Fernando Di Leo

Fernando Di Leo

  • Birthday: 1932-01-11
  • Deathday: 2003-12-01
  • Place of birth: San Ferdinando di Puglia, Italy

Biography

Fernando Di Leo (11 January 1932 – 2 December 2003) was an Italian film director and script writer. He made 17 films as a director and about 50 scripts from 1964 to 1985. Fernando Di Leo was born on 11 January 1932 in San Ferdinando di Puglia. After briefly working in Rome's film school Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, di Leo made his debut as a director as part of the omnibus comedy Gli eroi di ieri, oggi, domani with his episode titled Un posto in paradiso (transl. A Place in Heaven). Following this Di Leo wrote several scripts for Westerns, often uncredited. This included work on A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More. Some of his Westerns had uncredited literary sources, such as Days of Vengeance which is loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Di Leo was a fan of film noir and wanted to make an Italian version of these films. Among his first efforts was the script for Mino Guerrini's Date for a Murder based on Franco Enna's novel Tempo di massacro written in 1955. In Di Leo's version, the setting is moved to a contemporary Rome and has elements of contemporary spy films. Di Leo worked with Guerrini again on the film Gangsters '70 which did not do well at the box office. Di Leo began directing more of his own films at the time including the war film Red Roses for the Fuhrer and a few erotic films: A Woman on Fire, A Wrong Way to Love and Seduction. From 1969 to 1976, di Leo was able to produce many of his own works with his production company Duania cineproduzioni 70. He followed this with a return to noir with Naked Violence, a film adapting a novel by Giorgio Scerbanenco, a writer who Di Leo would adapt for several future film productions. Di Leo would make a giallo film with Slaughter Hotel starring Klaus Kinski and Margaret Lee. Following this Di Leo worked on Caliber 9 and The Italian Connection which were both inspired by the writing of Scerbanenco. He followed up this film Il Boss, a film which got Di Leo in trouble with politicians and authorities due to the film's display of connections between the mafia and Italy's major party Democrazia Cristiana. Di Leo followed this up with Shoot First, Die Later in 1974. Di Leo worked through the latter half of the 1970s directing Mister Scarface, Kidnap Syndicate, and Nick the Sting. He also wrote scripts for other directors such as Romolo Guerrieri's Young, Violent, Dangerous, and Ruggero Deodato's Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man. Di Leo's last film produced by his company Duania cineproduzioni 70 was Rulers of the City in 1976. He continued with a few more films after with the film noir Blood and Diamonds, the erotic drama To Be Twenty - both in 1978, and Madness in 1980. Di Leo worked in television in the 1980s, starting with the television series L'assassino ha le ore contate, which involved six one-hour-long made-for-TV films produced by RAI Uno which as of 2013 are unreleased. Di Leo also made The Violent Breed and his last film Killer vs. Killers in the mid-1980s. Killer vs. Killers wasn't released theatrically in Italy and only surfaced 20 years later on DVD. Di Leo died in December 2003.

Filmography

The Origin of the Mala

2004

As Himself

Sergio Leone: cinema, cinema

2001

As Self - Filmmaker

Amarsi male

1969

As Man at House of Prostitution

Nick the Sting

1976

As Film Director in Front of Police Station (uncredited)

The Return of Ringo

1965

As Fuentes Henchman

To Be Twenty

1978

As Man Giving Directions

The Boss

1973

As Cocchi's Henchman (uncredited)

Italian Sex

1974

As giornalista TV (uncredited)

For a Few Dollars More

1965

As Cigar Smoking Card Player (uncredited)

Production

For a Few Dollars More

1965

As Additional Writing

Django

1966

As Additional Writing

Slaughter Hotel

1971

As Director

Caliber 9

1972

As Director

Naked Violence

1969

As Director

Madness

1980

As Director

Killer vs Killers

1985

As Director

The Italian Connection

1972

As Director

Rulers of the City

1976

As Director

A Woman on Fire

1969

As Director

Seduction

1973

As Director

Kidnap Syndicate

1975

As Director

Italian Sex

1974

As Director

To Be Twenty

1978

As Director

The Boss

1973

As Director

Loaded Guns

1975

As Director

Blood and Diamonds

1978

As Director

Red Roses for the Fuhrer

1968

As Director

The Violent Breed

1984

As Director

Shoot First, Die Later

1974

As Director

Nick the Sting

1976

As Director

Amarsi male

1969

As Director

Pover'ammore

1982

As Director

For a Few Dollars More

1965

As Assistant Director

The Return of Ringo

1965

As Assistant Director

Navajo Joe

1966

As Screenplay

Beyond the Law

1968

As Screenplay

Slaughter Hotel

1971

As Screenplay

Caliber 9

1972

As Story

Massacre Time

1966

As Screenplay

Massacre Time

1966

As Story

Madness

1980

As Screenplay

The Return of Ringo

1965

As Screenplay

Rulers of the City

1976

As Screenplay

Rulers of the City

1976

As Story

Seduction

1973

As Writer

Johnny Yuma

1966

As Screenplay

To Be Twenty

1978

As Screenplay

The Ruthless Four

1968

As Writer

Kiss Kiss... Bang Bang

1966

As Screenplay

Date for a Murder

1967

As Screenplay

Shoot First, Die Later

1974

As Screenplay

God Made Them... I Kill Them

1968

As Screenplay

Tequila Joe

1968

As Story

Wanted

1967

As Screenplay

Tequila Joe

1968

As Screenplay

Up the MacGregors

1967

As Screenplay

Up the MacGregors

1967

As Story

Poker with Pistols

1967

As Writer

Death Rides Along

1967

As Screenplay

Loaded Guns

1975

As Screenplay

Kidnap Syndicate

1975

As Screenplay

Hate for Hate

1967

As Writer

Young, Violent, Dangerous

1976

As Screenplay

Naked Violence

1969

As Screenplay

Amarsi male

1969

As Writer

Gangsters '70

1968

As Writer

The Violent Breed

1984

As Screenplay

To Be Twenty

1978

As Story

Slaughter Hotel

1971

As Story

A Fistful of Dollars

1964

As Screenplay

A Bunch of Bastards

2023

As Original Film Writer

Killer vs Killers

1985

As Writer

Killer vs Killers

1985

As Screenplay

La lunga sfida

1967

As Writer

Caliber 9

1972

As Screenplay

Blood and Diamonds

1978

As Story

Blood and Diamonds

1978

As Screenplay

Long Days of Vengeance

1967

As Screenplay

Red Roses for the Fuhrer

1968

As Screenplay

The Boss

1973

As Story

The Boss

1973

As Screenplay

Pecos Cleans Up

1967

As Screenplay

Sugar Colt

1967

As Screenplay

The Italian Connection

1972

As Screenplay

The Italian Connection

1972

As Dialogue

A Woman on Fire

1969

As Writer

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