How the Spaghetti Western Genre Came to Be
The Spaghetti Western is a genre of film that was originally panned by critics, and is now citied as the inspiration for the current generation of Hollywood directors. These were usually helmed by Italian directors and featured characters and plots based on the American Western frontier .
The beginning of the Spaghetti Western as a recognizable genre is generally considered to have begun in the 1960′s, although some argue for a much earlier date. A director by the name of Sergio Leone adapted a Japanese samurai film and cast Clint Eastwood in the starring role. Sergio and Eastwood would go on to partner in several famous westerns of the period, many of which are considered essential and defining movies in the Western genre. Other directors of the period also began to enjoy success by casting B list American actors and filming on location in Europe.
The success of the Spaghetti western lies in the fact that the primarily European directors and film writers saw the historical stories from a fresh and different angle. The films tend to be somewhat sparse in dialogue, and are action oriented. Many are epic tales told with an almost operatic sense of drama. This high sense of tension and drama are what ultimately earned them their place in film history.The information party rocks on: Why We Love These Movies: Clint Eastwood