VINCENZONI, LUCIANO

(1926-)

Screenwriter and producer. Having graduated with a degree in law from university, Vincenzoni nevertheless turned his back on a legal career in order to work in cinema. His first collaboration was withPietro Germion the screenplay ofIl Ferroviere(1955). After a number of less-distinguished films, such as Angelo Dorigo'sAmore e guai(Love and Troubles, 1958), he established his reputation as a first-rate screenwriter by writing the story and the screenplay forMario Monicelli'sLa grande guerra(The Great War, 1959). Having collaborated withCarlo Lizzanion the script forIl gobbo(The Hunchback of Rome, 1960), and withMario CamerinionCrimen(And Suddenly It's Murder!1960) andI briganti italiani(The Italian Brigands, 1961), he worked again with Germi onSedotta e abbandonata(A Matter of Honor, 1963) andSignori e signore(The Birds, the Bees and the Italians, 1965), both of which earned him aNastro d'argento.Greater financial success came from his sometimes stormy collaboration withSergio Leone, with whom he worked onPer qualche dollaro in piu(For a Few Dollars More, 1965),Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo(The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, 1966) andGiu la testa(Duck, You Sucker, 1971).

He subsequently worked on a wide range of both Italian and international films, including the unsuccessfulJawsimitation,Orca(The Killer Whale, 1977), directed by Michael Anderson, which Vicenzoni produced as well as scripted, and Duccio Tessari's CIA thrillerBeyond Justice(1992). In 1996 he was awarded the Flaiano International Prize for his career achievement. In 2000 his short story "Ma l'amore no" ("But Not Love") was used byGiuseppe Tornatoreas the basis for the screenplay ofMalena(2000).