Spaghetti Western
A genre variation-turned-movement of the classic American western, made primarily in Italy and Spain during the ‘60s. The primary feature distinguishing the Spaghetti western from its American counterpart is its tone. Embracing the lawlessness of the frontier, the typical entry replaces the traditional white-hatted cowboy hero with a solitary, unshaven nomad (generally a bounty hunter) who is just as ruthless as his opponent. This grubby antihero is more likely to be pursuing money or a personal vendetta of revenge than fighting for a noble cause. Also, moral dilemmas tend to be cast in shades of gray rather than the polar good vs. evil of American westerns. Stylistically, these films distort and magnify traditional western landscapes and motifs. Action such as gunfights, or any form of violence, is gruesome and treated ceremoniously, often with filmmakers extending sequences with operatic music, slow motion and even slower pacing. Extreme close-ups of eyes, hats, and hands, shot with wide-angle lens, often pervert the cliched shots of wide-open spaces used in traditional westerns. Still, despite their conventional mockery and ironic humor, Spaghetti westerns contain brash realism and visual virtuosity that's unequalled, making the form both an homage and an interpretation. Over the years, some of the filmmakers involved in the movement (as well as prominent fans) have voiced an express distaste for the term “Spaghetti Western” – at times suggesting such less culturally stereotypical terms as “Euro-Western.” But while detractors of the term indeed have some extremely valid arguments as to why it should perhaps be rechristened, few film scholars would likely deny that the words “Spaghetti Western” have grown to become an integral component of the overall film lexicon. The genre was made internationally famous by director Sergio Leone with his "Man with No Name" trilogy -- A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
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