Sergio Leone

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Covers

Records

Sergio Leone's impact on cinema is undeniable, with his films consistently ranked among the greatest ever made. His ability to reinvent the Western genre earned him a place in history alongside the masters of American cinema. He holds the distinction of being the first non-American director to achieve such massive global success with a Western. His collaboration with Ennio Morricone produced some of the most iconic music in film history, changing how audiences perceive the power of a score. The longevity of his work is evident in the fact that films released decades ago still draw packed crowds and critical praise.

AwardsSergio Leone received relatively few competitive awards during his lifetime compared to his immense influence, but he was honored with several prestigious distinctions. He won multiple David di Donatello Awards for Best Director for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in America. In 1989, he received the BAFTA Fellowship posthumously. He also won a Golden Globe Special Achievement Award for Once Upon a Time in America in 1985. The National Board of Review named The Good, the Bad and the Ugly one of the top ten films of 1967. In 1993, he was posthumously awarded an Honorary Oscar for his contribution to the art of filmmaking.

Honours & Distinctions

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

Italian Government·1989

Cavaliere di Gran Croce

BAFTA Fellowship

British Academy of Film and Television Arts·1989

Posthumous award for outstanding contribution to film

Honorary Academy Award

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences·1993

For his contribution to the art of filmmaking

Rankings & Lists

The 10 Greatest Westerns of All Time

Rolling Stone·2019

#10

100 Greatest Films of All Time

Empire Magazine·2020

All-TIME 100 Movies

TIME Magazine·2005

Magazine Covers

Time Magazine

1968

The New Face of the West

Records & Feats

Longest-running Western film series in terms of cultural impact

Cultural Impact·1966

The Dollars Trilogy remains the most influential Western series in cinema history.

First non-American director to achieve massive global success with a Western

Historic First·1964

Leone broke barriers by bringing European sensibilities to the American genre.