Skip to main content

Sergio Leone: Recreating the American Cowboy

Henry Fonda in "Once Upon a Time in the West"
He's an Italian filmmaker who left his mark on the world by telling uniquely American stories. Known throughout the world for his iconic Spaghetti Westerns, Sergio Leone comes from a family of filmmakers. His mother, Edvige Valcarenghi whose stage name was Bice Walerian, was a silent movie actress who gave up her career to become a wife and mother when she married Vincenzo Leone in 1916. Vincenzo whose stage name was Roberto Roberti, was a noted filmmaker who directed and acted in movies during the silent film era. He actually tried to discourage his son from pursuing a career in cinema, so Sergio Leone briefly studied law. But then fate stepped in and he landed a position as an assistant on Vittorio De Sica’s "The Bicycle Thieves" in 1948. Leone also briefly appears in the film, as part of a group of German priests taking shelter from the rain.

Although he emerged during the rise of Neorealism, Leone migrated early in his career towards the big budget epics being produced at the time at Cinecittà. After spending most of the decade during the '50s as an assistant on dozens of films, he stepped into the limelight in the '60s, single-handedly creating a whole new genre. 

It's been said that Leone understood the American cowboy better than his stateside contemporaries. Before him, the denizens of the American West were portrayed as freshly scrubbed heroes who looked as if they'd just stepped out of a fashion magazine. Leone's incarnations on the other hand were unshaven, a little dark in nature and not well-behaved. His first Spaghetti Western, "A Fistful of Dollars," took the world by storm while launching the career of fellow film legend, Clint Eastwood. Leone's direction coupled with the soundtrack of Italian maestro, Ennio Morricone gave an almost psychedelic tone to these Spaghetti Westerns, and he succeeded in creating something that had truly never been done before. With these films, Leone started the European Western craze that saved Cinecittà financially during that time. The most famous works to come out of that genre are the films of the dollars-trilogy: "A Fistful of Dollars" in 1964, "For a Few Dollars More" in 1965, and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" in 1966. All of these films starred a young Clint Eastwood as the enigmatic "Man With No Name."

Leone enjoyed working with American actors, and nowhere was that more apparent than in his fourth Western, "Once Upon a Time in the West." Generous financial backing from Paramount studios gave Leone the opportunity to fulfill his dream of working with Henry Fonda. Leone transformed the clean-shaven hero into a demon-eyed killer, forever changing the way America viewed him as an actor. The famed Australian film and arts critic, Adrian Martin described Leone’s films as “odes to the human face”, describing the director's signature use of extreme close-ups of his actors’ faces, eyes and expressions. A great example of this can be seen in the opening of the 1968 film as a desolate, frightful face comes into frame. Another example can be seen in the final scene of Leone’s last film, "Once Upon a time in America" as the face of Robert De Niro fills the screen. And speaking of this last film, Leone actually turned down the opportunity to direct "The Godfather" because he had already committed himself to this project. Over a decade in the making, the four-hour epic film is a story of greed, violence, ethnicity and friendship. It explores the ability and challenges in coexisting with other cultures, races and beliefs. Although the final version was cut for the first release of the film, the original version was later released on DVD.

Back in Italy, Leone is credited with launching the career of one the country's most celebrated filmmakers, Carlo Verdone. When I interviewed Verdone a few years back, I asked him about his relationship with Leone. "Sergio Leone was my first producer. He saw me on a television show where I played a lot of different characters. He called me and said, I want to produce your film. Before we made the first film, I lived in his house for a year. He was a wonderful teacher for me. He was like a padrino, a godfather. So, thanks to Sergio, I am here." This YouTube video features a very young Carlo Verdone with his padrino.

Leone passed away from a heart attack in 1989 at the age of 60, tragically cutting his filmmaking short.

Stream these Spaghetti Westerns on Amazon..


                     

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

The Anthology Film Archives Presents: The Italian Connection: Poliziotteschi and Other Italo-Crime Films of the 1960s and '70's

June 19 – June 29 Influenced both by 1960s political cinema and Italian crime novels, as well as by French noir and American cop movies like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection," many Italian filmmakers in the late-60s and early-70s gradually moved away from the spaghetti western genre, trading lone cowboys for ‘bad’ cops and the rough frontier of the American west for the mean streets of modern Italy. Just as they had with their westerns, they reinvented the borrowed genre with their inimitable eye for style and filled their stories with the kidnappings, heists, vigilante justice, and brutal violence that suffused this turbulent moment in post-boom 1970s Italy. The undercurrent of fatalism and cynicism in these uncompromising movies is eerily reminiscent of the state of discontent in Italy today. ‘The Italian Connection’ showcases the diversity and innovation found in the genre, from the gangster noir of Fernando Di Leo’s "Caliber 9" ...

Gianfranco Rosi to premiere 'Sotto le nuvole' at Venice Film Fest, exploring Naples' history

Documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi will premiere his much-anticipated latest film at the upcoming 82nd Venice International Film Festival , which runs August 27 - Sept. 6. "Sotto le nuvole" (Below the Clouds)  takes a deep dive into the rich history and culture of Naples and the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. There has not been much information revealed but so far, we know that the film will focus on themes similar to those explored by Rosi in his previous works, such as the examination of Roman culture in "Sacro GRA" (2013) and Lampedusa's refugee crisis in "Fuocoammare" (2016).  The film's synopsis reads, “The land around Vesuvius is a vast palimpsest. On the surface, underground and even beneath the sea of the modern city of Naples and its surroundings, the memory of history is etched into tunnels, walls and fissures, the remains of women, children and men — statues, buried cities. Only thin layers separate contemporary and ancient life, an...

Riccardo Scamarcio Joins Cast of "John Wick 2"

Update to our original January 18 post.. - According to the Hollywood Reporter, the follow-up to John Wick has been given an official title — John Wick, Chapter 2 — and a release date from Lionsgate: Feb. 10, 2017. It's just been reported that Keanu Reeves is in Rome shooting his new film, "John Wick 2" with Italian actors Riccardo Scamarcio and Claudia Gerini . The film is an action-thriller and sequel to "John Wick". Shooting began last October in New York City. John Wick, played by Reeves, is a hitman that comes out of retirement to seek vengeance for the theft of his vintage car and the killing of his puppy, a gift from his recently deceased wife. The scenes being shot in Italy for the sequel reportedly take his career to the international level.  Riccardo Scamarcio One of Italy's most recognizable faces, Riccardo Scamarcio has built a solid career based on the diversity in the roles he chooses and the intensity with which he plays the...