Nino Baragli

To study the resume of film editor Nino Baragli is to view some of the greatest films of the Italian commercial cinema post-World War II. His career is dotted with some of the finest films of their eras, and he worked with more than a few genuine legends of the medium, including Sergio Leone, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Federico Fellini, and Roberto Benigni. Baragli, in collaboration with his directors, composed some of the most resonant sequences of images in cinematic history, particularly in his work with Leone, a director who was a master of the widescreen image. Bargali worked on "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "Once Upon a Time in the West," and "Duck, You Sucker." His most excruciating and problematic work for Leone, however, was editing the epic gangster film "Once Upon a Time in America" down to a manageable length, from six hours to 227 minutes. But when the studio found that time excessive, the film was chopped to an incoherent 134 minutes. Luckily, the 227 minute version was eventually released on video and became the standard. He also worked extensively with Pasolini from the director's first neo-realist film, "Accattone," to the scathing anti-Fascist grotesquery of "Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom," his last work. In addition, he edited many of the early directorial efforts by comic actor Benigni, including '91's "Johnny Stecchino." Baragli won a long-deserved David di Donatello Award in 1991 for editing the romantic drama "Mediterraneo."