The end of the fifties through to the mid-seventies witnessed an explosion in genre cinema throughout Europe. This coincided with the appearance of several new trends in European cinematography such as nouvelle vague and free cinema. The rapid and significant development of European cinema lead to the creation of new styles of film making which have stood the test of time and continue to influence film makers today: the debuts of actors such as Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery; the narrative style of directors such as Sergio Leone; the evolution of Terror, Fantastic and Giallo genres. This is an extraordinary period in cinema, yet one which is relatively unexplored. Once Upon a Time in Europe aims to present an overall picture of this period as well as to examine specific genres in-depth, focusing on the common elements between Mediterranean productions and British/German productions.