10 Weird Things That Happen in Every Classic Spaghetti Western

MSN.com

By Dante Santella

Throughout its heyday as one of the most sought-after types of movie western, the subgenre known as the Spaghetti Western influenced and reshaped the landscape of what a Western film can be. Before gaining prominence during the 1960s, Old Hollywood-style westerns were generally defined by pre-established rules that general audiences had come to expect with every new western being released; until many directors from Europe had taken on the western genre and gave it a new fresh coat of paint.

Known for audacious stories, stylized filmmaking and an Italian sensibility, spaghetti western films garnered all sorts of acclaim and criticism during the height of the genre’s popularity. Despite having been recognized in recent years as an important cinematic genre, not all spaghetti westerns are made with pitch-perfect craftsmanship; as with any movie genre, some definitive factors are unconventional within multiple spaghetti westerns and tend to appear often.

The Law of The Land Is Nonexistent

The Spaghetti Western Is the True Wild West

[Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes dueling against the Man with No Name and Tuco in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.]

As with many westerns, the typical narrative of a lone hero trying to save the day against the forces of evil is still expanded on within spaghetti westerns; however, a critical difference between traditional westerns and a spaghetti western lies in the law’s presence throughout the story. Without much indication of a system of government, nor any sheriffs or bustling community, most spaghetti westerns feel like out of a fantasy rather than true to life.

[A split image of Django, Day of Anger, and Once Upon A Time in the West spaghetti western movies.]

Spaghetti Westerns don't always get their due, but there are rich, nuanced action stories being told in this unsung cinematic genre!

With the sheer amount of crimes committed throughout an average spaghetti western, most would assume that any kind of justice will step in to stop the madness. But in truth, the lawlessness and apt description of the Wild West best encapsulates a spaghetti western and, oftentimes, the chaotic environment leaves little to the imagination of how brutal these films can be; especially with how most films disregard realism.

The Big Stars Often Stick Out Too Much

A Leading Man Can Overshadow an Ensemble

[Franco Nero as Django in Django]

Helping define the careers of many successful actors, the western genre has produced some big-name stars who charmed audiences and played iconic cowboys. In the wake of Clint Eastwood’s rise to stardom by working with Sergio Leone, many spaghetti westerns aimed to recapture the magic by finding the next great leading man, though ironically, the search for an Eastwood-esque figure would ultimately put a damper on the spaghetti western ideology.

Framing individuals with a grimy and unflattering look, the characters in spaghetti westerns are meant to evoke a naturalistic portrayal of the Old West. With many spaghetti western protagonists, the leading men were often American B-list actors or unknown European actors that resembled a specific caricature but didn’t necessarily fit with the rest of the cast. Most of the memorable aspects in spaghetti westerns are the engaging side characters, while the protagonist serves as a tool rather than a believable individual.

The “Heroes” Are Not Usually That Good

The Audience Doesn’t Always Have Someone to Root For

[Clint Eastwood gives a scowling look in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.]

 Within the traditional western’s blueprint in storytelling, audiences will recognize the standard trope of a cowboy with a white hat juxtaposed with a cowboy with a black hat. The terminology is meant to imply a clear hero versus villain dynamic, whereas a spaghetti western film instead aims to blur the lines of morality altogether. Whether motivated by greed, revenge or circumstance, a spaghetti western protagonist is more of an anti-hero or just a wandering observer.

Although many great spaghetti westerns engage viewers through compelling narratives and impressive moviemaking with a morally complex hero, the lower-tier spaghetti westerns utilize mindless action as a crutch to compensate for poor characterization. If the protagonist is the lesser of evils amongst all the characters in the film, then the viewer becomes disinterested in the ongoing plot and the film just becomes a showcase for meaningless violence.

A Close-Up Shot Can Sometimes be Overbearing

The Viewer Already Knows What's Going On

[Opening shot from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.]

 Among the numerous amount of directors who helped foster the genre of spaghetti westerns, none were as influential nor as adept in filmmaking as Sergio Leone. In creating his signature style, Sergio Leone would often let the camera speak for the characters and mastered the art of the close-up shot, but in doing so, the director’s style was frequently used and the copycats made the technique appear lazy and repetitive in other spaghetti western films.

Although the Western genre isn't for everyone, these films are beloved by the vast majority of audiences.

As the close-up/quick zoom was meant to evoke a character’s emotion or emphasize an important plot point, the reliance on this technique made some spaghetti westerns overindulgent with storytelling. One downside to this genre is the recurring use of plagiarism, where the best working directors like Sergio Leone had to deal with his work becoming stolen and poorly executed; thereby making other spaghetti westerns appear all alike to casual audiences.

The Gunslinger Is Unbelievably Skilled in Battle

Without Any Real Stakes There’s No Tension

[The protagonist Ringo in A Pistol for Ringo.]

 Throughout the history of westerns, nearly all of the protagonists are experts in the art of the duel, but none are as magically gifted as a spaghetti western hero. Blurring the lines between appealing to a grittier tone or framing the film like a cartoon, spaghetti western protagonists appear to never be in any true danger. Moreover, most spaghetti western heroes never even seem to get harmed despite the massive odds against them.

Whether facing a swarm of outlaws, bandits or soldiers, the spaghetti western hero typically handles the conflict with ease and is left unscathed. While by no means do audiences demand that the protagonist be killed off, it is much more interesting to watch a hero struggle to win the day rather than reach the end of the film unfazed by all the gunfights, carnage and relationships established throughout.

Unjust Violence Is Paramount to a Spaghetti Western

Nothing Is off the Table Within the Genre

[Django holds a pistol and has a gatling gun ready in Django.]

As a prominent aspect in all kinds of westerns, violence on screen distills a fundamental storytelling function of having tension and release, where the brutality framed in a spaghetti western film is highlighted somewhat excessively. Although the goal of a spaghetti western is to be shocking and more raw than prior American westerns, some lesser-quality films come across as over-the-top in the execution of violence. Moreover, the unrestrained use of violence dampens any real meaning to the plot at hand.

[Angel Eyes looks over to the side in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.]

 Spaghetti Westerns were massively popular in the 1960s and '70s, and they laid the groundwork for future generations of filmmakers.

In trying to upend any sense of convention within the western genre, spaghetti western films set out to depict as much gore as possible to throw off an audience; and while some of the best spaghetti westerns were able to maintain a proper balance of spectacle and artistic merit, a vast majority depended too much on shock value that killed all sense of purpose for the viewer to connect with the story.

Humor Is Hard to Adapt For Everyone

Comedy Must Be Universal in Order to Reach the Largest Audience

[Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer in They Call me Trinity.]

 Once the spaghetti western genre reached its peak, many variations were spawned from the subgenre and amongst them were comedy films. With notable works by Terence Hill & Bud Spencer, the acclaimed spaghetti western comedies were able to pack physical humor and satire throughout the story, though this didn’t always work with other films in the same way. Whether having an offbeat style or poor delivery of jokes, a lot of spaghetti western comedies couldn’t fully entertain audiences.

At the same time, the exaggerated tone and attempts at parody merely muddle the plot and leave the viewer baffled. Although a spaghetti western comedy doesn’t have to engage with real life, the farcical nature of these films isn’t nearly as entertaining to excuse lackluster writing, bad acting, shoddy directing or faulty 1960s/1970s Italian humor that does not hold up by today’s standards.

The Cheaper Quality Kills Any Kind of Escapism

A Familiar Look Doesn’t Expand the Narrative

[Clint Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars.]

 Often being shot in various locations around southern Italy and Spain, spaghetti westerns were meant to evoke the arid landscapes of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico, while also placing characters in small towns, local communities or abandoned areas. In this case, many spaghetti westerns operated on a lower budget and were made quickly to follow the market trend, which shows in the familiar production design and repetitive stories that occur in these films.

[Split Images of Hidalgo, Forsaken, and Tell Tale.]

Westerns are a huge genre of the silver screen. Which ones fell under the radar that are off the beaten path of the classic spaghetti western format?

Despite aiming for success by copying what worked before, many spaghetti westerns retread the same visual style which tarnished the uniqueness of the more acclaimed spaghetti western films. Moreover, as the years went by, the standard of many spaghetti westerns had reached a low point where any competently shot film made it to theaters; where multiple directors should’ve instead tried to present something different and challenge audiences.

Weak Audio & Translation May Ruin the Flow

Bad Technical Design Lessens a Film’s Execution

[Terence Hill in My Name is Nobody.]

 Being a distinct quality in all spaghetti westerns, the use of dubbed dialogue served to benefit the audience, where the multicultural cast and crew that made these films all worked well together despite some language barriers. However, in the lesser quality spaghetti western films, the terrible post-synched dubbing sticks out and ruins the performance of the dedicated actor trying to sell the story, who is instead turned into a laughingstock.

Like many other significant westerns, the actor is vital for conveying the truth of the story to the audience and, while the art of film is a visual medium, and the audience can understand the characters with just the actor’s face, bad dubbing takes away the intonation of each performer’s voice and overall presence within the story. Moreover, bad dubbing can also ruin a narrative through misguided translation, as a specific native language can be misinterpreted by an audience in another country.

A Meandering Plot Can Wreck a Viewing Experience

An Essential Aspect for a Good Movie Is a Tight Script

[The Protagonist in The Great Silence.]

 For however many good spaghetti western films there are that deliver a terrific story, there are even worse spaghetti westerns that fumble all sense of story momentum. Taking the basic structure of a good western, such as having a good guy defend others against a bad guy, many spaghetti westerns instead attempt to reframe this dynamic and include way too many plot threads. It is the inclination to take the narrative in so many directions that kills any audience enjoyment.

The point of a great spaghetti western film is to gradually build upon a story’s themes and reach a satisfying conclusion while having a good time along the way with interesting characters, engaging action and impressive filmmaking. But with most spaghetti westerns, the narrative often suffers from misguided scenes that don’t offer anything unique to say and end up ruining the pacing for the viewer.