A Taste of Spaghetti...Westerns

The long dusters. The dirty towns. Extreme close-ups. Lengthy stares. Dubbed dialogue. And, of course, the Morricone music. I love a good Spaghetti Western! Here are my top 10 films in this popular genre from the 1960s and 1970s.

Bronson as Harmonica.

1. Once Upon a Time in the West - I never cared for the slang term "horse opera," but "operatic" definitely describes what I consider to be Sergio Leone's masterpiece. This sprawling saga of a dying West boasts interlocking stories, some marvelous set pieces, a terrific Ennio Morricone score (with unique themes for each of the four leads), and memorable characters (which both support and defy Western film stereotypes). My favorite parts are the opening (it's a long wait but I love the payoff) and the almost over-the-top showdown between Charles Bronson's mysterious Harmonica and Henry Fonda's vile villain Frank.

Lee Van Cleef.

2. For a Few Dollars More - My favorite of the Leone-Eastwood collaborations is almost a rehearsal for Once Upon a Time in the West. In the latter film, Charles Bronson wears a harmonica around his neck--and we learn why in the flashblack that explains his need for revenge against Henry Fonda's character. In For a Few Dollars More, Lee Van Cleef carries a watch that serves the same purpose. Eastwood's sarcastic humor and Van Cleef's steely resolve make them a great pair.

It's hard to see Hill's "Paul Newman"
blue eyes in this photo.

3. Trinity Is Still My Name - The sequel to They Call Me Trinity is funnier than the original, with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer back as the West's most unlikely--and filthiest--brothers. Hill became a big European star, but his success never translated in the U.S. (though he tried in movies like March or Die with Gene Hackman). His oddball humor works very well in the Trinity Westerns, especially playing against the gruff, burly Spencer. Hill (real name Mario Girotti) and Spencer (Carlo Pedersoli) appeared as a team in numerous films, including other Spaghetti Westerns and contemporary action comedies.

There are five...count 'em!

4. The Five Man Army - I'll admit upfront that I'm a sucker for movies where someone assembles a team to accomplish a mission (e.g. The Adventures of Robin Hood, TheMagnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen). So, here we have Peter Graves--who knows something about impossible missions--assembling a team of specialists to rob a moving train. Horror film maestro Dario Argento co-wrote it (he and Bertolucci also worked on Once Upon a Time) and Morricone contributed yet another memorable score. Plus, where else can you find James Daly and Bud Spencer in the same film?

5. Red Sun - OK, it may not technically be a Spaghetti Western, since it was made in Spain with an international cast. Also, I confess there's not much of a plot (a valuable Japanese sword is stolen and everyone goes after it). But Charles Bronson and Tohiro Mifune make a fine odd couple, Alain Delon does his patented good/bad guy, and Ursula Andress...well, she's just there. Still, it's surprisingly entertaining and holds up well.

6. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Most Spaghetti Western buffs probably list this in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot. I might have, too, until I watched it recently. Certainly, the cast is excellent (especially Eli Wallach) and Morricone's score is his most famous. Many critics highlight how the plot plays out against an elaborate backdrop of the Civil War. Actually, that's the part I don't like; it lengthens the film for me and detracts somewhat from the interplay between the three stars. Still, many of the battle scenes are impressive. And, yes, I know I'll take some heat for placing a classic at No. 6...

Franco Nero as Django. Note the
crosses in the background.

7. Django - The plot recalls A Fistful of Dollars (see #10), with a mysterious stranger coming between two warring factions in a small town--but the similarities end there. Religious images abound, starting with the film's protagonist dragging a coffin through the mud and ending with Django, both hands crushed, trying to balance his pistol on a cross as he awaits a graveyard showdown with a band of bad guys. It's an uneven, violent picture (banned in some countries), but the climax may be surpassed only by Once Upon a Time among Spaghetti Westerns. 

8. My Name is Nobody - Another unlikely Leone teaming: this time between Henry Fonda as a veteran gunslinger and Terrence Hill as an up-and-coming one. (Techincally, Leone did not make this film, but his influence is all over it and some sources claim he directed some scenes). More an essay on celebrity than a Western, it benefits from an offbeat sense of humor.

9. Sabata - Van Cleef made other Spaghetti Westerns (including Death Rides a Horse, which I haven't seen), but this one probably confirmed him as Eastwood's successor as a solo star. It also helped popularize the "trick weaponry" used in other Westerns (e.g., Sabata carries a pistol that fires from the handle).

10. A Fistful of Dollars - Obviously, it's my least favorite of the Leon-Eastwood films, even though it was inspired by Kurosawa's Yojimbo. Still, it's historically significant and the final shootout is a classic.

This Western Heats Up With a Red Sun

One of my favorite western movies is Red Sun. It is considered a formula Spaghetti Western that has loads of action and a simple plot. However, I think Red Sun has an interesting plot that tells the story of a friendship between two very different men who are culturally worlds apart.

The movie was made in Spain in 1971 and released in the United States a year later. With the apparent goal of attracting an international audience, the four stars were from different countries: Charles Bronson (U.S); Alain Delon (France); Ursula Andress (Switzerland); and Toshiro Mifune (Japan). Bronson had become a popular European performer by the early 1970s and had starred in several previous Westerns. Delon was known for his roles as a handsome man who often gets in trouble with the ladies. One of his most famous movies is 1960’s Plein Soleil (aka Purple Noon), which was remade as The Talented Mr. Ripley in 1999 with Matt Damon. Ursula Andress played the first Bond girl in Dr. No. Toshiro Mifune was Japan’s most well-known star, mostly due to his roles in Akira Kurosawa films like The Seven Samurai (which was remade in the U.S. as The Magnificent Seven with Bronson). Many critics consider the Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson movie, Shanghai Noon ( 2000), a spoof of Red Sun.

Director Terence Young had already scored huge hits with several James Bond movies such as: Dr. No (1962) with Ursula Andress; From Russia with Love (1963); and Thunderball (1965). He also directed The Valachi Papers in 1972 with Charles Bronson in the lead role again.

Set in the mid-19th century, Red Sun opens with a Japanese ambassador traveling by train from the Western U.S. to Washington, DC. His mission is to deliver an ancient samurai sword as a gift to the President of the U.S. The ambassador is accompanied by two samurai body guards, one of which is Toshiro Mifune who plays Kuroda. Gauche (Alain Delon), a bandit leader, and his partner Link (Bronson) rob the train. They have no idea where this train is going or who is traveling on it. After the robbery, Gauche turns on Link and tries to kill him. Then, he takes all the money and the samurai sword and kills Kuroda’s samurai friend. The Japanese ambassador tells Kuroda to find the samurai sword in seven days and return it in the same place when the train returns. If Kuroda does not retrieve the sword and kill Gauche for taking it, he will have to commit suicide because of his failure.

Link and Kuroda seek out Gauche for two different reasons. Kuroda wants to kill Gauche for taking the sword and killing his friend. Link wants to find Gauche and keep him alive until he can take him to where he has hidden the money. Link and Kuroda put their differences aside and decide to work together. These two culturally different men begin a trek to find Gauche and his hide out. While traveling together, Kuroda and Link began to respect one another. Link knows the territory and Kuroda is a worthy ally with his samurai sword. The two men form an unlikely friendship, with Link always questioning and making fun of Kuroda ,who retorts how odd he finds Americans.

Link knows that Gauche is traveling to a whorehouse to see his girlfriend Cristina, a beautiful prostitute played by Ursula Andress. Link forces Cristina to take him to Gauche’s hideout. Andress’s performance as the prostitute, who Gauche loves and spoils, is priceless. She is not only whiny, but has a very nasty temper. Cristina agrees to take Link and Kuroda to Gauche, but she escapes and goes to find Gauche herself. Unfortunately, she is quickly surrounded by Indians who want to torture her to death. What Link and Kuroda do for Cristina shows their respect and compassion for her. Link reveals that he may be a bandit, but is also a man with goodness in him.

The climax of Red Sun is not only exciting, but creatively filmed. It is one of my favorite scenes in a Western movie. The ending is a nice surprise, too. Despite its emphasis on action, Red Sun is a well-done story about the friendship between East versus West.

The film also features a memorable score by veteran film composer Maurice Jarre. He wrote quite a few impressive musical scores for film and television, winning Oscars for the following: Lawrence of Arabia (1962); Doctor Zhivago (1965); and A Passage to India (1984). My favorite of his scores is Red Sun and the title theme is on my iPod.

Charles Bronson was a man who loved horses. The horse he rides in this movie is his own. Notice the beautiful Spanish Andalusian horse that Andress rides too.

Red Sun is a hard movie to find on video and has not been released on DVD. Unfortunately, I do not own it on video, but I saw it recently on AMC. If you like Spaghetti Westerns and are a Charles Bronson fan, this is a must-see movie.