Sergio Leone (; 3 January 1929 – 30 April 1989) was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter credited as the pioneer of the
Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema.
Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme
close-up shots with lengthy
long shots. His movies include the ''
Dollars Trilogy'' of Westerns featuring
Clint Eastwood: ''
A Fistful of Dollars
''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...
'' (1964), ''
For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (1966); and the ''Once Upon a Time'' films: ''
Once Upon a Time in the West'' (1968), ''
Duck, You Sucker!
''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...
'' (1971), and ''
Once Upon a Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produ ...
'' (1984).
Early life
Born on 3 January 1929 in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, Leone was the son of the cinema pioneer
Vincenzo Leone (known as director Roberto Roberti or Leone Roberto Roberti) and
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
actress
Edvige Valcarenghi (Bice Valerian). During his schooldays, Leone was a classmate of his later musical collaborator
Ennio Morricone for a time. After watching his father work on film sets, Leone began his own career in the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, ...
at the age of 18 after dropping out of law studies at the university.
Working in
Italian cinema, he began as an assistant to
Vittorio De Sica during the production for the movie ''
Bicycle Thieves'' in 1948. Leone began writing screenplays during the 1950s, primarily for the '
sword and sandal' (a.k.a. 'peplum') historical epics, popular at the time. He also worked as an assistant director on several large-scale international productions shot at the
Cinecittà Studios in Rome, notably ''
Quo Vadis'' (1951) and ''
Ben-Hur'' (1959), financially backed by the American studios.
When director
Mario Bonnard fell ill during the production of the 1959 Italian epic ''
The Last Days of Pompeii'' (''Gli Ultimi Giorni di Pompei''), starring
Steve Reeves
Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonis ...
, Leone was asked to step in and complete the film. As a result, when the time came to make his solo directorial debut with ''
The Colossus of Rhodes'' (''Il Colosso di Rodi'', 1961), Leone was well equipped to produce low-budget films which looked like larger-budget Hollywood movies.
Career
1960s
In the mid-1960s, historical epics fell out of favor with audiences, but Leone had shifted his attention to a subgenre which came to be known as the "
Spaghetti Western", owing its origin to the American
Western. His film ''
A Fistful of Dollars
''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...
'' (''Per un pugno di dollari'', 1964) was based upon
Akira Kurosawa's
Edo
Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo.
Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
-era
samurai
were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...
adventure ''
Yojimbo'' (1961). Leone's film elicited a legal challenge from the Japanese director, though Kurosawa's film was in turn probably based on the 1929
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...
novel, ''
Red Harvest''. ''A Fistful of Dollars'' is also notable for establishing
Clint Eastwood as a star. Until that time Eastwood had been an American television actor with few credited film roles.
The look of ''A Fistful of Dollars'' was established by its Spanish locations, which presented a violent and morally complex vision of the
American Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
. The film paid tribute to traditional American western films, but significantly departed from them in storyline, plot, characterization and mood. Leone gains credit for one great breakthrough in the western genre still followed today: in traditional western films, many heroes and villains looked alike as if they had just stepped out of a fashion magazine, with clearly drawn moral opposites, even down to the hero wearing a white hat and the villain wearing a black hat (except for the most successful of the 'traditional western cowboys' –
Hopalong Cassidy, who wore a black outfit upon a pale horse). Leone's characters were, in contrast, more 'realistic' and complex: usually 'lone wolves' in their behavior; they rarely shaved, looked dirty and sweated profusely, and there was a strong suggestion of criminal behavior. The characters were also morally ambiguous by appearing generously compassionate, or nakedly and brutally self-serving, as the situation demanded. Relationships revolved around power and retributions were emotion-driven rather than conscience-driven. Some critics have noted the irony of an Italian director who could not speak English, and had never even visited the United States, let alone the American Old West, almost single-handedly redefining the typical vision of the American
cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaqu ...
. According to
Christopher Frayling's book ''Something to do with Death'', Leone knew a great deal about the American Old West. It fascinated him as a child, which carried into his adulthood and his films.
Leone's next two films, ''
For a Few Dollars More'' (''Per qualche dollaro in più'', 1965) and ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' (''Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo'', 1966), completed what has come to be known as the ''
Man with No Name trilogy'' (or ''the
Dollars Trilogy''), with each film being more financially successful and more technically accomplished than its predecessor. The films featured innovative music scores by
Ennio Morricone, who worked closely with Leone in devising the themes. Leone had a personal way of shooting scenes with Morricone's music ongoing. In addition, Clint Eastwood stayed with the film series, joined later by
Eli Wallach,
Lee van Cleef and
Klaus Kinski.
Based on the success of ''The Man with No Name trilogy'', Leone was invited to the United States in 1967 to direct ''
Once Upon a Time in the West'' (''C'era una volta il West'') for
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. The film was shot mostly in
Almería
Almería (, , ) is a city and municipality of Spain, located in Andalusia. It is the capital of the province of the same name. It lies on southeastern Iberia on the Mediterranean Sea. Caliph Abd al-Rahman III founded the city in 955. The city g ...
, Spain and
Cinecittà
Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studio ...
in Rome. It was also briefly shot in
Monument Valley,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
. The film starred
Charles Bronson,
Henry Fonda,
Jason Robards and
Claudia Cardinale. ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' emerged as a long, violent, dreamlike meditation upon the mythology of the American Old West, with many stylistic references to iconic western films. Audience tension is maintained throughout this nearly three-hour film by concealing both the hero's identity and his unpredictable motivation until the final predictable shootout scene. Perhaps unsurpassed as a retribution drama, the film's script was written by Leone and his longtime friend and collaborator
Sergio Donati
Sergio Donati (born 13 April 1933) is an Italian screenwriter. He has written for more than 70 films since 1952. He was born in Rome, Italy. He started as a writer and had some of his books optioned for film. He is well known for his collaborati ...
, from a story by
Bernardo Bertolucci and
Dario Argento
Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and critic. His influential work in the horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ''giallo'', has led him ...
, both of whom went on to have significant careers as directors. Before its release, however, it was ruthlessly edited by Paramount, which perhaps contributed to its low box-office results in the United States. Nevertheless, it was a huge hit in Europe, grossing nearly three times its $5 million budget among French audiences, and highly praised amongst North American film students. It has come to be regarded by many as Leone's best film.
1970s
After ''Once Upon a Time in the West'', Leone directed ''
Duck, You Sucker!
''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...
'' (''Giù la testa'', 1971). Leone was intending merely to produce the film, but due to artistic differences with then-director
Peter Bogdanovich, Leone was asked to direct the film instead. ''Duck, You Sucker!'' is a
Mexican Revolution action drama, starring
James Coburn as an
Irish revolutionary and
Rod Steiger as a Mexican bandit who is conned into becoming a revolutionary.
Leone continued to produce, and on occasion, step in to reshoot scenes in other films. One of these films was ''
My Name Is Nobody
''My Name Is Nobody'' ( it, Il mio nome è Nessuno) is a 1973 Italian/French/German international co-production comedy Spaghetti Western starring Terence Hill and Henry Fonda. The film was directed by Tonino Valerii and based on an idea by Serg ...
'' (1973) by
Tonino Valerii, a comedy western film that poked fun at the spaghetti western genre. It starred Henry Fonda as an old gunslinger facing a final confrontation after the death of his brother.
Terence Hill also starred in the film as the young stranger who helps Fonda leave the dying West with style.
Leone's other productions included ''
A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe
''A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe'' ( it, Un genio, due compari, un pollo) is a 1975 Spaghetti Western comedy film directed by Damiano Damiani and Sergio Leone, who directed the opening scene.
Plot
Joe Thanks ( Terence Hill) is a genius co ...
'' (1975, another western comedy starring Terence Hill); ''
The Cat'' (''Il Gatto''; 1977, starring
Ugo Tognazzi), and ''
A Dangerous Toy'' (''Il Giocattolo''; 1979, starring
Nino Manfredi). Leone also produced three comedies by actor/director
Carlo Verdone, which were ''
Fun Is Beautiful'' (''Un Sacco Bello'', 1980), ''
Bianco, rosso e Verdone'' (''White, Red and Verdone'' – Verdone means "strong green" – a pun referring to the three colors of the Italian flag, the star and to director Verdone, 1981) and ''
Troppo Forte
''Troppo forte'' (also known as ''Great'', ''He's Too Much'' and ''Too Much'') is a 1986 Italian comedy film directed by Carlo Verdone.
Plot
Oscar Pettinari is a young hick from the suburbs of Rome, who gravitates around Cinecittà trying rathe ...
'' (''Great!'', 1986). During this period, Leone also directed various award-winning TV commercials for European television.
In 1978, he was a member of the jury at the
28th Berlin International Film Festival.
1980s
Leone turned down the offer to direct ''
The Godfather
''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...
'', in favor of working on another gangster story he had conceived earlier. He devoted ten years to this project, based on the novel ''The Hoods'' by former mobster
Harry Grey, which focused on a quartet of New York City
Jewish gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s who had been friends since childhood. The finished four-hour film, ''
Once Upon a Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produ ...
'' (1984), featured
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
and
James Woods. It was a meditation on another aspect of popular American mythology, the role of greed and violence and their uneasy coexistence with the meaning of ethnicity and friendship. It received a raucous, record-breaking ovation of nearly 20 minutes at the
1984 Cannes Film Festival (reportedly heard by diners at restaurants across the street from the
Palais), at a time in Cannes's history before marathon applause became a regular occurrence. Despite such a fawning reception, Warner Brothers felt it was too long. The studio drastically recut it down to two hours for the American market, abandoning its flashback structure for a linear narrative. This version suffered heavy criticism and flopped. The original version, released in the rest of the world, achieved somewhat better box office returns and a mixed critical response. When the original version of the film was released on home video in the US, it gained major critical acclaim, with some critics hailing the film as a
magnum opus.
According to biographer Sir
Christopher Frayling, Leone was deeply hurt by the studio-imposed editing and poor commercial reception of ''
Once Upon a Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produ ...
'' in North America. It was his last film.
In 1988, he was head of the jury at the
45th Venice International Film Festival.
[1988 Venice Film Festival](_blank)
, at the Internet Movie Database
Death
Leone died on 30 April 1989 of a heart attack at the age of 60. He was buried in the cemetery of
Pratica di Mare.
Unrealized projects
''A Place Only Mary Knows''
A treatment for an "Americanized" western was written by Leone, Luca Morsella, and Fabio Toncelli. It is speculated to have been Leone's last western and was to have starred
Mickey Rourke and
Richard Gere as the two main leads. Set during the height of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, the story focused on a Union drafter, Mike Kutcher from
Georgia, whose job is to enroll men into the
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
. The other is Richard Burns, a
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
shady businessman transplanted to the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
after a successful heist with his ex-lover and partner, Mary. They try searching for the buried treasure left behind in an unmarked grave outside
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
in "A Place Only Mary Knows". Joined by a
freed slave and an
Italian immigrant
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional ...
, Francesco, who arrives via the
Port of Boston, they try desperately to avoid the battles of the ongoing war between the states.
The film was to have been a homage to classic writers from literature such as
Edgar Lee Masters (''
Spoon River Anthology''),
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...
(''
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge''),
Mark Twain (''
The Private History of a Campaign that Failed''),
Stephen Crane (''
The Red Badge of Courage''), and
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...
(''
Gone with the Wind''), whose novel he had wanted to film a remake of. Although the written treatment never got turned into a full screenplay, Leone's son Andrea had it published in a June 2004 issue of the Italian cinema magazine ''
Ciak''. It is not certain if the treatment's publication will ever lead to a full production in America or Italy.
''Leningrad: The 900 Days''
While finishing work on ''Once Upon a Time in America'' in 1982, Leone was impressed with
Harrison Salisbury
Harrison Evans Salisbury (November 14, 1908 – July 5, 1993), was an American journalist and the first regular '' New York Times'' correspondent in Moscow after World War II.
Biography
Salisbury was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He ...
's non-fiction book ''The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad'', and he planned on adapting the book as a war epic. Although no formal script had been completed or leaked, Leone came up with the opening scene and basic plot. According to the documentary ''Once Upon a Time, Sergio Leone'', the film opened ''
in medias res
A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of pa ...
'' as the camera goes from focusing on a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
hiding from the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
' artillery fire to panning hundreds of feet away to show the
German Army Panzer divisions approaching the walls of the city. The plot was to focus on an American photographer on assignment (whom Leone wanted to be played by Robert De Niro) becoming trapped in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
as the
German Luftwaffe begin to bombard the city. Throughout the course of the film, he becomes romantically involved with a Soviet woman, whom he later impregnates, as they attempt to survive the
prolonged siege and the
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic ...
, because relationships with foreigners are forbidden. According to Leone, "In the end, the cameraman dies on the day of the liberation of the city, when he is currently filming the surrender of the Germans. And the girl is aware of his death by chance seeing a movie news: the camera sees it explode under a shell .... "
By 1989, Leone set the film's budget at $100 million, and had secured half of that amount in financing from independent backers from the Soviet Union. He had convinced Ennio Morricone to compose the film score, and
Tonino Delli Colli was tapped to be the
cinematographer. Shooting was scheduled to begin sometime in 1990. The project was canceled when Leone died two days before he was to officially sign on for the film.
Alex Cox
Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and '' Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and c ...
offered to replace Leone as director, but was unable to secure the remaining $50 million required to produce the film.
''Don Quixote''
According to Frayling's biography of Leone, ''Something to Do with Death'', he envisioned a contemporary adaptation of
Cervantes' 17th century novel ''
Don Quixote'' with Clint Eastwood in the title role and
Eli Wallach as
Sancho Panza. He had discussed doing the project throughout the 1960s–1970s, and he started seriously considering it towards the end of his life.
''Colt''
In 1987, Sergio Leone contacted his old collaborators Sergio Donati and Fulvio Morsella, pitching an idea for a TV
miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...
about a
Colt revolver that passed from owner to owner throughout the Old West, similar to
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann (born Emil Anton Bundsmann; June 30, 1906 – April 29, 1967) was an American film director and stage actor.
Mann initially started as a theatre actor appearing in numerous stage productions. In 1937, he moved to Hollywood where ...
's film ''
Winchester '73
''Winchester '73'' is a 1950 American Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea and Stephen McNally. Written by Borden Chase and Robert L. Richards, the film is about the journey of a pr ...
'' (1950). Donati indicated that Leone was interested in a more revisionist take on the genre than his earlier works, wanting to show the Old West "like it really was." Leone abandoned this project in favor of ''A Place Only Mary Knows'', though Donati wrote a treatment and the project remained in gestation for years after Leone's death.
An adaptation based on Leone's subject is currently in production. Appointed director is Italian film-maker
Stefano Sollima.
Other planned films
Leone was also an avid fan of
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949) was an American novelist and journalist. Mitchell wrote only one novel, published during her lifetime, the American Civil War-era novel '' Gone with the Wind'', for which she wo ...
's novel ''
Gone with the Wind'' and the
1939 film adaptation. His relatives and close friends stated that he talked about filming a
remake that was closer to the original novel, but it never advanced beyond discussions to any serious form of production.
In 1969, Sergio Leone was contracted to direct ''
99 and 44/100% Dead'' with
Marcello Mastroianni and
Charles Bronson starring. He was replaced as director by
John Frankenheimer, while Mastroianni was recast with
Richard Harris.
Leone was a fan of
Louis-Ferdinand Céline's novel ''
Journey to the End of the Night
''Journey to the End of the Night'' (french: Voyage au bout de la nuit, 1932) is the first novel by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work follows the adventures of Ferdinand Bardamu in the World War I, colonial Africa, the ...
'' and was considering a film adaptation in the late 1960s; he incorporated elements of the story into ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' and ''Duck, You Sucker!'' but his idea of adapting the novel itself never got past the planning stages.
Leone was an early choice to direct ''
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established '' Buck Rogers'' adv ...
'' (1980). Leone was a fan of the original
Alex Raymond
Alexander Gillespie Raymond Jr. (October 2, 1909 – September 6, 1956) was an American cartoonist who was best known for creating the ''Flash Gordon'' comic strip for King Features Syndicate in 1934. The strip was subsequently adapted into many ...
comic strip, but turned down the film because the script did not resemble Raymond's work.
Awards and honors
*
David di Donatello
The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...
** 1972: ''
Duck, You Sucker!
''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...
'' (Won)
*
British Academy of Film and Television Arts – Award for Best Direction
** 1984: ''
Once Upon a Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produ ...
'' (''Nomination'')
*
Golden Globe Award for Best Director
The Golden Globe Award for Best Director – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that has been presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, an organization composed of journalists who cover the United States film industry fo ...
** 1984: ''
Once Upon a Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produ ...
'' (''Nomination'')
He received the ''America Award'' from the
Italy-USA Foundation posthumously in 2014.
Selected filmography
Critical reception to Leone's directorial features.
Recurring actors
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''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...
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''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...
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Once Upon a Time in America
''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produ ...
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Roberto Camardiel
Roberto Camardiel Escudero (29 November 1917, in Alagón, Zaragoza – 15 June 1989, in Zaragoza) was a Spanish theatre director and actor.
He appeared in ''Culpables'' and ''Bajo el cielo andaluz'' (1960), both directed by Arturo Ruiz-Castillo ...
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Mario Brega
is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
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Joseph Egger
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Antonio Casale
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Aldo Sambrell
Alfredo Sánchez Brell (23 February 1931 – 10 July 2010), known as Aldo Sambrell, was a Spanish actor, director, and producer who appeared in over 150 films between 1961 and 1996.
Biography
Sambrell was born in Vallecas, Madrid, on 23 Februa ...
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Benito Stefanelli
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Antonio Molino Rojo
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John Frederick
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Antoñito Ruiz
Antonio Ruiz Escaño (born 24 October 1951), known as El Niño Leone, is a Spanish former child actor and stuntman.
He is known for playing Fernando in ''For a Few Dollars More'' (1965), and Stevens's youngest son in ''The Good, the Bad and the ...
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José Terrón
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Al Mulock
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Lorenzo Robledo
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Frank Braña
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Luigi Pistilli
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Claudio Scarchilli
Claudio Scarchilli (10 February 1924, Rome – 25 July 1992) was an Italian film actor who appeared in film throughout the 1960s. He acted in nearly twenty films within that decade.
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References
{{more citations needed, date=October 2011
{{Reflist
Bibliography
* {{cite book, last=Curti, first=Robert, title=Tonino Valerii: The Films, publisher=McFarland, year=2016, isbn=978-1476664682
* Frayling, Christopher: ''Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death'' (London: Faber, 2000)
External links
{{Wikiquote, Sergio Leone
{{Commons category, Sergio Leone
{{Portal, Italy, Film, Biography
* {{IMDb name, 1466
* {{Amg name, 99378
Sergio Leone: A Fistful-of-Leone!Senses of Cinema film journal : Great Directors : Sergio Leone(2002 review by Dan Edwards PhD)
A Fistful of Westerns{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060903041015/http://www.fistfulofwesterns.com/ , date=3 September 2006
The Spaghetti Western Database* {{Find a Grave, 7856551
{{Sergio Leone
{{David di Donatello Best Director
{{Nastro d'Argento Best Director
{{Venice Film Festival jury presidents
{{Authority control
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone, Sergio
1929 births
1989 deaths
People of Campanian descent
Italian people of Lombard descent
Spaghetti Western directors
Italian film directors
Male actors from Rome
Italian male screenwriters
Italian screenwriters
Italian film producers
Italian male film actors
Ennio Morricone
David di Donatello winners
Nastro d'Argento winners
20th-century Italian male actors
20th-century composers
20th-century Italian screenwriters
Postmodernist filmmakers