Far Out
July 13, 2022
There are few movie genres that are so inextricably tied to a
place and time than the western, fit with cowboys, saloons and gunslingers.
Reflecting the values of liberty, justice and courage that the country itself
holds so dearly, the genre was made popular throughout the early decades of
Hollywood where filmmakers such as John Ford, Howard Hawks and Sam Peckinpah
created the cornerstones of the artform that are still celebrated to this very
day.
Whilst such aforementioned American filmmakers kickstarted the
genre, by the mid-20th century their influence was waning and the Italian
director Sergio Leone stamped his own mark on western cinema, providing a
European take on the patriotic genre. Inspired by Akira Kurosawa in
addition to John Ford, Leone brought an iconic style to his western trilogy
that included A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and,
his masterpiece, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Known as ‘Spaghetti Westerns’, the Italian movies of Leone and
more tried to emulate the great plains of America, in spite of them being
filmed in several locations across Europe. One such location was Spain’s
semi-arid Tabernas Desert, located within the south-eastern province of
Almería.
Sharing several similarities to deserts in the southwestern
United States and northern Mexico, the location became a popular spot to shoot
western movies ever since the 1950s. Hosting countless Spaghetti Westerns, the
spot was so ubiquitous with the form of filmmaking that three significant
studios were built on its grounds, donned Texas Hollywood, Mini Hollywood, and
Western Leone.
Mini Hollywood
Now known as Oasys, Mini Hollywood, once a movie set, is a
Spanish Western-styled theme park located near the town of Tabernas in Almería.
Originally designed by the Italian architect, and production designer, Carlo
Simi, the faux town was built for Sergio Leone’s For a Few Dollars More in
1965 and was later used for multiple other movies, including the director’s
1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Once the filming of Leone’s 1966 movie was complete, the extras
clubbed together and bought the set, running it as a tourist attraction until a
hotel group bought them out many years later. Still running to this day, the
park features daily cowboy stunt shows, mock bank raids, an abandoned gold mine
and a western-style saloon.
More recently, in 2012, the BBC production crew of Doctor
Who took to the location to film the episode A Town Called
Mercy.
Texas Hollywood
Another western-style theme park in the Spansih province of
Almería, Texas Hollywood was bought by Rafa Molina in 1977, a stuntman who
purchased the land for $6,000 to improve his job prospects. It wasn’t until the
early 1980s that he would start charging everyday visitors to tour the set,
with Molina organising mock shoot-outs and barroom brawls among other immersive
attractions.
Differing in architecture, Texas Hollywood features two
different styles built beside each other, with one side showing a typical
American Old West aesthetic, whilst the other embraces a Spanish theme. The
Western side features a blacksmith, jail and gallows, whilst on the reverse
side, the Spanish set features a town square, church and more. The tourist
attraction also remains an active film set, with the television series Queen
of Swords using the space in 2000.
Western Leone
The smallest of the three faux towns, Western Leone was
originally constructed for the Sergio
Leone movie Once Upon a Time in the West in
1968, with the iconic large red house, used frequently throughout the movie,
becoming a significant tourist attraction in the area. Used for multiple other
spaghetti westerns, not far from Western Leone a fortress was built for the
film El Condor, though the site later fell into
disrepair.
As of March 2022, Western Leone is up for sale, so if you fancy
putting on a western spectacular of your own, why not make the extravagant
purchase yourself?
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