Sergio Leone(1929-1989)

Sergio Leonewas virtually born into the cinema - he was the son ofRoberto Roberti(A.K.A. Vincenzo Leone), one of Italy's cinema pioneers, and actressBice Valerian.Leone entered films in his late teens, working as an assistant director to both Italian directors and U.S. directors working in Italy (usually making Biblical and Roman epics, much in vogue at the time). Towards the end of the 1950s he started writing screenplays, and began directing after taking overGli ultimi giorni di Pompei (1959)in mid-shoot after its original director fell ill. His first solo feature,Il colosso di Rodi (1961),was a routine Roman epic, but his second feature,Per un pugno di dollari (1964), a shameless remake ofAkira Kurosawa'sYojimbo (1961),caused a revolution. It was the first Spaghetti Western, and shot T.V. cowboyClint Eastwoodto stardom (Leone wantedHenry FondaorCharles Bronsonbut couldn't afford them). The two sequels,Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)andThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966),were shot on much higher budgets and were even more successful, though his masterpiece,Once Upon a Time in the West (1968),in which Leone finally worked with Fonda and Bronson, was mutilated by Paramount Pictures and flopped at the U.S. box office. He directedGiù la testa (1971)reluctantly (as producer he hiredPeter Bogdanovichto direct but he left before shooting began), and turned down offers to directThe Godfather (1972)in favor of his dream project, which becameOnce Upon a Time in America (1984).He died in 1989 after preparing an even more expensive Soviet co-production on the World War II siege of Leningrad.