Sergio Leone

The Western stretched until it becomes ritual. Leone alternates enormous landscape with extreme close-up, delays the draw far past comfort, and lets Morricone's score carry as much narrative weight as the script.

Signature

• Extreme close-ups on eyes cut against vast wide shots.
• Standoffs extended into set-pieces by silence and score.
• Morricone used as a co-author, often composed before shooting.
• Myth deliberately preferred over historical realism.