Top Ten Spaghetti Westerns

I haven't seen a whole lot of them, but i'd rank them like this.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in The West
Keoma
For a Few Dollars More
A Fistful of Dollars
Django

I can't rank them:

The Mercenary
Django
Death Rides a Horse
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
For a Few Dollars More
Companeros
Navajo Joe
The Big Gundown
A Fistful of Dollars

I may have seen more than these but these are the only ones I can think of right now.

1. Once Upon a Time in the West
2. The Great Silence
3. Django
4. Duck, You Sucker
5. A Fistful of Dollars
6. For a Few Dollars More
7. Navajo Joe
8. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
9. My Name is Nobody
10. The Hellbenders

Obviously I need to get out from under the Leone/Corbucci umbrella.

I only got into spaghetti westerns in the past six months or so. I was writing a western screenplay so I tried to watch as many as I could. I got plenty of American westerns in too, but I just love the style and feel of a good spaghetti western. I grew up on John Wayne movies, so these movies were like the awesome flip-side to what I was all ready so familiar with.

I've actually been on a Spaghetti Western kick for about a week now. Red Dead Redemption just came in the mail, and I have Keoma, Sartana, and some other Spaghetti western films lined up as soon as my grading is done.

In terms of the top ten, well...

Of course, the Leone films are all up there: A Fistful of Dollars (my initial favorite of the bunch);
For a Few Dollars More (probably my current favorite); The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (nothing beats the final duel); Once Upon a Time in the West (so-so in passages, amazing in others); and Duck, You Sucker (although I have to admit that I like this one the least, but need to revisit it at some later date).

I really like Lee Van Cleef a lot -- The Big Gundown, Death Rides a Horse, and The Grand Duel are a lot of fun. Hell, I even like Beyond the Law and The Stranger and the Gunfighter (think Shanghai Noon but twenty years earlier)

I love Django, and I like Viva Django (with Terence Hill as Django). I don't care for Django the Bastard, but in terms of frame compositions, it's pretty creative. If only Franco Nero or Hill had played the lead.

Even if you know how The Great Silence ends based on its reputation, see it -- it's so worth it. My Name is Nobody is another good "The End of the Western"-type flick, except it's MUCH, MUCH lighter tonally.

Once Upon a Time in the West (which kinda doesn't count because it was produced partially with US money)
The Great Silence
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Django
Django Kill...If You Live, Shoot!
Companeros
Big Gundown
Bullet For the General
Death Rides a Horse
Keoma

I still haven't gotten around to watching Face to Face, Mecenary or Texas Addio, even though I have copies of them. It's funny, I wrote an article on the subject for DVDActive a long time ago, and included Massacre Time, Day of Anger, Cutthroats Nine and Sartana, which I'm no longer all that fond of (though I recommend all four overall). I can't believe I didn't include Keoma.

Isn't that true for Death Rides A Horse, too?

FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE is a surprisingly moving, offbeat story about a group of good-natured crooks who run afoul of a sadist (Tomas Milian). Beautiful photography, fine performances. Directed by Lucio Fulci.

THE MERCENARY and COMPANEROS! - Franco Nero plays The Polack in the former and The Swede in the latter, Tony Musante and Tomas Milian are basically the same stupid Mexican bandit, and Jack Palance has a field day.

THE STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER, one of the better western-comedies, available on DVD in widescreen as BLOOD MONEY. A Shaw Bros. co-production with Shaw veteran Lo Lieh opposite Lee Van Cleef, and they have good chemistry. The bad guy's fun, too.

Is it? I suppose so...maybe I should watch the stuff I haven't seen yet and replace that one.

A Man Called Sledge kicked my ass. Directed by Vic Morrow!

Fuck lists, but heads up: Navajo Joe is on MGM HD on SUNDAY • June 20th at 6:20pm. I've gotten more from this channel in 6 months than from HBO over three years.

Definitely lesser Corbucci, but the theme will be in my head for weeks, and Burt Reynolds does the hell out of his own stunts, which adds a lot. And I dug the scene where he demands to be made sheriff.

Soundtrack Collector is really good at these tributes. I like the NAVAJO JOE chant, but I think the music works better without it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciWHBT_Wlys

That's awesome, thanks for the link.

Just finally watched The Mercenary, and was pretty disappointed, not because it's bad by any means, but because it was practically remade as Companeros a year later, and Companeros is just a better movie. I thought it was a surprise prequel for a bit, but realized Nero and Palance were actually playing 'different' characters about halfway through.

Saw A Bullet For The General (or The Mercenary, as it is confusingly titled in portuguese - wrong political western d00dz!) today. I'm sure Peckinpah would never have admitted to being influenced by an italian western, but the movie's pretty damn reminiscent of The Wild Bunch in parts, and Bullet came first. Incredible body count (especially in the early scenes), some well-done commentary that eschews pure propganda (the landowners aren't portrayed as eeeevil, the peasants often are portrayed as bloodthirsty and ignorant - even though the movie is on the latter's side), Volonté is a blast, Kinksi slightly reigned in through having to play a good guy (even if it is an insane good guy.) Definitley top tier.

SPOILERY DISCUSSION FOLLOWS:

The ending did feel a bit rushed, though. The whole putting Chuchu in fancy clothes and showing him the perks of wealth could have made for good stuff to chew on, but it all happens so quickly that his final murder's impact hit me much more on the personal level (wtf, that dude was your friend) and a lot less on the righteous political level it was supposed to. Perhaps an instance where a bit of preachyness would have actually benefited the movie?

You know, I think I just now stopped assuming Bullet for the General was a
Sergio Sollima movie. Damiano Damiani didn't really do much more for the genre. I think the overdone preachy-ness of the finale was probably him aping Sollima (Mr. Politics) and Corbucci (Mr. Tragedy) at the same time, probably. I'd have to watch it again, it's been a while.

Damiani and Volonté were tight, right? I think they did a couple of poliziotteschi (or more likely political conspiracy, those always get lumped in with that category) together in the 70's.

As I said, I actually wouldn't have minded some more preaching. I mean on one hand the ending is hilariously OTT ("don't buy bread, buy dynamite!" - aaaah, the 60's), but on the other, I think it sorta fails because Volonté is supposed to have this big epiphany, but since Castel and him never really had a longer discussion about these things, and you could even say Castel was moving closer towards becoming a redeemable character (he was after all helping a friend, which is more than what he would have done earlier), it just comes across as Volonté being as confused as he always was. Which isn't a bad beat to end on, actually, but I doubt it's what the movie intended.

Do give it another viewing, Gabe, I'd be interested in your thoughts.

That I did not know. I just looked through his imdb page for Westerns I recognized.

Compañeros happened to me. What fun fun fun movie.
Even better when watching with subtitles and realizing subtitles and audio don't usually relate to each other haha.

Nero is having a blast. Vasco is amazing. And Palance looks like he was drunk during all filming.
So many hilarious scenes. Corbucci ups the ante with the scope and production values. But keeps the weirdness on.

Did you see The Mercenary Tati? Everyone talks it up, but it was practically remade as Companeros, which is just a better movie.

So now I say to all of you that love The Mercenary, see Companeros, and see it now!

I've been on a big Western kick lately and I just picked up this Mill Creek treasure trove at Best Buy for $12.99. I'm sure there are some poor transfers and more than a few turds, but I'm looking forward to starting with KEOMA.

 

 

Contains these flicks:

3 Bullets for Ringo
And God Said To Cain
Apache Blood
Ben and Charlie
Between God, the Devil and a Winchester
Beyond the Law
Boot Hill
Challenge to White Fang
China 9, Liberty 37
Dead For A Dollar
Dead Men Don't Make Shadows
Death Rides a Horse
Deserter, The
Django Kills
Django vs. Sartana
Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe, The
Find a Place to Die
Fistful of Lead
Four of the Apocalypse
Four Rode Out
Grand Duel
Great Adventure, The
Hate Thy Neighbor
His Name Was King...
If You Meet Sartana, Pray For Death
It Can Be Done Amigo
Jesse and Lester
Johnny Yuma
Keoma
Kid Vengeance
Man from Nowhere
Manhunt, The
Mannaja
Minnesota Clay
Price of Power, The
Run, Man, Run
Strangers Gundown, The
Sundance and the Kid
They Call Him Cemetery
This Man Can't Die
Trinity and Sartana
Unholy Four, The
White Comanche
White Fang and the Hunter

I've been vacillating between getting that set and this one: 

 

 

 

Disc 1 The Grand Duel: A gunslinger (Lee Van Cleef) in a violent family dispute faces them in an duel! Captain Apache: The bodies pile high when a Native American (Lee Van Cleef) serving in the Union army investigates the murder of an Indian agent. Disc 2 Kid Vengeance: After a teen (Leif Garrett) sees his family massacred by a sadistic outlaw (Lee Van Cleef) he sets out on a trail of vengeance! Bad Man's River: A bandit (Lee Van Cleef) and a revolutionary (James Mason) steal a fortune in gold. Costars Italian beauty Gina Lollobrigida! Disc 3 If You Meet Sartana, Pray For Your Death (Widescreen): It rains blood when a mysterious stranger (Gianni Garko) goes up against rival gangs and shady bankers! Co-stars Klaus Kinski. Run, Man, Run (Widescreen): A knife-throwing thief (Tomas Milian) must beat murderous bandits and his hotblooded fiancée to a fortune in lost gold! Disc 4 The Strangers Gundown (Widescreen): An avenging gunman (Anthony Steffen) returns from the grave to settle an old score! I Am Sartana, Trade Your Guns For A Coffin: On a quest for gold, a bounty hunter (George Hilton) tangles with bandits and a mining boss! Blindman (Widescreen): A sightless gunslinger (Tony Anthony) embarks on a killing spree after Mexican banditos steal his precious cargo--50 mail order brides! Co-stars ex-Beatle Ringo Starr! Disc 5 Keoma (Widescreen): A half-breed Indian (Franco Nero) returns home after the Civil War to discover his town overrun by a greedy landowner. Widely considered the last great spaghetti western! The Four Of The Apocalypse (Widescreen): When the survivors of a massacre meet a trigger-happy bandit (Tomas Milian) their lives change forever! Disc 6 And God Said To Cain: After enduring ten years of hard labor for a crime he did not commit, a former Union officer (Klaus Kinski) is out for revenge! The Fighting Fist Of Shanghai Joe: When provoked, a gentle mystic (Chen Lee) becomes a deadly killing machine with fists of fury! Co-stars Klaus Kinski. White Comanche: Half-breed twins (William Shatner in a dual role) face off in a bloody range-war!

 

 

Let me know how your set is tho DM. I dunno if I have the time and energy to wade through 44 films just tofind the half a dozen I really like.

For me, more is more (and it's a steal for under $15), but I see your point. KEOMA was great (and on both sets) and I'll probably make my way through the more well-knowns and recommended ones first. The set with 44 has most of the 14 you linked.