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Mini-Hollywood  

Following the success of A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Sergio Leone commissioned Carlo Simi to construct an entire western town for the second title in the trilogy, For a Few Dollars More. Two rival bounty hunters, (Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef), both in pursuit of the fugitive El Indio, eye each other suspiciously from their hotel windows on opposite sides of the street. The building now labelled the “Yellow Rose” housed Van Cleef’s hotel and the town saloon. Once Upon a Time in Almería: The Legacy of Hollywood in Spain’ (Daylight Books 2017)

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The Saloon in ‘Straight to Hell’  

“Nothing remains but a fragment of the back wall and some wooden beams. But thirty years ago, when we went STRAIGHT TO HELL, this was our saloon where Strummer snarled at Courtney Love, and Sy Richardson and Dick Rude gunned down the Weiner Kid, and Grace Jones barred Dennis Hopper from smoking.” From the Forward by Director Alex Cox. Once Upon a Time in Almería: The Legacy of Hollywood in Spain’ (Daylight Books 2017)

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Coming Soon — ‘Once Upon a Time in Almeria: The Legacy of Hollywood in Spain’  

ONCE UPON A TIME IN ALMERÍA: THE LEGACY OF HOLLYWOOD IN SPAIN PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK PARASCANDOLA ESSAY BY ALEX COX PUBLICATION DATE: DECEMBER 12, 2017 Fifty years ago, the province of Almería in the far southeastern corner of Spain, came to refer to itself as “The Movie Capitol of the World.” Cheap labor and a landscape that stood in perfectly for the American West, North Africa, and even the surface of the moon, became the locations for some of the most iconic movies of the time starring Hollywood legends, from Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren to Peter O’Toole and Clint Eastwood. But […]

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Coverage of “Once Upon a Time in Almería” in the Daily Mail  

This week the Daily Mail published a feature article on my photo project documenting the legacy of Hollywood and international filmmaking in Almeria, Spain. Here is one excerpt from the interview published in the article: ‘The Western towns built by Sergio Leone and others were not meant to be accurate representations of the American West. Instead, they were constructed to meet filmmakers’ vision of what the American West was like. ‘The Spaghetti Western has been described as a myth of a myth, because it is one step further removed from the myth of the original Hollywood Westerns. ‘However, this myth […]

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Indiegogo campaign is live!  

Participate in the creation of my forthcoming photobook ‘Once Upon a Time in Almeria: The Legacy of Hollywood in Spain.’ With your help the book will be published in Fall 2017 by Daylight Books! Visit my Indiegogo project page to see an introductory video and get more information about how you can help. Please consider purchasing an advance signed copy of the book — currently available only through the crowdfunding site. Prints from from the series are also available. The reality of photobook publishing these days is that photographers are expected to raise some portion of the funds for book […]

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65 cinema experts choose the best movies filmed in Almería  

This summer “La Voz de Almería” conducted a survey to pick the best films shot in the area since 1961. Hundreds of films have been made in the region over the past half century and 65 local cinema experts such as film experts, actors, directors, historians, writers were asked to select their top ten best movies filmed in Almería. “Lawrence de Arabia”, “Indiana Jones and the last crusade” and “The Good, the Ugly and the Bad” occupied the top three positions of the list and were considered among the best ever made. “Vivir es fácil” was the first Spanish movie appearing […]

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Latest News / Press
Oct 16, 2015

Press Coverage: Opening of “Érase una vez en Almería” in Tabernas  

My exhibit “Érase una vez en Almería: Decorados, Restos y Paisajes de Cine” (“Once Upon a Time in Almería”) opened last week in Almería, Spain, with a reception and artist talk. The show includes 18 framed prints 24″ x 36″, all images of film sets and locations around the province of Almería, which was the site of hundreds of movie productions throughout the 1960s and 1970s. It was an emotional experience for me to have these photographs exhibited in Almería. The town of Tabernas, where the exhibit was located, is host to three remaining western movie towns and has been […]

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Events / Latest News / Press
Oct 14, 2015

Press coverage about the exhibition “Once Upon a Time in Almería”  

My exhibition “Érase una vez en Almería: Decorados, Restos y Paisajes de Cine” (“Once Upon a Time in Almería”) was inaugurated this last weekend in Almería, Spain. The exhibition included 18 framed prints 24″ x 36″, all images of film sets and locations around the province of Almeria, which was the site of hundreds of movie productions primarily in the 1960s and 1970s. The exhibition showed sets built to recreate shootings, constructions where “good, bad and ugly folks” found a shelter and landscapes through where stagecoaches were heading to the unknown. “Mark Parascandola presents his vision of what is left […]

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Exposición “Érase una vez en Almería: decorados, restos y paisajes del cine” en el Salón Polivalente de Tabernas en Almería  

“Érase una vez en Almería: decorados, restos y paisajes del cine” Salón Polivalente de Tabernas. Dias 9, 10 y 11 de octubre de 2015 Diputación de Almería. Instituto de Estudios Almerienses Horario: 11.00 h.-13.00 h y 17.00 h – 20.00 h En los años 60 numerosos directores de cine europeo y americano descubrieron Almería, atraídos por su luz, el peculiar paisaje desértico, y una barata mano de obra. Decenas de películas como Cleopatra, Lawrence de Arabia, Patton, así como varios spaguetti westerns de Sergio Leone, con Clint Eastwood como protagonista, fueron grabados allí. Cuatro años más tarde, los decorados de […]

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Érase una vez en Almería  

La Capital del Cine Mundial Hace 50 años que la película de David Lean, Lawrence de Arabia se estrenó. Lean tenía la intención de filmar toda la película en Jordania, en la misma tierra donde Lawrence había llevado a cabo su campaña. Pero las dificultades por aquel entonces de trabajar 200 millas en el interior del desierto durante meses retrasaban la filmación y superaba con mucho su presupuesto. A todo ello se añadía también un daño psicológico porque el productor Sam Spiegel temía que Lean estuviera realmente obsesionado con el desierto. Por tanto, Spiegel ordenó que la producción al completo […]

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