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. After a long search, I managed to get in touch with Iginio’s son Alberto, a film editor, who has worked with his father for more than twelve years. In the email interview, Alberto tells me 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.”
“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 and his own. Alberto Lardani sadly passed away in 2010.
Text: Remco Vlaanderen, last update: July 14, 2011
