Spaghetti Western, also known as Italian Western or Macaroni Western, is a broad subgenre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success. The term was used by American critics and those in other countries because most of these Westerns were produced and directed by Italians.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a 1966 Italian epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Cleef as "the Bad", and Eli Wallach as "the Ugly". Its screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli was responsible for the film's sweeping widescreen cinematography, and Ennio Morricone composed the film's score including its main theme. It is an Italian-led production with co-producers in Spain, West Germany and the United States.
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter, credited as the inventor of the Spaghetti Western genre and widely regarded as one of the most influential directors in the history of cinema.
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci and Leone. It stars Henry Fonda, cast against type, as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader, and Jason Robards as a bandit. The widescreen cinematography was by Tonino Delli Colli, and the acclaimed film score was by Ennio Morricone.
A Fistful of Dollars is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, alongside Gian Maria Volonté, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, José Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joseph Egger. The film, an international co-production between Italy, West Germany, and Spain, was filmed on a low budget, and Eastwood was paid $15,000 for his role.
For a Few Dollars More is a 1965 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor Klaus Kinski plays a supporting role as a secondary villain. The film was an international co-production among Italy, West Germany, and Spain. The film was released in the United States in 1967, and is the second part of what is commonly known as the Dollars Trilogy, following A Fistful of Dollars and preceding The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The films catapulted Eastwood and Van Cleef into stardom.
Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime drama film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Embassy International Pictures, PSO Enterprises, and Rafran Cinematografica, and distributed by Warner Bros. Based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods, it chronicles the lives of best friends David "Noodles" Aaronson and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz as they lead a group of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence as Jewish gangsters in New York City's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society.
Duck, You Sucker!, also known as A Fistful of Dynamite and Once Upon a Time...the Revolution, is a 1971 Italian epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and starring Rod Steiger, James Coburn and Romolo Valli.
Sir Christopher John Frayling is a British educationalist and writer, known for his study of popular culture.
Dollars Trilogy, also known as the Man with No Name Trilogy or the Blood Money Trilogy, is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Western films directed by Sergio Leone. The films are titled A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). They were distributed by United Artists.
Carlo Simi was an Italian architect, production designer and costume designer, who worked frequently with Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci, giving their spaghetti westerns a unique look. Most famous for his costume and set designs for Once Upon a Time in the West Simi also built the town of 'El Paso' in the Almería desert for Leone's second Western, For a Few Dollars More. Built around a massive bank, with vistas of the Tabernas Desert visible between buildings, the set still exists, as a tourist attraction called "Mini Hollywood". Simi played the bank manager in that film: it was his only acting role. He also designed the Sad Hill Cemetery for the last scene of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Violent City, also known as The Family, is a 1970 Italian-French film directed by Sergio Sollima and starring Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland and Telly Savalas. Set and shot in the city of New Orleans, the film is an urban crime thriller with a plot of hitman revenge.
Oasys is a Spanish Western-styled theme park, located off the 364 km mark of the N-340 road, near the town of Tabernas in the province of Almería, Andalusia. Originally known as Yucca City, the set was designed by Carlo Simi and built for Sergio Leone's For a Few Dollars More in 1965. It was also used as a set for other films, such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). After filming of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was completed, the extras in the project bought the set and ran it as a tourist attraction. They were later bought out by a hotel group. The park features daily cowboy stunt shows, such as a mock bank raid and a re-enactment of the final moments of Jesse James. It also has a swimming complex, abandoned gold mine, Cowboy style saloon, a Fun Barn for children's activities, a zoo with birds and big cats in cages and many mock western stores.
The Last Days of Pompeii is a 1959 Eastmancolor sword and sandal action film starring Steve Reeves, Christine Kaufmann, and Fernando Rey and directed by Mario Bonnard and Sergio Leone. Bonnard, the original director, fell ill on the first day of shooting, so Leone and the scriptwriters finished the film.
Django is a character who appears in a number of spaghetti western films. Originally played by Franco Nero in the Italian film of the same name by Sergio Corbucci, he has appeared in 31 films since then. Especially outside of the genre's home country Italy, mainly Germany, countless releases have been retitled in the wake of the original film's enormous success.
Nieves Navarro García is a retired Spanish-born Italian actress and fashion model. Navarro worked extensively in Italian cinema appearing alongside actors such as Totò and Lino Banfi in the 1960s and 1970s. She later adopted the Americanized stage name Susan Scott for many of her productions after 1969.
Nino Baragli was an Italian film editor with more than 200 film credits. Among his films in English, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), both directed by Sergio Leone, are perhaps the best known.
A bibliography of reference material associated with the James Bond films, novels and genre.
Amedeo Escobar (1888–1973) was an Italian composer of film scores.