Corri, Uomo, Corri (original title) is Sergio Sollima's sequel to The Big Gundown.

The intro sequence sets the tone for the film perfectly, starting off with with the image of a worn down, blood stained Mexican newspaper. What follows next is a dramatic cut sequence, made up of close-up images of a sinister, expressive ink drawing that depicts the victims of some violent atrocity. In the next scenes, the images are juxtaposed with classic Spaghetti Western scenes featuring gangs of men on horses engaged in battle. Title designer Iginio Lardani applies his trademark duotone style and shows he's also a talented colorist. And again, Lardani's admiration for Pop Art and Warhol's early silkscreen works is obvious.

Not so much is known about Iginio 'Gigi' Lardani, the designer of iconic title sequences such as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and A Fistful of Dollars. I decided to contact Lardani's son Alberto, who worked with his father for more than twelve years. In the email interview, Alberto Lardani explains that his father didn't attend any kind of graphic design school. "He was an autodidact with a great interest in painting. He entered the film world as a film poster designer and created the Italian poster of 'High Noon', among others."

Lardani continues, "Besides 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."

Alberto also clarified the confusion surrounding Lardani's name, who was sometimes mistakenly credited as Eugenio Lardani. "My father's name was not Eugenio, but Iginio Lardani, but everyone called him Gigì."

Since 1986, the year my father passed away, I have continued his work," Alberto concludes. He  also mentioned that he was working on a website about his father's work, as well as his own. Alberto Lardani sadly passed away in 2010.

Text: Remco Vlaanderen, last update: July 14, 2011

more about Iginio Lardani

Full credits

Director (film)
Sergio Sollima

Title Designer
Iginio Lardani

Music
Bruno Nicolai,  Ennio Morricone (as Dan Savio)

Voice-over
Tomas Milian

Links

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