What Is a Spaghetti Western? (original) (raw)

Published Jan 11, 2023, 2:15 PM EST

Liam Gaughan is a film and TV writer at Collider. He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. Between relentlessly adding new titles to his watchlist and attending as many screenings as he can, Liam is always watching new movies and television shows.

In addition to reviewing, writing, and commentating on both new and old releases, Liam has interviewed talent such as Mark Wahlberg, Jesse Plemons, Sam Mendes, Billy Eichner, Dylan O'Brien, Luke Wilson, and B.J. Novak. Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. He lives in Allentown, PA.

The Western is one of the oldest genres in the history of cinema. 1903’s **The Great Train Robbery**served as one of the earliest examples of the possibilities within the cinematic medium as a whole, and ever since, American filmmakers have been fascinated by the mythology of the Old West. We still see Westerns today because the genre is not monolithic, and there are many ways for it to be diversified by new generations. Due to the flexibility within the Western genre, such subgenres as Sci-fi Westerns, Punk Westerns, Comedic Westerns, Neo-noir Westerns, Revisionist Westerns, Acid Westerns, and even Martial Arts Westerns have emerged. However, none have been more popular or influential in the industry than Spaghetti Westerns.

Westerns Grew More Self-Reflective as Hollywood Matured

Lee Marvin as Liberty Valance from 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'

Image via Paramount Pictures

Western filmmaking in the United States was in its golden age from the early 1930s to the late 1950s. During this period, many great American auteurs such as William Wyler, John Ford, John Huston, George Stevens, Nicholas Ray, and Anthony Mann emerged to create stunning spectacle adventures, launching the careers of such icons as John Wayne, James Stewart, Alan Ladd, Gary Cooper, and Walter Brennan. However, Westerns grew more self-reflective as Hollywood matured, as films like **The Searchers**and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valancequestioned the notion of legacy and the morality of the genre. Coupled with Hollywood’s interest in epic films and musicals, this allowed the Western genre to be reimagined in a completely different context.

What Is a Spaghetti Western?

The term “Spaghetti Western” refers to the Western films that were shot in Italy, but generally featured American movie stars and adhered to the genre templates established in the golden age. While the popularity of Italy as a production center is where the genre derived its name, many well-known “Spaghetti Westerns” were actually international coproductions, and thus the term can apply to a broader subsection of international cinema. However, it’s not just the location of the production that exemplifies what “Spaghetti Westerns” are; it was also an important stylistic movement that brought to light cutting edge filmmaking techniques. We still see the influence of Spaghetti Westerns today through direct and indirect homages by filmmakers who love the era.

Sergio Leone Shaped the Spaghetti Western Genre

Clint Eastwood as "Joe" The Man With No Name in A Fistful of Dollars

Image via Unidis

Unquestionably, the most important figure within the Spaghetti Western movement was the brilliant Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone. Leone had tried his hands at “epic filmmaking” with The Colossus of Rhodes, but he announced himself as a filmmaker to watch with his 1964 Western A Fistful of Dollars. The film featured a young Clint Eastwoodin his breakout role as “The Man With No Name.” Despite its relatively low budget and association with pulpier material, A Fistful of Dollars actually drew inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s classic yakuza film Yojimbo, and featured a similar story placed in a Western context. The influence of Eastern morality within a stylized Western fable made for an interesting diversion from the earlier Westerns of the golden age.

A Fistful of Dollars can be described as “economic,” but not just because of its budget. The film expertly uses a combination of stark wide shots and intimate close ups to create suspense, with dialogue that is spare and often memorably stern. While some of the later films within the golden age were a tad darker than the earliest Western heroes, Eastwood’s unnamed gunslinger (referred to in the film as “Joe”) offers little information about his story, morality, or interests. Similar to Kurosawa’s heroic yakuzas, he simply wanders into the story like a character out of mythology, and leaves with legends being told about him. Music was also an integral component to the film, with Ennio Moricone’s propulsive score adding even more energy.

A Fistful of Dollars was followed by two sequels, For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, both of which are considered classics as well. While the films can be viewed individually without the context of the trilogy, they collectively map the journey of “The Man With No Name” through an anthology narrative. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly in particular had a huge impact on pop culture, made Eastwood a household name, and delved into anti-war themes.

Eastwood would go on to become a popular Western star back in America, and Leone crafted another Spaghetti Western masterpiece with 1968’s Once Upon A Time in The West, which recently cracked the Sight and Sound list of the 100 greatest films ever made. Although it shared stylistic similarities with “The Man With No Name” trilogy, Once Upon A Time In The West was essentially the Spaghetti Western version of an epic, as it chronicled the history of the American rail system and its impact on the end of the cowboy era. The film also notably cast against type, with the typically gruff Charles Bronsan as the heroic hero “Harmonica” and the Hollywood favorite Henry Fonda as a cold-hearted gunslinger.

The Spaghetti Western's Modern Influence

Robert Forester in vacuum store looking at unseen man with in El Camino a Breaking Bad Movie

Image via Netflix

While Leone is certainly the most pivotal figure in the history of Spaghetti Westerns, the success of A Fistful of Dollars inspired other European filmmakers to create similar films. Other stars like Franco Nero, Terrence Hill, and John Garco attained popularity during the time by emulating Eastwood’s demeanor, and Eastwood’s For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly co-star Lee Van Cleef rose in prominence, and starred in many Spaghetti Westerns of his own. Similar to Leone’s focus on Kurosawa, many Spaghetti Westerns drew inspiration from classic works of literature; Ballad of the Bounty Hunter was based on Greek mythology, Johnny Hamlet took inspiration from the Shakesperean play, and The Return of Ringo follows similar story beats to Homer’s The Odyssey.

The other significant auteur to emerge from this era was Sergio Corbucci, whose 1966 film Django leaned closer to the pulpy side of Spaghetti Westerns than any of Leone’s films did. While it also paid tribute to Yojimbo, Django was much more violent, featured much bolder musical cues, and was unafraid to get sexually explicit. The “Django” character has appeared in over 30 sequels, but only a few are official. Corbucci went on to make many other Spaghetti Westerns, including The Great Silence, The Mercenary, Navajo Joe, and Minnesota Clay.

The influence of Spaghetti Westerns can still be seen today, as the genre’s hallmarks of tense shootouts, minimalistic framing, and striking music have influenced many other genres. Quentin Tarantinohas made it no secret that he’s a massive fan of the genre, and frequently includes both tributes and homages to the genre’s classics in both his Western and non-Western films. Vince Gilliganhas often drawn inspiration from Spaghetti Westerns as well; El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie features a shootout in the style of Leone, and the Better Call Saul episode “Bagman” is essentially an extended tribute to the genre. Spaghetti Westerns continue to engage younger viewers, and it's worth exploring their history to see how prominent they remain.