world cinema.
"His writing on cinema combines careful historical research with a fan's enthusiasm for popular cinema, and I'm delighted that he will be sharing his passion and insights about this extraordinary film with a wider audience."
Registration is not required for this open event and people are invited to turn up on the day. The ticket price is £6.50 and includes a rare screening of this film following the talk.
