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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/spaghetti_western_heroes.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[Film/DollarsTrilogy The Man with No Name]], Film/{{Django}}, Film/{{Trinity}} and Film/{{Sartana}} are not your good old Wild West {{Cowboy}}s. And [[AntiHero not quite "heroes"]], actually.]]
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4->''"Perhaps it is the subtly foreign flavor of the spaghetti trilogy, and especially the masterpiece 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' that suggests the films come from a different universe than traditional Westerns. Instead of tame Hollywood extras from central casting, we get locals who must have been hired near the Spanish locations--men who look long-weathered by work and the sun. Consider the legless beggar who uses his arms to propel himself into a saloon, shouting, 'Hand me down a whiskey!'"''
5-->-- '''Creator/RogerEbert''' in his review of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''
6
7A SubGenre of TheWestern, so called because they were produced by Italian studios (and tended to feature quite a bit of violence -- spaghetti tends to look a ''bit'' [[ABloodyMess like viscera]]). These movies were typically [[CaliforniaDoubling shot in]] UsefulNotes/{{Spain}}, since the Tabernas Desert looks similar to [[TheWildWest Hollywood's idea of the Old West]]. Since Spanish extras were readily available, Spaghetti Westerns often featured [[{{Spexico}} "Mexican" characters]] and themes, often focusing on UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution, border problems, or [[{{Bandito}} Mexican banditos]]. There was a whole sub-sub-genre dedicated to politically-oriented westerns about the Mexican Revolution called the Zapata Western.
8
9[[ItWillNeverCatchOn Spaghetti Westerns were originally scorned for their low budgets, casting of fading Hollywood stars, and rougher and harder look at common Western tropes,]] although in general very few of these Westerns were especially political or informed enough about American history to be actual {{deconstruction}}s, and few of them ended up critically VindicatedByHistory outside of Creator/SergioLeone's films. Nonetheless, their [[BloodierAndGorier greater violence]] and [[DarkerAndEdgier rougher and harder aesthetic]] gave spaghetti westerns an integrity entirely at odds with the glossy and stagey Hollywoodian Westerns and, in time, the visual aesthetic of the Spaghetti Westerns later became staples of the genre. Most notably, the Spaghetti Westerns provided the staging grounds for the last great icon of the Western genre: actor[=/=]director Creator/ClintEastwood, who was a TV and BMovie actor in America before his appearance in Sergio Leone's films [[StarMakingRole made him into a major movie star]].
10----
11!!Some well-known Spaghetti Westerns:
12[[index]]
13* ''Film/AlDiLaDellaLegge'' (also known as ''Beyond the Law'' and ''The Good Die First'')
14* The ''Cat Stevens'' trilogy directed by Creator/GiuseppeColizzi:
15** ''Film/GodForgivesIDont''
16** ''Film/AceHigh''
17** ''Film/BootHill''
18* ''Film/{{Companeros}}''
19* ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse''
20* ''Film/{{Django}}''
21* The ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'', also known as ''The Man With No Name Trilogy'':
22** ''Film/AFistfulOfDollars''
23** ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore''
24** ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''
25* ''Film/AFistfulOfDynamite''
26* ''Film/GodsGun''
27* ''Film/TheGreatSilence''
28* ''Film/TheMercenary''
29* ''Film/MyNameIsNobody''
30* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest''
31* ''Film/APistolForRingo''
32* ''Film/RedSun''
33* ''Film/TheSabataTrilogy''
34* The ''Film/{{Sartana}}'' pentalogy
35* ''Film/{{Trinity}}'' duology.
36
37!!Others include:
38* ''Film/AndGodSaidToCain''
39* ''Film/TheBigGundown''
40* ''Film/{{Blindman}}''
41* ''Film/TheDeserter''
42* ''Film/DontTurnTheOtherCheek''
43* ''Film/TheFugitive1972'' (from Hong Kong's Creator/ShawBrothers studios)
44* ''Film/TheGrandDuel''
45* ''Film/{{Keoma}}''
46* ''Film/AManCalledSledge''
47* ''Film/NavajoJoe''
48* ''Film/ProfessionalsForAMassacre''
49* ''Film/AReasonToLiveAReasonToDie''
50* ''Film/RunManRun''
51* ''Film/AStrangerInTown''
52* ''Film/TodayWeKillTomorrowWeDie''
53* ''Film/ATrainForDurango''
54* ''WesternAnimation/WestAndSoda'' (a rare ''animated'' Spaghetti Western, if not the only one of its kind)
55* ''[[Film/TheWhiteTheYellowTheBlack The White, The Yellow, The Black]]'' (Sergio Corbucci's last western, and Eli Wallach's fourth and final Spaghetti Western)
56* ''Film/YellowHairAndTheFortressOfGold''
57* ''Film/Zorro1975''
58[[/index]]
59
60!!Works influenced by the Spaghetti Western include:
61
62* ''Anime/FistOfTheNorthStar'' is a classic Japanese {{Manga}}/{{Anime}} that has been deeply influenced by the directorial style of Sergio Leone, right down to the violence-torn desert wasteland setting (albeit a futuristic one) and the mournful musical style of Music/EnnioMorricone in its more thoughtful scenes.
63** Taken even further by another post apocalyptic anime, ''Anime/CombatMechaXabungle''. The desert landscape and several characters dressed like cowboys or banditos give the show a Wild West feeling, but according to maps, at least the ones shown in its ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' appearances, the action takes place in Southern Europe.
64* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureSteelBallRun'', being a story about the friendship between two violent, amoral and cynical cowboys questing across the desert of the final frontiers, is a super-powered (and fabulous) love letter from Creator/HirohikoAraki to ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'', part of the blood-soaked and tragic ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'' by Creator/SergioLeone.
65** Point in fact, ''The Man With No Name'' played by Creator/ClintEastwood in said trilogy is the primary inspiration in appearance and attitude for Kujo Jotaro, the protagonist of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'', the third part of the saga. Upon finding out this, Eastwood met and befriended Araki, becoming a fast fan of the ''Jojo'' Franchise.
66* In what may be the Spaghetti Western tradition coming full circle, the [[TabletopGames Tabletop Card Game]] ''[[TabletopGame/{{Bang}} Bang!]]'' was created by an Italian designer and set in the Wild West.
67* The comic book miniseries ''ComicBook/BlazeOfGlory: The Last Ride Of The Western Heroes'' turns the simplistic, heighted-reality westerns produced by Creator/MarvelComics into this. All the famous gunslingers are now either retired, running from the law or in the case of the ComicBook/OutlawKid [[spoiler: and Kid Cassidy of ComicBook/{{Gunhawks}} fame]], just flat-out crazy. The story is meant to be a swansong for most of these characters, and the title is ''not'' for show.
68* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' features vast desertscapes, dangerous fauna, a band of [[AntiHero Anti-heroes]], a population of AxeCrazy convicts, the occasional small town and [[GunPorn loads and loads of guns]], oh and a [[MacGuffin big fat treasure at the end of the story]], either sought or disbelieved by all.
69** ''[[VideoGame/{{Borderlands2}} Borderlands 2]]'' has a side mission where a search for some treasure ends with a shootout between the PC and two [=NPCs=] over a grave...
70* The 2011 film ''WesternAnimation/{{Rango}}'' is practically a love letter to this genre of film, featuring numerous shout outs in its plot to films of days gone past, mimicking the cinematography typical of its genre and even [[spoiler:featuring a cameo of an animated version of the Man With No Name as the "Spirit of the West"]].
71* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' is essentially a [[SpaceWestern space-themed version]] of a Spaghetti Western complete with all the familiar tropes of the genre such as a desert setting, MexicanStandoff, seedy locales filled to the brim with criminal activity and the protagonist is almost always [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname referred to by his nickname]].
72* ''Film/SukiyakiWesternDjango''
73* ''Film/FlyingSwordsOfDragonGate'' is a Chinese {{Wuxia}} film staring Creator/JetLi that is openly influenced by the melancholic and violent world of Sergio Leone; being set in the mournful and windswept deserts of ''Shing Jiang'' province really helps.
74* ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'' is basically a Martial Arts Tournament (think ''Film/EnterTheDragon'') [[RecycledInSpace fought with quick-drawn revolvers.]] Made by Americans, yes. But its corrupt, wind-swept and decaying wasteland punctuated with a mournful Music/EnnioMorricone inspired soundtrack hits the genre's nail right on the head.
75* ''Film/TheGoodTheBadTheWeird'' is a more humorous and action-packed [[ForeignRemake Korean Remake]] of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly'', set in the 1930s Manchuria.
76* ''Film/KellysHeroes'' is basically a SpaghettiWestern set in UsefulNotes/WorldWar2 France, complete with Creator/ClintEastwood!
77* Creator/QuentinTarantino loves the genre and has often referenced/pastiched it.
78** ''Film/KillBill'' has several shout-outs, including reusing a lot of music from this genre.
79** ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' has a number of spaghetti western elements to it, specially how the opening at the Lapadite farm plays out ("OnceUponATime... in Nazi-Occupied France").
80** ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' follows the genre a lot more closely, considering it actually ''is'' a [[TheWestern Western]] (Tarantino prefers calling it a "Southern").
81** ''Film/TheHatefulEight'', while very much '''not''' in the style of a Spaghetti Western and being more of a [[MysteryFiction Whodunnit]], takes several important cues from the genre.
82** ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'''s protagonist is the sort of fading Hollywood star who seriously considers starring in spaghetti Westerns. (During a TimeSkip in the main narrative, he actually does.)
83* The ''VideoGame/{{Boktai}}'' game series features a number of spaghetti elements, most notably its gunslinging protagonist, Django. The second game in the series was by far the most heavily influenced by the genre, but then the influences were downplayed significantly for the third game as well as the InNameOnly follow-up ''Lunar Knights''.
84* The second act of ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' is one of these, complete with a Mexican setting, BlackAndGreyMorality, and the increasing prominence of John Marston's AntiHero side.
85* ''VideoGame/WildGuns'' takes a lot of inspiration from spaghetti westerns while also tossing in lots and lots of robots.
86* ''WesternAnimation/ElTigre'' contains many characters, plots, and themes inspired by the genre. The most notable is Sergio, an Italian kid who moved to Mexico in hopes of being a cowboy.
87* The ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' episode "Cowboy Funk" is an AffectionateParody of the genre (and of TheWestern in general).
88* ''Anime/GunXSword'' is what happens when giant robots arrive in a spaghetti western.
89* Alongside fairy tales, ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'' was greatly influenced by the genre [[https://www.btlnews.com/crafts/puss-in-boots-last-wish-director-joel-crawford-interview/ according to the director]], especially ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', featuring a TravelMontage, a MexicanStandoff in the climax, and three parties (Puss, Goldilocks and Jack Horner) racing against each other for a great treasure. A track is even called "The Good, Bad, and Goldi".
90* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'', while not a direct inspiration, borrows heavily from the genre, especially the ''Film/DollarsTrilogy'': a lone warrior [[TheSilentBob of few words]], known [[OnlyKnownByTheirNickname only by his nickname]], passes quietly through various places, defeats the bad guy and then moves along. Creator/PhilLamarr even described his voice for Jack as being a Japanese Creator/ClintEastwood.
91* ''Series/KaiketsuZubat'', a Tokusatsu series nominally set in contemporary Japan, has much of the action taking place in a dusty Old West-fantasy Japanese countryside where organized villains terrorize isolated towns and a cowboy-hatted guitar-toting hero wanders along to defend the townsfolk. The bad guys are shown to be ultraviolent, with no qualms about bombing school buses, gunning down old men, and beating and torturing women and children. In return the hero (haunted by the villains' murder of his best friend) dishes out remorseless violence of his own, intending to find and kill the murderer himself. Soundtrack and musical cues are a pastiche of Morricone-style guitar work.
92* ''Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderZukoAlone'': AntiHero traveling incognito comes to a lawless village on the frontier, a place oppressed by local soldiers little better than bandits and populated by apathetic/ungrateful townsfolk. Violence and resentment ensue, and [[DownerEnding he rides off as isolated and frustrated as before]]. Unusually for this style, the audience not only knows more about the traveler than the townsfolk do, but we learn even more about his backstory in this episode.
93* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBusRidesAgain'' has a literal spaghetti western episode in the form of the aptly-named "The Good, the Bad and the Gnocchi".
94* ''VideoGame/GunfighterTheLegendOfJesseJames'' is a spag-Western in LightGunGame form, with the players assuming the role of Jesse to battle a villainous sheriff and his army of bandidos.
95* ComicBook/JonahHex's was inspired by the popularity of Eastwood and Spaghetti Westerns and created to break from the mold of the morally upright cowboy comics characters that proceeded him. Various issues of his [[ComicBook/JonahHex2005 2005 series]] would also make many references to Spaghetti Western films whether in the form of title homages or [[WholePlotReference Whole Plot References]].
96* ''VideoGame/TequilaAndBoomBoom'' is a rare video game example. It is an AdventureGame designed in UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} complete with AntiHero Tequila and plenty of surrounding desert straight out of a Sergio Leone film.
97* The first half of ''VideoGame/OddworldStrangersWrath'' is a spaghetti western with an alien twist to it, though the second half of the game shifts away from it.
98* ''WebAnimation/SMG4MovieWesternSpaghetti'' by [[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]] is most definitely named after this trope, despite it being a meta horror.

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