Sergio Corbucci(1926-1990)
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Sergio Corbucci was born on December 6, 1926, in Rome, Italy. He entered
grade school with thoughts of becoming a businessman, but after earning
a college degree in economics he took an abrupt detour into the world
of cinema. Corbucci began his career as a film critic, first for the
Italian film journal magazine "Schermi del Mondo" and later for the
US Army newspaper "Stars and Stripes" during World War II.
Corbucci made his directorial debut with Salvate mia figlia (1951) and quickly made a name for himself as a capable and efficient
filmmaker. His ability to make large-scale action
sequences with a minimal budget kept him in demand as an assistant
director as well. It was on one such assignment, while filming with a
second unit in Spain for friend and director Sergio Leone on The Last Days of Pompeii (1959), that Corbucci claims that the idea for the
so-called "spaghetti western" was born. Seeing the landscape of Spain
with its wild horses, extraordinary canyons and semi-desert landscapes--which looked a lot like Mexico or Texas--Corbucci suggested
making an American Wild West-themed film in Spain. He then
directed his first western in Spain just before Leone completed
the ground-breaking A Fistful of Dollars (1964).
Corbucci found early success in Italy by directing films in a number of
different genres, as disparate as Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita (1961)--a slapstick comedy spoof of Federico Fellini's box-office hit La Dolce Vita (1960)--as well as Duel of the Titans (1961) (aka "Duel of the Titans") and
Goliath and the Vampires (1961). He also wrote screenplays for a
few seminal horror films, such as Castle of Blood (1964) starring Barbara Steele, which he also co-directed. However, it was his Massacre at Grand Canyon (1964) that began a new path to his career to direct more
spaghetti westerns. "Massacre at Grand Canyon"--which Corbucci
co-directed, under the pseudonym Stanley Corbett. with Albert Band--differed little from the American westerns of that time, but his
subsequent films would set a new and bold standard for on-screen violence
and establish him as one of the most influential Italian directors of
the Spaghetti Western.
Minnesota Clay (1964), starring Cameron Mitchell, was Corbucci's next
film in the genre and and his first Spaghetti Western to be distributed in
the US under the director's own name. It was a
moderate success, but Corbucci's next Spaghetti Western would break box-office records worldwide and brand his name in Western history
alongside Sergio Leone. "A Fistful of Dollars' may have sparked the
international popularity of the Spaghetti Western, but Corbucci's Django (1966) brought an entirely new level of style to the genre. The ultra-violent masterpiece not only signaled a move toward an even grittier and more nihilistic brand of Western, but it
picture established a lasting relationship between Corbucci and the film's star, Franco Nero.
After the success of "Django", Corbucci embarked on a trail of
directing more Italian Western films and quickly became one of the more prolific
filmmakers in the genre. His subsequent Spaghetti Westerns, Ringo and His Golden Pistol (1966) (Johnny Oro), The Hellbenders (1967) (Hellbenders) and Navajo Joe (1966) were filmed and released in quick succession to great success in Italy. His next Western was The Great Silence (1968), which
referred to Django as an "anti-Western" with the hero moving through cold rather than heat and fighting in the mud and snow rather than
sweat and dust. It starred Jean-Louis Trintignant as a mute gunslinger and Klaus Kinski as a sadistic bounty hunter. The innovative
script, which was co-written by Corbucci, makes great use of mountain
locations (it was filmed in northern Italy in the snow-covered area
of Cortina), and showed Corbucci edging close to the new type of
political Westerns he is best known for.
His next Western film was The Mercenary (1968), which would began his
semi-genre with what he called the "Zapata-Spaghetti Westerns" or
proletarian fables, where the bad guys are on the right and the good guys
are on the left. By setting the story in Mexico and fleshing out his
characters with political awareness, Corbucci's intent became more
clear and his left-wing political statements became more explicit. After
directing the semi-successful The Specialists (1969), Corbucci
re-teamed up with Franco Nero again with Compañeros (1970), which was his last box-office success and stands as one of the most
accomplished Spaghetti Westerns, with a combination of humor, pathos, comic book-style action, and political
commentary.
During the 1970s Corbucci made three more Spaghetti Westerns, but the popularity of the genre began to die out. Of the three, only Sonny and Jed (1972) stands out as one of the best in the late series genre Italian Westerns as a Bonnie & Clyde type fable. What Am I Doing in the Middle of a Revolution? (1972) is almost a parody of his Zapata-Spaghetti Westerns, while The White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975) is married by racial stereotypes of Japanese characters and was not well received.
By the late 1970s, with the era of Spaghetti Westerns over, Corbucci turned his film making career to comedy and found some success with, The Con Artists (1976) and Super Fuzz (1980). He continued to work off and on during the 1980s with comedies, until his death from a sudden heart attack on the late evening of December 1, 1990 at age 63. His last film was the made-for-Italian-TV-movie Donne armate (1991), which was completed a few months before his death as his health was starting to fail. Sergio Corbucci is remembered for
revolutionizing the Spaghetti Western genre which was popularized by his friend Sergio Leone, who passed away a little over a year before
Corbucci.
grade school with thoughts of becoming a businessman, but after earning
a college degree in economics he took an abrupt detour into the world
of cinema. Corbucci began his career as a film critic, first for the
Italian film journal magazine "Schermi del Mondo" and later for the
US Army newspaper "Stars and Stripes" during World War II.
Corbucci made his directorial debut with Salvate mia figlia (1951) and quickly made a name for himself as a capable and efficient
filmmaker. His ability to make large-scale action
sequences with a minimal budget kept him in demand as an assistant
director as well. It was on one such assignment, while filming with a
second unit in Spain for friend and director Sergio Leone on The Last Days of Pompeii (1959), that Corbucci claims that the idea for the
so-called "spaghetti western" was born. Seeing the landscape of Spain
with its wild horses, extraordinary canyons and semi-desert landscapes--which looked a lot like Mexico or Texas--Corbucci suggested
making an American Wild West-themed film in Spain. He then
directed his first western in Spain just before Leone completed
the ground-breaking A Fistful of Dollars (1964).
Corbucci found early success in Italy by directing films in a number of
different genres, as disparate as Totò, Peppino e... la dolce vita (1961)--a slapstick comedy spoof of Federico Fellini's box-office hit La Dolce Vita (1960)--as well as Duel of the Titans (1961) (aka "Duel of the Titans") and
Goliath and the Vampires (1961). He also wrote screenplays for a
few seminal horror films, such as Castle of Blood (1964) starring Barbara Steele, which he also co-directed. However, it was his Massacre at Grand Canyon (1964) that began a new path to his career to direct more
spaghetti westerns. "Massacre at Grand Canyon"--which Corbucci
co-directed, under the pseudonym Stanley Corbett. with Albert Band--differed little from the American westerns of that time, but his
subsequent films would set a new and bold standard for on-screen violence
and establish him as one of the most influential Italian directors of
the Spaghetti Western.
Minnesota Clay (1964), starring Cameron Mitchell, was Corbucci's next
film in the genre and and his first Spaghetti Western to be distributed in
the US under the director's own name. It was a
moderate success, but Corbucci's next Spaghetti Western would break box-office records worldwide and brand his name in Western history
alongside Sergio Leone. "A Fistful of Dollars' may have sparked the
international popularity of the Spaghetti Western, but Corbucci's Django (1966) brought an entirely new level of style to the genre. The ultra-violent masterpiece not only signaled a move toward an even grittier and more nihilistic brand of Western, but it
picture established a lasting relationship between Corbucci and the film's star, Franco Nero.
After the success of "Django", Corbucci embarked on a trail of
directing more Italian Western films and quickly became one of the more prolific
filmmakers in the genre. His subsequent Spaghetti Westerns, Ringo and His Golden Pistol (1966) (Johnny Oro), The Hellbenders (1967) (Hellbenders) and Navajo Joe (1966) were filmed and released in quick succession to great success in Italy. His next Western was The Great Silence (1968), which
referred to Django as an "anti-Western" with the hero moving through cold rather than heat and fighting in the mud and snow rather than
sweat and dust. It starred Jean-Louis Trintignant as a mute gunslinger and Klaus Kinski as a sadistic bounty hunter. The innovative
script, which was co-written by Corbucci, makes great use of mountain
locations (it was filmed in northern Italy in the snow-covered area
of Cortina), and showed Corbucci edging close to the new type of
political Westerns he is best known for.
His next Western film was The Mercenary (1968), which would began his
semi-genre with what he called the "Zapata-Spaghetti Westerns" or
proletarian fables, where the bad guys are on the right and the good guys
are on the left. By setting the story in Mexico and fleshing out his
characters with political awareness, Corbucci's intent became more
clear and his left-wing political statements became more explicit. After
directing the semi-successful The Specialists (1969), Corbucci
re-teamed up with Franco Nero again with Compañeros (1970), which was his last box-office success and stands as one of the most
accomplished Spaghetti Westerns, with a combination of humor, pathos, comic book-style action, and political
commentary.
During the 1970s Corbucci made three more Spaghetti Westerns, but the popularity of the genre began to die out. Of the three, only Sonny and Jed (1972) stands out as one of the best in the late series genre Italian Westerns as a Bonnie & Clyde type fable. What Am I Doing in the Middle of a Revolution? (1972) is almost a parody of his Zapata-Spaghetti Westerns, while The White, the Yellow, and the Black (1975) is married by racial stereotypes of Japanese characters and was not well received.
By the late 1970s, with the era of Spaghetti Westerns over, Corbucci turned his film making career to comedy and found some success with, The Con Artists (1976) and Super Fuzz (1980). He continued to work off and on during the 1980s with comedies, until his death from a sudden heart attack on the late evening of December 1, 1990 at age 63. His last film was the made-for-Italian-TV-movie Donne armate (1991), which was completed a few months before his death as his health was starting to fail. Sergio Corbucci is remembered for
revolutionizing the Spaghetti Western genre which was popularized by his friend Sergio Leone, who passed away a little over a year before
Corbucci.