'Thompson' K. George, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, shares with the world an intriguing and yet very heart-wrenching eye-witness account of events that was and still being inflicted on mankind by public figures in the 21st century in America....some of which remains best kept secrets to most American public and the rest of the world at large...chronicling the destructive policies that trails the dark past of the Bush-Cheney's era. An uncut revelation of the true state of things in America today with immigrants and citizens alike and the lowdown dirty innerworkings of the conservative right-wing ideologues in Washington. 'Once Upon A Time In America' tells it all. It portrays everyone's story and a message for all. A pure and timeless masterpiece of history of the 21st century. The author lives in Philadelphia and currently working on an upcoming documentary based on this masterpiece.

Detailing the genesis, production history and different versions of 'Once Upon a Time in America', this study considers the film within the context of Leone's evolution as a grand cinema stylist. It illuminates his themes, method and aesthetic, and judges his impact upon subsequent filmmakers.

With Lance leading the way, the Knights of the Round Table have set out to convince the American people that amending the Constitution to protect children is long overdue. As the team travels from state to state, they are met with acceptance, indifference, and hostility. But Lance’s popularity, coupled with his innate charm, gradually sways more of the populace to their cause. The journey becomes a rite of passage that propels the young people into adulthood and solidifies Lance’s status as an iconic and influential figure. But he’s uneasy. He knows Arthur is hiding something from him. After The Excalibur Incident in Las Vegas, Lance is certain the future will bring him great sorrow. Then comes the attack, sudden and brutal. Now the Round Table is in disarray, and Lance must confront a cold-blooded killer who’s luring him into an obvious trap. If he refuses the challenge, more loved ones will die, and everything he’s accomplished will die with them. Surrounded by the diverse young people who have become his family, Lance sets out for the final showdown with his enemy. The Lance Chronicles conclude… The Lance Chronicles: Children of the Knight (The Lance Chronicles Book 1) Running Through A Dark Place (The Lance Chronicles Book 2) There Is No Fear (The Lance Chronicles Book 3) And The Children Shall Lead (The Lance Chronicles Book 4) Once Upon A Time In America (The Lance Chronicles Book 5) Warrior Kids (standalone set within The Lance Chronicles universe)

Following the footsteps of Jack Kerouac, two friends travel across the United States for two months in the late seventies. A very personal travel diary, written from the perspective of a young adventurer, exploring the country, people on the road, and himself.

All in all, what happened was, after Captain Kempers service during the American Revolution, serving directly under General Washington, which contributed to helping us win our victory, everything was fine. Then in the pension years, beginning in 1832, he filled out a declaration in order to receive a pension. After going through scrutiny by the War Department, he was awarded a pension. What he did not know was that they were stealing his pension money. His brother, Colonel Daniel Kemper, brought this to his attention and told him to hire an attorney and he would back him up 100 percent since he was deputy clothier-general of the Continental Army and the one who procured his brothers appointment. When John contacted his New York State agent and attorney, Giles F. Yates, his pension was cancelled. Mr. Yates fought for over twenty years to restore his pension, including ten years after he died. Congressmen and other statesmen came behind Captain Kemper. Everyone lost until his records were passed down to this author, his fifth great-grandson. In reality, Captain Kemper was tortured to death by the very country he loved and adoredAmerica! It was not physical torture but mental torture. Captain Kempers daughter, Elizabeth, filed the first law suit in American history against the pension department of the War Department; likewise, she lost. This is why President Reagan came behind it as well as two- and three-star generals at the Pentagon, members of the US Senate and Congress, etc. You can see all in my list in Acknowledgements.

Few directors are characterized by both extraordinary film craft and the ironic reputation for lowbrow films. Despite his many achievements as a child of the Italian Cinecitta studios, however, Sergio Leone has been judged severely by writers who find his films lacking in ideas and moralists who find his films unduly cynical. Nevertheless, Leone's greatest cinematic achievement, Once Upon a Time in the West, served to refute these criticisms while exposing the director's unique romanticism and artistic ambition. As Leone's fourth successful American western film, Once Upon a Time in the West earned him acclaim for liberating the western genre, restoring it to a place of antique American simplicity. The principal goal of this book is to sharpen an appreciation for Sergio Leone and his most famous American western. The first two chapters deal with the relationship between Once Upon a Time in the West and the western films that preceded it, particularly those of John Ford. Subsequent chapters concentrate on the central characters of Once Upon a Time in the West, with special attention to Jill, Leone's first female protagonist and a surprisingly successful character, central to the plot and accorded a kind of existential strength usually reserved for men in Westerns. The sixth, seventh and eighth chapters address Leone's visual style, which represents a unique fusion of Hollywood classicism and modernism, and reveals the influences of Italian Surrealism and the French New Wave. The final chapters explore the rhythm, romanticism, and musical character of Once Upon a Time in the West, espousing the theory that Leone's approach to film is, above all, musical.

In this remarkable sequel to his Films of the Seventies: A Social History, William J. Palmer examines more than three hundred films as texts that represent, revise, parody, comment upon, and generate discussion about major events, issues, and social trends of the eighties. Palmer defines the dialectic between film art and social history, taking as his theoretical model the "holograph of history" that originated from the New Historicist theories of Hayden White and Dominick LaCapra. Combining the interests and methodologies of social history and film criticism, Palmer contends that film is a socially conscious interpreter and commentator upon the issues of contemporary social history. In the eighties, such issues included the war in Vietnam, the preservation of the American farm, terrorism, nuclear holocaust, changes in Soviet-American relations, neoconservative feminism, and yuppies. Among the films Palmer examines are Platoon, The Killing Fields, The River, Out of Africa, Little Drummer Girl, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Silkwood, The Day After, Red Dawn, Moscow on the Hudson, Troop Beverly Hills, and Fatal Attraction. Utilizing the principles of New Historicism, Palmer demonstrates that film can analyze and critique history as well as present it.

Soon after film came into existence, the term epic was used to describe productions that were lengthy, spectacular, live with action, and often filmed in exotic locales with large casts and staggering budgets. The effort and extravagance needed to mount an epic film paid off handsomely at the box office, for the genre became an immediate favorite with audiences. Epic films survived the tribulations of two world wars and the Depression and have retained the basic characteristics of size and glamour for more than a hundred years. Length was, and still is, one of the traits of the epic, though monolithic three- to four-hour spectacles like Gone with the Wind (1939) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962) have been replaced today by such franchises as the Harry Potter films and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although the form has evolved during many decades of existence, its central elements have been retained, refined, and modernized to suit the tastes of every new generation. The Encyclopedia of Epic Films identifies, describes, and analyzes those films that meet the criteria of the epic—sweeping drama, panoramic landscapes, lengthy adventure sequences, and, in many cases, casts of thousands. This volume looks at the wide variety of epics produced over the last century—from the silent spectacles of D. W. Griffith and biblical melodramas of Cecil B. DeMille to the historical dramas of David Lean and rollercoaster thrillers of Steven Spielberg. Each entry contains: Major personnel behind the camera, including directors and screenwriters Cast and character listings Plot summary Analysis Academy Award wins and nominations DVD and Blu-ray availability Resources for further study This volume also includes appendixes of foreign epics, superhero spectaculars, and epics produced for television, along with a list of all the directors in the book. Despite a lack of overall critical recognition and respect as a genre, the epic remains a favorite of audiences, and this book pays homage to a form of mass entertainment that continues to fill movie theaters. The Encyclopedia of Epic Films will be of interest to academics and scholars, as well as any fan of films made on a grand scale.

With nearly 400 scores to his credit, Ennio Morricone is one of the most prolific and influential film composers working today. He has collaborated with many significant directors, and his scores for such films as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America; Days of Heaven; The Mission; The Untouchables; Malèna; and Cinema Paradiso leave moviegoers with the conviction that something special was achieved—a conviction shared by composers, scholars, and fans alike. In Composing for the Cinema: The Theory and Praxis of Music in Film, Morricone and musicologist Sergio Miceli present a series of lectures on the composition and analysis of film music. Adapted from several lectures and seminars, these lessons show how sound design can be analyzed and offer a variety of musical solutions to many different kinds of film. Though aimed at composers, Morricone’s expositions are easy to understand and fascinating even to those without any musical training. Drawing upon scores by himself and others, the composer also provides insight into his relationships with many of the directors with whom he has collaborated, including Sergio Leone, Giuseppe Tornatore, Franco Zeffirelli, Warren Beatty, Ridley Scott, Roland Joffé, the Taviani Brothers, and others. Translated and edited by Gillian B. Anderson, an orchestral conductor and musicologist, these lessons reveal Morricone’s passion about musical expression. Delivered in a conversational mode that is both comprehensible and interesting, this groundbreaking work intertwines analysis with practical details of film music composition. Aimed at a wide audience of composers, musicians, film historians, and fans, Composing for the Cinema contains a treasure trove of practical information and observations from a distinguished musicologist and one of the most accomplished composers on the international film scene.

Not quite four months after the Western Region's election of October 10, 1965, did the localized mayhem in that Region find its way furiously into the center of the nation on January 15, 1966! It was like a whirl-wind of nothing but anarchy and lawlessness. The serious aftermath of the marred and rigged election was that it acted as the last straw that broke the Carmel's back, providing immediate reason for the army to overthrow the government of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Anarchy ensued; a counter coup led to the death of Major-General Ironsi. Callous barbarous massacre of thousands of easterners in the North followed. With their lives in jeopardy, easterners fled for safety to eastern region; refugee crisis followed. To guarantee their safety, easterners seceded from Nigeria and on May 30th 1967, formed an independent and sovereign nation of the Republic of Biafra. Determined to bring Easterners back, on July 6, 1967 Nigeria invaded Biafra; waged a gruesome thirty-month-civil war against Biafra. Nigeria blockaded Biafra on land, sea and air, to prevent food from entering Biafra. A malnutrition disease, Kwashiorkor that caused the deaths of thousands of Biafrans, followed. Nigeria bombed Biafran civilians, killing thousands. On January 12, 1970 the war ended leaving more than three million people dead in a war that was totally avoidable!