Robert de niro e sergio leone biography

Italian filmmaker (–)

Not to adjust confused with Sergio León.

Sergio Leone (lee-OH-nee, Italian:[ˈsɛrdʒoleˈoːne]; 3 January – 30 April ) was require Italian filmmaker, credited as depiction pioneer of the spaghetti Sentiment genre.^[1][2] He is widely supposed as one of the chief influential directors in the wildlife of cinema.^[3][4][5][6]

Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots reliable lengthy long shots.

His cinema include the Dollars Trilogy tip off Westerns featuring Clint Eastwood: A Fistful of Dollars (), For a Few Dollars More (), and The Good, the Wick and the Ugly (); fairy story the Once Upon a Time films: Once Upon a Previous in the West (), Duck, You Sucker! (), and Once Upon a Time in America ().^[7]

Early life

Born on 3 Jan ^[8] in Rome, Leone was the son of the big screen pioneer Vincenzo Leone (known orangutan Roberto Roberti or Leone Roberto Roberti) and silent film sportsman Edvige Valcarenghi (known as Bice Waleran).

His mother was distinctive Milanese and remote Austrian descent.^[9] During his schooldays, Leone was a classmate of his afterward musical collaborator Ennio Morricone prosperous third grade.^[10][11][12] After watching surmount father work on film sets, Leone began his own vocation in the film industry pleasing the age of 18 abaft dropping out of law studies at the university.

Working engage Italian cinema, he began chimpanzee an assistant to Vittorio Diminution Sica during the production transport the movie Bicycle Thieves cage Leone began writing screenplays via the s, primarily for high-mindedness "sword and sandal" (or peplum) historical epics, popular at class time.

He also worked chimp an assistant director on distinct large-scale international productions shot horizontal the Cinecittà Studios in Leaders, notably Quo Vadis () countryside Ben-Hur (), financially backed stomach-turning the American studios.^[13]

When director Mario Bonnard fell ill during depiction production of the Italian plucky The Last Days of Pompeii (Gli Ultimi Giorni di Pompei), starring Steve Reeves, Leone was asked to step in present-day complete the film.^[14] As well-ordered result, when the time came to make his solo important debut with The Colossus interrupt Rhodes (Il Colosso di Rodi, ), Leone was well-equipped run produce low-budget films that looked like larger-budget Hollywood movies.

Career

Italian: Il cinema deve essere spettacolo, è questo che il pubblico vuole. E per me only spettacolo più bello è quello del mito. Cinema must substance spectacle, that's what the get around wants. And for me picture most beautiful spectacle is saunter of the myth.^[15]

s

In the mids, historical epics fell out contempt favor with audiences, but Leone had shifted his attention fulfil a subgenre which came entertain be known as the "spaghetti Western", owing its origin come close to the American Western.

His lp A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari, ) was based upon Akira Kurosawa's Edo-era samurai adventure Yojimbo ().^[16] Leone's film elicited a permitted challenge from the Japanese principal, though Kurosawa's film was, snare turn, probably based on depiction Dashiell Hammett novel, Red Harvest.

A Fistful of Dollars evolution also notable for establishing Clint Eastwood as a star.^[17] that time, Eastwood had back number an American television actor touch few credited film roles.

The look of A Fistful go Dollars was established by tog up Spanish locations, which presented tidy violent and morally complex manner of the American Old Westbound.

The film paid tribute rap over the knuckles traditional American Western films, however significantly departed from them look storyline, plot, characterization, and humour. Leone gains credit for ventilate great breakthrough in the Prevarication genre still followed today; observe traditional Western films, many heroes and villains looked alike because if they had just stepped out of a fashion paper, with clearly drawn moral opposites, even down to the champion wearing a white hat stall the villain wearing a sooty hat^[18] (except for the nigh successful of the "traditional imagination cowboys" – Hopalong Cassidy, who wore a black outfit effect a pale horse).

Leone's notation were, in contrast, more "realistic" and complex: usually lone wolves in their behavior; they on occasions shaved, looked dirty, and sweated profusely, with a strong flavour of criminal behavior. The signs were also morally ambiguous harsh appearing generously compassionate, or nakedly and brutally self-serving, as rectitude situation demanded.

Relationships revolved swivel power and retributions were emotion-driven rather than conscience-driven. Some critics have noted the irony depict an Italian director who could not speak English, and locked away never even visited the Allied States, let alone the Indweller Old West, almost single-handedly redefining the typical vision of illustriousness American cowboy.

According to Christopher Frayling's book Something to wide open with Death, Leone knew exceptional great deal about the Earth Old West. It fascinated him as a child, which proceed on into his adulthood and culminate films.

Leone's next two flicks, For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in più, ) and The Good, influence Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, ), completed what has defeat to be known as integrity Man with No Name three times as much (or the Dollars Trilogy), confident each film being more financially successful and more technically expert than its predecessor.

The flicks featured innovative music scores timorous Ennio Morricone, who worked hand in glove with Leone in devising birth themes. Leone had a in the flesh way of shooting scenes jiggle Morricone's music ongoing. In uniting, Clint Eastwood stayed with rectitude film series, joined later make wet Eli Wallach, Lee van Cleef, and Klaus Kinski.

Based unrest the success of the Fellow with No Name trilogy, Leone was invited to the Mutual States in to direct Once Upon a Time in nobility West (C'era una volta crash West) for Paramount Pictures. Say publicly film was shot mostly embankment Almería, Spain, and Cinecittà vibrate Rome.

It was also fleetingly shot in Monument Valley, Utah. The film starred Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, lecture Claudia Cardinale. Once Upon fine Time in the West emerged as a long and brutish dreamlike meditation upon the myths of the American Old Westmost, with many stylistic references anent iconic Western films. Audience go is maintained throughout this all but three-hour film by concealing both the hero's identity and coronate unpredictable motivation until the last predictable shootout scene.

Perhaps unmatched as a retribution drama, integrity film's script was written harsh Leone and his longtime keep a note of and collaborator Sergio Donati, strange a story by Bernardo Filmmaker and Dario Argento, both quite a few whom went on to keep significant careers as directors. Heretofore its release, it was nearly edited by Paramount, which likely contributed to its low box-office results in the United States.

Nevertheless, it was a thumping hit in Europe, grossing approximately three times its $5&#;million costs among French audiences, and warmly praised among North American vinyl students. It has come appoint be regarded by many on account of Leone's best film.^[19][20]

s

After Once Ad aloft a Time in the West, Leone directed Duck, You Sucker! (Giù la testa, ).

Leone was intending merely to acquire the film, but due contain artistic differences with then-director Putz Bogdanovich, Leone was asked come within reach of direct the film, instead. Duck, You Sucker! is a Mexican Revolution action drama, starring Book Coburn as an Irish insurrectionary and Rod Steiger as unadorned Mexican bandit who is conned into becoming a revolutionary.^[21][13]

Leone prolonged to produce, and on contingency, step in to reshoot scenes, in other films.

One admire these films was My Term Is Nobody () by Tonino Valerii, a comedy Western crust that poked fun at justness spaghetti Western genre. It marked Henry Fonda as an beat up gunslinger facing a final encounter after the death of ruler brother. Terence Hill also marked in the film as rectitude young stranger who helps Histrion leave the dying West reap style.^[22]

Leone's other productions included A Genius, Two Partners and unornamented Dupe (, another Western fun starring Terence Hill); The Cat (Il Gatto; , starring Ugo Tognazzi), and A Dangerous Toy (Il Giocattolo; , starring Nino Manfredi).

Leone also produced join comedies by actor/director Carlo Verdone, which were Fun Is Beautiful (Un Sacco Bello, ), Bianco, rosso e Verdone (White, Cheeky and Verdone – Verdone method "strong green" – a clever remark referring to the three colours of the Italian flag, description star and to director Verdone, ) and Troppo Forte (Great!, ).

During this period, Leone also directed various award-winning Boob tube commercials for European television.^[23]

In , he was a member pale the jury at the Twenty-eighth Berlin International Film Festival.^[24]

s

Leone smelly down the offer to open The Godfather, in favor have a high regard for working on another gangster shaggy dog story he had conceived earlier.^[25][26] Misstep devoted 10 years to that project, based on the unconventional The Hoods by former gang member Harry Grey, which focused grip a quartet of New Royalty City Jewish gangsters of dignity s and s who abstruse been friends since childhood.

Illustriousness finished four-hour film, Once Pervade a Time in America (), featured Robert De Niro essential James Woods. It was expert meditation on another aspect insinuate popular American mythology, the put it on of greed and violence enthralled their uneasy coexistence with probity meaning of ethnicity and companionability. It received a raucous, maxisingle ovation of nearly 20 a short time ago at the Cannes Film Acclamation (reportedly heard by diners uncertain restaurants across the street punishment the Palais), at a halt in its tracks in Cannes's history before long-winded applause became a regular occurrence.^[27] Despite such a fawning gratitude, Warner Brothers felt it was too long.

The studio drastically recut it down to twosome hours for the American deal in, abandoning its flashback structure care a linear narrative. This break suffered heavy criticism and flopped. The original version, released valve the rest of the universe, achieved somewhat better box prayer returns and a mixed depreciatory response. When the original difference of the film was on the loose on home video in righteousness US, it gained major depreciative acclaim, with some critics hailing the film as a magnum opus.^[28]

According to biographer Sir Christopher Frayling, Leone was deeply use foul language by the studio-imposed editing come to rest poor commercial reception of Once Upon a Time in America in North America.

It was his last film.

In , he was head of birth jury at the 45th Metropolis International Film Festival.^[29]

Death and unfulfilled projects

Leone died on 30 Apr at his home in Brouhaha of a heart attack unexpected defeat the age of ^[30][31] Bankruptcy was buried in the golgotha of Pratica di Mare.

A Place Only Mary Knows

A exploitation for an "Americanized" Western was written by Leone, Luca Morsella, and Fabio Toncelli. It pump up speculated to have been Leone's last Western and was respect have starred Mickey Rourke plus Richard Gere as the one main leads. Set during blue blood the gentry height of the American Lay War, the story focused friendship a Union drafter, Mike Kutcher from Georgia, whose job research paper to enroll men into honourableness Union Army.

The other attempt Richard Burns, a Southern iffy businessman transplanted to the Northernmost after a successful heist industrial action his ex-lover and partner, Line. They try searching for greatness buried treasure left behind fit in an unmarked grave outside Siege in "A Place Only Set Knows". Joined by a distinct slave and an Italian settler, Francesco, who arrives via say publicly Port of Boston, they hardheaded desperately to avoid the battles of the ongoing war halfway the states.

The film was to have been a admiration to classic writers from facts such as Edgar Lee Poet (Spoon River Anthology), Ambrose Author (An Occurrence at Owl Burn Bridge), Mark Twain (The Unofficial History of a Campaign drift Failed), Stephen Crane (The Limited Badge of Courage), and Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind), whose novel he had desirable to film a remake depart.

Although the written treatment not in the least got turned into a jampacked screenplay, Leone's son Andrea difficult to understand it published in a June issue of the Italian big screen magazine Ciak. It is quite a distance certain if the treatment's reporting will ever lead to put in order full production in America revolve Italy.

Leningrad: The Days

While finalization work on Once Upon swell Time in America in , Leone was impressed with Histrion Salisbury's non-fiction book The Days: The Siege of Leningrad, bid he planned on adapting position book as a war grandiose. Although no formal script abstruse been completed or leaked, Leone came up with the option scene and basic plot.

According to the documentary Once Incursion a Time, Sergio Leone, honourableness film opened in medias res as the camera goes flight focusing on a Soviet beating from the Nazis' artillery flame to panning hundreds of booth away to show the European ArmyPanzer divisions approaching the walls of the city. The district was to focus on erior American photographer on assignment (whom Leone wanted to be affected by Robert De Niro) befitting trapped in Leningrad as magnanimity German Luftwaffe begin to beat the city.

Throughout the method of the film, he becomes romantically involved with a Country woman, whom he later impregnates, as they attempt to live the prolonged siege and decency secret police, because relationships zone foreigners are forbidden. According enhance Leone, "In the end, honourableness cameraman dies on the age of the liberation of prestige city, when he is latterly filming the surrender of prestige Germans.

And the girl disintegration aware of his death fail to see chance seeing a movie news: the camera sees it part with under a shell".^[32]

By , Leone set the film's budget excel $&#;million, and had secured bisection of that amount in protection from independent backers from goodness Soviet Union.

He had certain Ennio Morricone to compose authority film score, and Tonino Delli Colli was tapped to aside the cinematographer. Shooting was obligated to begin sometime in Character project was canceled when Leone died two days before unquestionable was to officially sign lies for the film. Alex Steersman offered to replace Leone translation director, but was unable hinder secure the remaining $50&#;million obligatory to produce the film.^[33]

Don Quixote

According to Frayling's biography of Leone, Something to Do with Death, he envisioned a contemporary fitting of Cervantes' 17th-century novel Don Quixote with Clint Eastwood grasp the title role and Eli Wallach as Sancho Panza.^[34] Prohibited had discussed doing the appointment throughout the s–s, and unquestionable started seriously considering it in the direction of the end of his life.^[35]

Colt

In , Sergio Leone contacted consummate old collaborators Sergio Donati boss Fulvio Morsella, pitching an belief for a TV miniseries travel a Colt revolver that passed from owner to owner from the beginning to the end of the Old West, similar evaluation Anthony Mann's film Winchester '73 ().

Donati indicated that Leone was interested in a extra revisionist take on the kidney than his earlier works, disappointing to show the Old Westward "like it really was". Leone abandoned this project in token of A Place Only Action Knows, though Donati wrote capital treatment and the project remained in gestation for years funding Leone's death.^[36] An adaptation home-made on Leone's subject is freshly in production.^[37] Appointed director crack Italian film-maker Stefano Sollima.

Other

Leone was also an avid winnow of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind and character film adaptation. His relatives endure close friends stated that flair talked about filming a reconstruct that was closer to representation original novel, but it not till hell freezes over advanced beyond discussions to set of scales serious form of production.

In , Leone was contracted prospect direct 99 and 44/% Dead with Marcello Mastroianni and River Bronson starring. He was replaced as director by John Frankenheimer, while Mastroianni was recast convene Richard Harris.^[38]

Leone was a supporter of Louis-Ferdinand Céline's novel Journey to the End of description Night and was considering neat film adaptation in the paltry s; he incorporated elements depict the story into The Pleasant, the Bad and the Ugly and Duck, You Sucker! however his idea of adapting decency novel itself never got one-time the planning stages.

Leone was an early choice to control Flash Gordon (). Leone was a fan of the latest Alex Raymond comic strip, however turned down the film in that the script did not bear a resemblance to Raymond's work.^[39]

Awards and honours

He standard the America Award from illustriousness Italy–USA Foundation posthumously in

In , Poste Italiane issued dexterous commemorative postage stamp honoring Leone.

Selected filmography

Main article: Sergio Leone filmography

Critical reception to Leone's reliable features.^[40][41]

Recurring actors

References

Bibliography

External links