As you might have gathered, I have been watching TONS of spaghetti westerns as research for my thesis. It's really great; I watch a sweet movie, can usually knit or crochet while it's on, and I'm researching too! No brainer, for sure.
Well anyway, my friend
Scott does a lot of movie posts (seeing as he got his bachelors in film studies) and I am taking a cue from him and giving one a shot. I've been meaning to do this for a while, and I love procrastinating, so here it is!
Here are the top ten under-appreciated spaghetti westerns!
10. My Name is Nobody
Sergio Leone's last western. Terrence Hill, the last great spaghetti western star, plays Nobody, who is determined to get his idol Jack Beaureguard (Henry Fonda) to retire in a blaze of glory. Nobody arranges Jack to face off against the Wild Bunch, a group of 150 bandits. This is a comedy, but a really good western. Morricone wrote the score.
9. A Bullet for the General
A gringo comes along and helps out El Chuncho (Gian Maria Volonté, the bad guy in
A Fistful of Dollars and
For a Few Dollars More) and his group of bandits steal weaponry and return it to the general. It turns out, however, that the gringo is there to assassinate the general. Martine Beswick is hot in this movie (whatever, I can say that if I want to), and the ending is pretty messed up and rather unexpected. This also has Klaus Kinski in it, which rules because he is a badass. Morricone wrote the score.
8. Duck, You Sucker
James Coburn and Rod Steiger play an explosives expert and a Mexican bandit caught up in the Mexican Revolution. You get to see them essentially gun down an entire military unit. It's awesome. The cuts are fantastic (it's a Leone film, so expect nothing less), and Morricone's music is also great. But when is it not?
7. Death Rides a Horse
Bill sees his parents murdered, and 14 years later teams up with a very bad man (Ryan, played by Lee van Cleef) to avenge their deaths. Ryan has just been released from prison after being framed by the same men that kill Bill's fam. It's the perfect balance of untamed youth and an experience gunslinger. Only catch: the four men they are hunting down are now authority figures in the new "Civilized" West. This is one of Lee van Cleef's best performances by a long shot. Morricone, again, wrote the score.
6. The Cruel Ones / Hellbenders
Another Corbucci flick with plenty of killing. An ex-Confederate steals a large sum of money and plans on restarting the war against the North. All sorts of crazy stuff happens along the way, including an Indian War Party, fights with Union soldiers, and fighting amongst his family. Once again, Morricone wrote the score. He was a busy guy.
5. Django
A lone gunslinger, dragging a coffin behind him, gets caught in the middle of a battle between waring factions--Mexican bandits and the KKK--in a western town. With a huge machine gun. Sooooo many people die. Another classic Corbucci flick, with scoring by ... guess who? Morricone!
4. For a Few Dollars More
This is a more well-known western, but it is the least known or seen out of the Dollars trilogy. I personally like it a lot more than A Fistful of Dollars, the first of the trilogy. Blondie/Manco/whatever and the Colonel (Lee Van Cleef) hunt down El Indio (Gian Maria Volonté) for the $$$. Pure and simple. Who cares about saving people? They just want the green. And they get a lot of it. It's a great film with a sweet showdown at the end. Directed by Sergio Leone, and scored by THE MAN, Ennio Morricone.
3. Run, Man, Run!
This is the second of a series of films directed by Sergio Sollima (I guess Sergio is like Steve in Italy, or something) centering around the knife-throwing bandit Cuchillo, played by Tomas Milian. He promises a revolutionary that he would find and return 3 million bucks to Mexico to help fund the revolution. Everyone wants a piece, including French assassins and bounty hunters, a former Salvation Army worker turned gold huntress, and many other bandits. All the while, Cuchillo's girlfriend follows him around, trying to convince him to give up the search and marry her (she's way too good looking for him). Bruno Nicoli scored most of the film, but Morricone also wrote some (I think the opening thing and something else, I can't remember).
2. Vamos a Matar, Compañeros!
This is a really great flick with awesome music. The theme song is just perfect. Guess who composed. Just guess. Tomas Miliam and Franco Nero team up to save a professor that can unlock a safe with Mexico's greatest treasure locked inside. Nero playing a Swedish arms dealer is pretty hilarious. The female lead is Iris Berben; when she gets her hair chopped of she looks pretty hot. Oh, and Jack Palance is in this one as a marijuana-crazed madman bent on killing the Swede. Another Corbucci film with a decent amount of killing, explosions, and unnecessary violence.
1. The Great Silence
This is honestly one of the best spaghetti westerns of all time. Directed by Sergio Corbucci (known as "the other Sergio"), and staring a gorgeous French man as a mute gunslinger. The bad guy is flippin' Klaus Kinski. That guy is amazing. The story revolves around this town in the mountains being hassled by bandits led by Kinski. The Great Silence comes in, helps out a widow (in more ways than one, hint hint), and kills people with his fancy mechanical pistol. Lots of people die, in line with a Corbucci flick. The ending is one of the most controversial in the history of westerns, to the point where they actually had to film a second ending for release in the Middle East/Africa. Also, scored by Ennio Morricone.
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These are really all top-notch films. If there are any that you have not seen, hit up
Netflix! They're all on there!
