Sergio Leone 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.
23 Facts About Sergio Leone
2.
Sergio Leone began writing screenplays during the 1950s, primarily for the "sword and sandal" historical epics, popular at the time.
3.
Sergio Leone worked as an assistant director on several large-scale international productions shot at the Cinecitta Studios in Rome, notably Quo Vadis and Ben-Hur, financially backed by the American studios.
4.
When director Mario Bonnard fell ill during the production of the 1959 Italian epic The Last Days of Pompeii, starring Steve Reeves, Sergio Leone was asked to step in and complete the film.
5.
Sergio 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 novel, Red Harvest.
6.
Sergio Leone's characters were, in contrast, more "realistic" and complex: usually lone wolves in their behavior; they rarely shaved, looked dirty, and sweated profusely, with a strong suggestion of criminal behavior.
7.
The films featured innovative music scores by Ennio Morricone, who worked closely with Sergio Leone in devising the themes.
8.
Sergio Leone had a personal way of shooting scenes with Morricone's music ongoing.
9.
Sergio Leone was intending merely to produce the film, but due to artistic differences with then-director Peter Bogdanovich, Sergio Leone was asked to direct the film, instead.
10.
Sergio Leone continued to produce, and on occasion, step in to reshoot scenes, in other films.
11.
Sergio Leone turned down the offer to direct The Godfather, in favor of working on another gangster story he had conceived earlier.
12.
Sergio Leone devoted 10 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.
13.
Sergio Leone died on 30 April 1989 at his home in Rome of a heart attack at the age of 60.
14.
Sergio Leone was buried in the cemetery of Pratica di Mare.
15.
Sergio Leone had convinced Ennio Morricone to compose the film score, and Tonino Delli Colli was tapped to be the cinematographer.
16.
The project was canceled when Sergio Leone died two days before he was to officially sign on for the film.
17.
In 1987, Sergio Leone contacted his old collaborators Sergio Donati and Fulvio Morsella, pitching an idea for a TV miniseries about a Colt revolver that passed from owner to owner throughout the Old West, similar to Anthony Mann's film Winchester '73.
18.
An adaptation based on Sergio Leone's subject is currently in production.
19.
Sergio Leone was an avid fan of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind and the 1939 film adaptation.
20.
Sergio Leone was replaced as director by John Frankenheimer, while Mastroianni was recast with Richard Harris.
21.
Sergio Leone was an early choice to direct Flash Gordon.
22.
Sergio Leone was a fan of the original Alex Raymond comic strip, but turned down the film because the script did not resemble Raymond's work.
23.
Sergio Leone received the America Award from the Italy-USA Foundation posthumously in 2014.