“I made 58 films as an assistant—I was at the side of directors who applied all the rules: make it, for example, a close-up to show that the character is about to say something important. I reacted against all that and so close-ups in my films are always the expression of an emotion … so they call me a perfectionist and a formalist because I watch my framing. But I’m not doing it to make it pretty, I’m seeking, first and foremost, the relevant emotion.”
Sergio Leone
January 3, 1929 – April 30, 1989
