​5 Spaghetti Westerns: Best cowboy movies to discover this weekend

Spaghetti Westerns come from the word ‘Paella Westerns,’ a moniker used to refer to Westerns shot in Europe, especially in the Andalusian deserts of Spain, on relatively low budgets. The cinematography relied on the natural ambient light of their set locations and thus contributing to their high contrast look. They were low budget projects that utilised minimal equipment and set-up that turned out to be timeless classics. So, here are five movies that you should look forward to:

The first true Spaghetti Western. Directed by Sergio Leone. The film was the progenitor of a whole new subgenre. Hailed as a ‘cult classic,’ the movie spawned the ‘Dollars’ trilogy that defined the genre and the stoic journeyman archetype.

A Fernandino Baldi classic, the story follows the path of a blind yet deadly gunslinger hired to escort mail order brides to their miner husbands. The movie gained popularity due to the involvement of the Beatles musician Ringo Starr, playing one of the roles.

The second instalment in the ‘Dollars’ trilogy. You may ask, why watch this? A gripping storyline, action sequences and exploration of morality. The story revolves around revenge, money and a watch…..No more spoilers! Go watch!

Slightly deviating from the norm, this Zapata Western is not your standard Spaghetti Western. It has deep ideological connotations, questions the morality behind the US-Mexican war. The movie revolves around a revolutionary peasant who joins hands with an arms dealer to rescue a rebel leader.

The last and final instalment of the ‘Dollars’ series, the movie revolves around the American Civil War, the nearing end of the Wild West and the arrival of civilisation. Our ‘Man with no name’ or rather a man of many monikers (you’ll find out) enters the fray along with an eccentric Mexican and a really bad man. A movie with golden moments of comedy, action and a lot of tension!