Quentin Tarantino is an outspoken fan of the spaghetti western genre, and he recognizes Sergio Leone as the greatest director of spaghetti westerns but his nods to the genre go far beyond Leone's films. In Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, the voiceover identifies Sergio Corbucci as the second greatest director of spaghetti westerns, and he has many references to other spaghetti westerns as well.
Spaghetti Westerns usually follow morally questionable anti-heroes, have large action setpieces, and stylish music. Tarantino is known for his intricate action setpieces, and his unique use of music including scores from past films and pop music. For fans of Tarantino, it's easy to find Spaghetti Westerns that tick these same boxes.
10 If You Meet Sartana... Pray For Your Death (1968)
A group of corrupt businessmen and politicians have been hiring bandits to steal shipments of gold, increasing their profits and stealing the gold from the independent miners. However, the black-cloaked Sartana is hired to discover whose behind the missing gold.
Director Gianfranco Parolini brought audiences a different kind of spaghetti western protagonist. Instead of the dirty wanderers with a sole interest in money or revenge, Sartana is a stylish antihero who is fond of showing off, especially with card tricks and his trick sidearm. Tarantino ranked his favorite spaghetti westerns and this was one of his runner-ups, making this a standout among the Sartana movies and the genre in general.
9 Navajo Joe (1966)
A peaceful tribe of Navajo is brutally slaughtered by a gang of cutthroats, looking to turn in the scalps for a dollar apiece. They killed the whole tribe except for one man, Joe, who hunts them down with stealth and cunning.
Burt Reynolds stars in this action-packed western from director Sergio Corbucci, with an unforgettable score. Tarantino's latest film makes a thinly veiled nod to Navajo Joe, it shows Rick Dalton starring in a fictional western called Nebraska Jim directed by Sergio Corbucci, and he listed this as his ninth favorite spaghetti western.
8 A Pistol For Ringo (1965)
When the fiancee of the sheriff and the occupants of a local ranch are taken hostage by Mexican bandits, the sheriff agrees to free Ringo from jail to rescue the hostages. The "angel-faced" Ringo must infiltrate the bandits and rescue the hostages, without the aid of his six-shooter.
While far from the greatest spaghetti western, it has many similarities with Tarantino's work. It has idiosyncratic characters, especially the titular Ringo who sees most things as a "matter of principle", and the story is mostly confined to a single location, in the vein of Reservoir Dogs or The Hateful Eight. This film also came in 12th out of his favorite spaghetti westerns
7 The Mercenary (1970)
Franco Nero (Django) stars as the titular Polish mercenary who is hired by a group of Mexican bandits turned revolutionaries to help them defeat the Mexican Government. They make dangerous enemies but the mercenary is only interested in who pays best.
This western was directed by Sergio Corbucci and is heavily referenced in Tarantino's work. The song L'arena can be heard in Kill Bill, as The Bride escapes the coffin, one of Tarantino's best uses of Ennio Morricone music. Jack Palance is a stylishly dressed villain, who meets his end with a bullet through the flower on his chest, which Tarantino reused with Calvin Candie's death in Django Unchained. His obvious homages make it no surprise this came in as his fourth favorite spaghetti western.
6 Day Of Anger (1967)
Scott Mary is a garbage man and street sweeper, who is shunned by the town of Clifton for not knowing who his parents were. With the arrival of Frank Talby, an infamous gunfighter, Scott sees a chance to increase his social standing, with Frank's mentorship and a gun.
The second highest-grossing film in Italy the year of its release, this violent western with its Ennio Morricone soundtrack will satisfy those looking for a Tarantino feel. Viewers might recognize Riziero Ortolani which was borrowed from Day of Anger for use in Django Unchained. Not the best known, but Day of Anger is an essential spaghetti western, that is his seventh favorite.
5 The Hellbenders AKA The Cruel Ones (1967)
Colonel Jonas intends to reignite the Civil War, upset at the surrender of the confederate army. Jonas, his sons, and a woman posing as a widow set out in search of a coffin that contains money in place of a body. Along the way, they run into a number of dangers, but their biggest worry is their own family.
This Sergio Corbuci Western starred Joseph Cotten, whose sojourn into Italian movies was discussed in the novelization of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. The signature violence that defined the genre is in full effect and takes a more clever approach to it than the average spaghetti western and its score is from the prolific Ennio Morricone. The Hellbenders made Tarantino's list as another runner-up.
4 Sabata (1969)
A cabal of affluent townfolk are conspiring to stage a bank robbery, so they can use the stolen money to buy land that the railroad will be going through. The arrival of a strange gunfighter named Sabata threatens their plans, but an old acquaintance of Sabata, named Banjo, is hired to put a stop to him.
Starring frequent spaghetti western star, Lee Van Cleef, and directed by Gianfranco Parolini, Sabata has many similarities to Sartana, including the same outfit and a trick gun similar to Sartana's. The addition of humor and stunts, with plenty of action, give it a similar feel to a Tarantino film. This film didn't make his list of personal favorites, which is suprising considering it's one of the best remembered for its effective use of spaghetti western tropes, including trick weaponry unique to each character.
3 The Great Silence (1968)
In the snow-packed mountains of Utah, a severe blizzard has driven people to steal in order to survive. A banker hires a group of bounty killers to take out these newly minted outlaws for profit, to fight back the outlaws hire a gunman of their own, named Silence.
Spaghetti westerns often have protagonists that say very little, but Sergio Corbucci takes this further by making the main character mute. This is also a rare example of a western set in winter, rather than the usual desert landscapes, and it inspired the cinematography of The Hateful Eight and the snow set montage in Django unchained. Audiences still rank it as one of the best spaghetti westerns on IMDb, and Tarantino considers it the 14th best of the genre.
2 Django (1966)
The titular Django, dragging a coffin, saves a sex worker named Maria and finds himself caught in a war between a band of ex-confederate racists and a group of brutal Mexican revolutionaries. His crusade against the confederates is more personal than he lets on, but will his machine gun be enough for one man to defeat two armies?
Django Unchained borrowed substantially from the original, including the theme song and a brief appearance from Franco Nero, but the title is also a reference to the dozens of unofficial westerns made with the character. Django is generally considered to be one of the greatest spaghetti westerns ever, and it holds the esteemed third spot on his list.
1 The Big Gundown (1966)
Lee Van Cleef stars as a deadly bounty hunter, who has dispatched all bandits in Texas, and is hired to pursue a Mexican outlaw and revolutionary, who is accused of raping and killing a twelve-year-old girl.
Director Sergio Sollima directed this gritty and dark western, with a score from Ennio Morricone that made an impression of Tarantino. In Inglourious Basterds, music from The Big Gundown titled 'the verdict' can be heard at the beginning of the movie with its distinct use of Beethoven. Tarantino ranked this as the 11th best spaghetti western.
10 Best Westerns Similar To Quentin Tarantino Movies
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3sI6fM4
0 Comments