
I thought it might be nice to have a thread dedicated exclusively to the Italian western. While the origins of the genre are well known--Sergio Leone views Kurosawa's samurai flick Yojimbo (1961), transfers the plot to a western setting, and makes history--most of what is discussed and shown in the U.S. is the "Dollars Trilogy" and/or Loene's epic, Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), which barely scratches the surface of a rich legacy that runs the gamut from revenge to comedy and sparked a resurgence in the American western at home. It is for those who seek a bit more sauce with their pasta that this thread is dedicated.
Mr. A's Top Five:
1) The Great Silence (1967)
Sergio Corbucci's nihilistic masterpiece perches atop this list like vulturous Klaus Kinski's bounty hunter Loco, who builds his business with the bodies of starving men. A young widow hires a mute gunfighter to extract her revenge.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEZR9cMcPbg[/youtube]
2) For a Few Dollars More (1965)
The Italian western begins with Leone and this is his most concise work. Some might argue that Once Upon a Time in the West is a better movie, but the ideas that permeate that film began here.
More info: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1817
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjFVOuYShp0[/youtube]
3) The Big Gundown (1966)
The third great Sergio--Sergio Sollima--made this classic about a man with political aspirations who tracks a Mexican peasant accused of killing a twelve year old little girl. Filled with social and political concerns, Lee Van Cleef's sheriff discovers that truth is not always as simple as it seems, while Tomas Milian gives a tour de force performance, equaled by a brilliant Ennio Morricone score.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I91GEjoIHS0[/youtube]
4) Face to Face (1967)
Sollima jumped from societal ideas to philosophy and ethics in this film, where a meek schoolmaster and vicious bandit form a friendship that begins and ends in blood. Easily the deepest film in the SW cannon.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqG6pOpYBng[/youtube]
5) The Return of Ringo (1965)
Director Duccio Tessari translates Homer's The Odyssey to the western genre. Made at the same time as the "Dollars Trilogy", Giuliano Gemma's Ringo persona was original and different from the hordes of Eastwood imitators, most of which fell flat on their stubbled faces.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrSR4HH6ag8[/youtube]
16 more great westerns:
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
A Pistol for Ringo (1965)
Four of the Apocalypse (1975)
Django (1966)
Django Kill AKA If you Live--Shoot! (1967)
They Call Me Trinity (1970)
A Man Called Sledge (1970)
Day of Anger (1967)
A Professional Gun AKA The Mercenary (1968)
Keoma (1976)
My Name is Nobody (1973)
The Hellbenders (1967)
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)
A Bullet for the General (1966)
Cemetery Without Crosses AKA A Rope, A Colt (1968)
Black Jack AKA On Your Knees Django (1968)
Plenty of loot still lies out there waiting to be discovered. To quote a famous film: You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.