Posts tagged spaghetti western
THE SCARLET WORM: A Defiant New Wave In The Old West
Oct 31st
If you were making a list of the least commercially viable genres in current cinema, the western would inevitably be either the top pick or very close. Younger viewers don’t relate to them, older viewers can’t be relied upon to seek them out and for the most part, studios don’t want to touch them. In More >
Digi-Schlock: THE WILD WEST COLLECTION (Shout Factory 2-For-1 DVD)
Jun 24th
Jim Brown fans, take note: this a disc for you. The Wild West Collection moniker is truthful, as this represents a pair of westerns for 20th Century Fox’s back catalog, but it’s also a double bill of movies with Jim Brown. However you slice it, it’s another strong catalog release from Shout Factory that is More >
TAKE A HARD RIDE: Sagebrush, Spaghetti & A Whole Lotta Soul
Jun 23rd
One of the reasons blaxploitation was a reliable trend during the 1970’s because it could be adapted to any previous existing genre. Everything from horror (Blacula) to spy flicks (That Man Bolt) to comedies (Monkey Hustle) was cranked out by enterprising filmmakers to frequently successful effect. The western genre in particularly worked well when crossbred More >
Schlock-Wire: Get A Double Shot Of Jim Brown With Shout! Factory’s THE WILD WEST COLLECTION
May 18th
Jim Brown fans, take note: two of his excursions into the Western genre will make their return to DVD in June via Shout! Factory’s 2-for-1 The Wild West Collection. The first film is actually Brown’s debut, Rio Conchos, and it pairs him with Stuart Whitman and Tony Franciosa. The next film in the set pairs More >
THE WARRIOR’S WAY: Would You Believe… A Samurai Spaghetti Western Fable?
Feb 18th
Every year, there’s at least one movie that everyone just misses the boat on. From the daily review brigade down to the online bloggers, this unlucky contender just can’t seem to get any respect or notice from any tastemakers and said film slips between the cracks of the marketplace. Your Humble Reviewer’s vote for the More >
THE STRANGER’S GUNDOWN: A Gothic Gunslinger Lurking In The Spaghetti Sagebrush
Jun 3rd
The spaghetti western kept itself fresh throughout its history by crossbreeding itself with other genres to create hybrids that keep the genre and its elements fresh. For instance, Terence Hill and Bud Spencer built their careers on a string of films that mixed hefty doses of slapstick with sagebrush and Sergio Sollima used spaghetti western More >
TODAY WE KILL, TOMORROW WE DIE!: A Fun Riff On The Spaghetti Western Formula
May 31st
If you wanted to work in film business in Italy during the 1960’s, it was inevitable that you would be involved in the making of at least one spaghetti western. The demand for the genre and the export-friendly nature of these titles ensured that Italian producers would gladly lay down the lira necessary to crank More >
ANY GUN CAN PLAY: The Lighter Side Of The Spaghetti Western
Apr 8th
Spaghetti westerns naturally lent themselves to a grim, brutal style of storytelling. However, there was a certain strain of the genre that downplayed bloodshed and dark themes in favor of old-fashioned, Hollywood-ish adventure leavened with varying doses of physical humor. Some of these films went for full-on slapstick (see the early career of Terence Hill) More >
A BULLET FOR SANDOVAL: The Spaghetti Western Version Of A Murder Ballad
Apr 5th
Spaghetti westerns often appeal to cult-film types who don’t normally go for westerns because they subvert the traditionalist vibe that is usually associated with the genre. Spaghetti westerns aren’t beholden to a “white hats vs. black hats” iconography and they frequently incorporate leftist political themes, a gothic atmosphere or a bleak commentary on human morality. More >
Schlock-Wire: A 2nd Spaghetti Western Double Bill of A BULLET FOR SANDOVAL and ANY GUN CAN PLAY Coming From VCI
Mar 10th
At the end of March, VCI will be releasing a pair of Spaghetti Western double-feature discs and this Schlock-Wire entry is devoted to the second of the two (the first was covered here). This disc offers A Bullet For Sandoval, which features Ernest Borgnine in a key role, and Any Gun Can Play, an early More >
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