'Per un Pugno di Dollari' (original title) was the first spaghetti western to gain widespread international recognition.

After the film's initial release in Italy, it took three more years until the US release. But Sergio Leone's revolutionary take on the western would ultimately change the genre altogether and catapult the careers of Leone, main actor Clint Eastwood and composer Ennio Morricone, whose enigmatic score still resonates today. A Fistful of Dollars was the first of the 'Dollars' trilogy that also includes For A Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966). The classic title sequences for these three movies were done by Iginio Lardani, who did not win a one-way ticket to stardom.

Not many people outside the Italian film industry know the name of the designer who created some of the most iconic film title sequences of the previous century and whose bold, Pop Art inspired work still inspires numerous motion graphic designers, animators and artists today (see for example Paul Donnellon's opening titles for 'Smokin' Aces').

Iginio Lardani passed away in 1986, but his son Alberto Lardani told me this anecdote: "Sergio Leone's reaction when he first saw the title sequence for 'Per un Pugno di Dollari' was of great gratitude. Not only for its extraordinary iconic impact but also because it was designed for free."

Not so much is known about Iginio 'Gigi' Lardani, so we contacted his son Alberto Lardani who worked with his father for more than twelve years. "My father didn't attend any kind of graphic design school", Alberto writes, "He was an autodidact with a great interest in painting. He entered the film world as film poster designer and created, among others, the Italian poster of 'High Noon'. Beside the 'Dollars' trilogy, my father designed the title sequences of many other Italian films, but his main activity was the editing of film trailers. His trailers of 'Mogliemante' by M. Vicario and 'Una Giornata Particolare' by Ettore Scola were awarded first and second place among five hundred trailers within the Cannes film festival of 1978. And Iginio created TV ads".

"He was allowed an entirely free hand when designing title sequences and film trailers and he worked from his own study. Since 1986, the year my father passed away, I have continued his work" explains Alberto.

more about Iginio Lardani

Full credits

Director (film)
Sergio Leone

Title designer
Iginio Lardani

Music
Ennio Morricone

Whistler
Alessandro Alessandroni

Production Companies
Constantin Film Produktion, Jolly Film, Ocean Films

Links

comment on this title

Your comment

All fields are required. Your email address is used for verification only (we won't spam you).

name:
email:
message:
code:	reload (case sensitive)