Spaghetti Westerns
Figured this place could use a SW thread.
They always seem to lead to some fun discussion on other forums, so why not here?
Spaghetti Western, also known in some countries in mainland Europe as the Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western film that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by Italians, usually in coproduction with a Spanish partner.
The typical team was made up of an Italian director, italo-Spanish technical staff and a cast of Italian and Spanish actors, sometimes a falling Hollywood star and sometimes a rising one like the young Clint Eastwood in many of Sergio Leone's films. The films were primarily shot in the Andalusia region of Spain — in particular the Tabernas Desert of Almería — or Sardinia, because they resemble the American Southwest. Because of the desert setting and the readily available southern Spanish extras, a usual theme in Spaghetti Westerns is the Mexican Revolution, Mexican bandits, and the border region shared by Mexico and the U.S..
Originally, Spaghetti Westerns had in common the Italian language, low budgets, and a recognizable highly fluid, violent, and minimalist cinematography that eschewed (even "demythologized") many of the conventions of earlier Westerns. This was partly intentional and partly the result of the work being done in a different cultural background with limited funds. The term was originally used disparagingly, but by the 1980s many of these films came to be held in high regard, particularly because of influence they had on other Westerns.
(excerpted from Wiki)
Interesting.
Linear Mode
