Western spaghetti

The Western Spaghetti is a sub-genus of Western which owes its name with a Sarcasme of the American cinema as for its European origins, and more precisely Italy.

In spite of this irony, the kind largely will be recognized and voted by plebiscite thanks to some mythical films of very great quality. Indeed, at the beginning of the Years 1960, the Western is on the decline before the influence of realizers such as Sergio Leone insufflates a new youth to him. The impact of the Western to Mediterranean sauce will be such as it will make some evolve/move radically the codes, and influence deeply and durably the world cinema.

Characteristics

If the basic categories of the traditional Western (Action film, which is located at the 19th century in the Western American) are found well in the Italian variation of the kind, this one dissociates typical American productions on several levels.

Scenaristic specificities

First of all, the western spaghetti exceeds the diagram recurring Manichean to put in scene characters much more complex. It does not act more than one unilateral fight of nice the Cow-boy S, white, chivalrous and clean on them against the Indian wild and primitive or the terrible Mexican gangsters . On the contrary, the protagonists of the westerns spaghettis have all the Anti-héros. Misogynists and badly shaven, cynical and individualistic, they are a priori prompter to declad for the good of their wallet than to put itself at the service of a noble cause.

One would not have however not to be reduced to see in them only opportunist loans with all the low blows. In fact, while moving away from the Prototype of the hero without fear and reproach, the western spaghetti makes its characters much more human, and fundamentally sympathetic nerves despite everything their defects. In alternative to the opposition black white/traditional, the western spaghetti proposes a pallet of gray much more complex, and which leaves a latitude much larger to the psychology of the characters. This tendency had already emerged in the traditional western in films such as Vera Cruz .

Esthetic specificities

Aesthetically, the western spaghetti is defined under the decisive influence of Sergio Leone by angles of camera very largely open on imposing landscapes, but also by the use of original and very expressive framings (like Contre-plongée S, the framing of the scene in windows or cords of bracket, etc). The Musique also plays a very important part, slow and rythmée, it accelerates gradually to make assemble the dramatic intensity when the scenario claims it. The western spaghetti without question provided some of most beautiful the original soundtracks of the cinema under the direction of Ennio Morricone. Among the commonplaces of the kind, and under the influence once more of Sergio Leone there are still the long scenes of duels, slow and dramatic, supported by a music throbbing with wish, with successions of closes-up on the protagonists. Some typical examples:

the duel between Cableway, Sentenza and Tuco in the Good, the Rough one and the Gangster
the learnedly orchestrated walk of Franck in It was once in the West

Musics

The western spaghetti are also illustrated by a particular kind of musics, which indicate many of those of the traditional western. As in the remainder of its esthetics, the western spaghetti marks this difference by more “stereotyped” topics or more involving, others more cold and threatening and some fuller and more lyric; doing everything proof of an astonishing inventiveness and a still intact freshness, when some of films are obsolete. Ennio Morricone culminates, but is only the tree in front of the forest; it is necessary to quote Bruno Nicolai, Francesco De Masi, Stelvio Cipriani, Roberto Pregadio, Luis Bacalov…

Films, actors and realizers

It is without question the realizer Sergio Leone who definitively marked the kind, with her trilogy of the dollar - For a handle of dollars , And for some dollars moreover and the Good, Rough and the Gangster - and with It was once in the West. Other realizers however signed works of quality, such Sergio Corbucci with Navajo Joe or Django .

Some major films

1964 : For a handle of dollars , Sergio Leone, with Clint Eastwood
1965: And for some dollars moreover , Sergio Leone, with Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef
1966: the Good, the Rough one and the Gangster , of Sergio Leone, with Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef
1966: Django , of Sergio Corbucci, with Free Nero
1967: Navajo Joe , of Sergio Corbucci, with Burt Reynolds
1967: Requiescant , of Carlo Lizzani, with Lou Manor house, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Free Citti and Ninetto Davoli
1968: It was once in the West , of Sergio Leone, with Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Claudia Cardinale
1968: Great Silence of Sergio Corbucci with Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski
1968: the last day of anger of Tonino Valerii
1968: Death was with go of Giulio Petroni
1971: Blindman , of Ferdinando Baldi, with Tony Anthony and Ringo Starr. Remake of Zatoichi, more nutcase-blazing of the spaghetti westerns
1972: the Great Duel of Giancarlo Santi.
1973: My name is nobody , of Tonino Valerii and Sergio Leone, with Henry Fonda and Terence Hill
1976: Keoma , of Enzo G. Castellari, with Free Nero and Woody Strode
1977: has Man Called Blade , of Sergio Martino

After success

At the end of the Years 1970, the kind is blown and one adds ingredients of other sources to try to start again it, thus the mixtures with films of martial arts - called in the medium of cinematographic criticism the western soya - gave My name is Shangaï Joe (Mario Caiano, with Klaus Kinski a few minutes), or the Rough one, the Colt and the Karate (Antonio Margheriti), which one notes remakes in the Années 2000: Shanghai Kid with Jackie Chan.

Today still, the kind continues to influence the new generations of scenario writers: Quentin Tarantino ( Kill Bill ), Sam Raimi ( Dead or sharp ), Álex of Iglesia ( 800 balls )

In 2004, the film Hidalgo was still a transposition of the western in other horizons, but the similar title of western couscous would not be appropriate to him.

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