The Sergio Leone Anthology: DVD Review (2007)

His name might sound like a pair of designer jeans from the '70s, but those who know and love Leone’s films, know that few directors are better. He was as important to the emerging shape of the Western as Francis Ford Coppolla was to reimagining the gangster movie.

Four of Leone's seven movies are collected here, including the spaghetti Western trilogy "A Fistful of Dollars," "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly," which made Clint Eastwood a star and then, with the last film, an American icon.

Also included is "Duck, You Sucker," with James Coburn notably not the sucker. Missing is Leone's great film, "Once Upon a Time in America," and while its absence is curious, there's so much else here to absorb and to discuss--the DVD extras are excellent and many--its hardly is a strike against the collection.

Grade: A