Westerns & Spaghetti Westerns

western films tell stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the american old west. most are set between the end of the american civil war (1865) and the massacre at wounded knee in 1890

westerns often portray how primitive and obsolete ways of life confronted modern technological or social changes e.g by showing conflict between natives and settlers

westerns from the 1960s and 70s often have a more pessimistic view, glorifying a rebellious anti-hero, highlighting the cynicism, brutalityand inequalityof the american west

despite being tightly associated with a specific time and place in american history, these themes have allowed westerns to be produced and enjoyed across the world

spaghetti western is a nicknamefor a broad sub-genre of western film that emerged in the mid 1960s

they are named this because most were produced and directed by italians, usually in co-production with a spanish partner and in some cases a german partner

typical team was made up of an italian director, italo-spanish technical staff, a cast of italian and spanish actors, sometimes a fading hollywood star and sometimes a rising one

the films were typically shot in inexpensive locales resembling the american southwest

they are characterized by their production in the italian language and low budgets