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The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis
The 1960s and 1970s were the heyday of spaghetti westerns—low-budget films about the early American West mostly filmed in Italy. Though sometimes derided as excessively violent imitations of American-made westerns, they attracted a substantial following that has endured. With its classic elements of gunfights, gambling, heroes, sidekicks, love, and death, the genre is now perceived by critics as an intriguing object of study.

This book analyzes the construction of the stories presented in spaghetti westerns. It examines the content of the Italian western using concepts and constructs borrowed from scholars studying "pre-industrial" narratives. Plot, the constellation of characters, their relationship to each other, and their motives are studied. Films examined in detail include the seminal A Fistful of Dollars as well as Django, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. There is also a discussion of the early spaghetti westerns. The study then probes the elements of bounty hunters, the deprived hero, partnerships, betrayal, and comedy. An appendix details the top grossing Italian westerns between 1964 and 1975, including title, director, lead actor and intake. A second appendix provides a list of films quoted by Italian title and then by English title.

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The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis
The 1960s and 1970s were the heyday of spaghetti westerns—low-budget films about the early American West mostly filmed in Italy. Though sometimes derided as excessively violent imitations of American-made westerns, they attracted a substantial following that has endured. With its classic elements of gunfights, gambling, heroes, sidekicks, love, and death, the genre is now perceived by critics as an intriguing object of study.

This book analyzes the construction of the stories presented in spaghetti westerns. It examines the content of the Italian western using concepts and constructs borrowed from scholars studying "pre-industrial" narratives. Plot, the constellation of characters, their relationship to each other, and their motives are studied. Films examined in detail include the seminal A Fistful of Dollars as well as Django, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. There is also a discussion of the early spaghetti westerns. The study then probes the elements of bounty hunters, the deprived hero, partnerships, betrayal, and comedy. An appendix details the top grossing Italian westerns between 1964 and 1975, including title, director, lead actor and intake. A second appendix provides a list of films quoted by Italian title and then by English title.

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The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis

The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis

by Bert Fridlund
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The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis

The Spaghetti Western: A Thematic Analysis

by Bert Fridlund

Overview

The 1960s and 1970s were the heyday of spaghetti westerns—low-budget films about the early American West mostly filmed in Italy. Though sometimes derided as excessively violent imitations of American-made westerns, they attracted a substantial following that has endured. With its classic elements of gunfights, gambling, heroes, sidekicks, love, and death, the genre is now perceived by critics as an intriguing object of study.

This book analyzes the construction of the stories presented in spaghetti westerns. It examines the content of the Italian western using concepts and constructs borrowed from scholars studying "pre-industrial" narratives. Plot, the constellation of characters, their relationship to each other, and their motives are studied. Films examined in detail include the seminal A Fistful of Dollars as well as Django, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. There is also a discussion of the early spaghetti westerns. The study then probes the elements of bounty hunters, the deprived hero, partnerships, betrayal, and comedy. An appendix details the top grossing Italian westerns between 1964 and 1975, including title, director, lead actor and intake. A second appendix provides a list of films quoted by Italian title and then by English title.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780786425075
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date: 11/10/2006
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 304
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.61(d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

System analyst Bert Fridlund lives in Uppsala, Sweden. His essays on popular cinema and popular culture has been published in Swedish journals and anthologies.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface     

1. The Spaghetti Western Film as an Object of Study     
2. Enter the Infiltrator     
3. The Code of Cunning     
4. Intruding into Gringo Territory     
5. Stories of the Deprived Hero     
6. A Partnership of Bounty Killers     
7. A Partnership Without Tricks     
8. Stories of Betrayal     
9. Triumph of Comedy     
10. Un Minuto per Pregare—Concluding Remarks     

Appendix A. Top-Grossing Italian Westerns, 1964–1975     
Chapter Notes     
Bibliography     
Index     
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