Spaghetti western - Research Paper Example

In this respect, the term ‘Spaghetti’ initially was meant to downgrade this genre of films, but later on, the films came to be appreciated due to the artistic innovativeness of the producers, despite their lean budgets. Therefore, Spaghetti westerns achieved global recognition due to their unequalled distinctness and uniqueness in style and creativity, as opposed to the traditional American Hollywood style. Most critics point out that Spaghetti Western emerged at the onset of Sergio Leone’s filmmaking style; this style is evidently depicted in Leone’s trilogy of films that have gained global acclamation ever since their release in the ‘60’s up to date.

The leading role in this trilogy was played by Clint Eastwood, and the sound track was done by Ennio Morricone; after the massive success of this trilogy Leone, Eastwood and Morricone became household names in the film industry for their exceptional ability at directing, acting and composition respectively. Leone’s Spaghetti westerns are discernible through a number of ways; firstly, even though they are based on the traditional American western film, Leon’s concept of the west is exaggerated in all its aspects.

In other words, Leone portrays west that is wilder and more realistic than the usual one, and this contextual setting provides the overall tone of his films (Scherpschutter & Lindberg). From his films, it is evident that unlike traditional American westerns, the Spaghetti westerns have a strong tone that is characterized with extreme violence and ruthlessness. Spaghetti Westerns exaggerates the American lifestyle and context to highlight the conflicts in the film, a technique that makes them exceptionally forceful, unlike the American westerns.

Being so much action oriented, dialogue in the spaghetti westerns is very scarce and obscure as it is accompanied with esoteric sounds tracks. For instance, Morricone’s sound tracks were characterized by unusual sounds such as rapid gunshots, cracking whips and whistles, in addition to the trumpets, the electric guitar and the harp. These unusual sound tracks played a very fundamental role in the spaghetti western film, in that they help to enhance the drama and suspense in the films. Thus, the spaghetti westerns have been likened to the classical opera that hugely relied on the musical element to explicate its storyline.

Just like in the opera, the spaghetti westerns rely on the music to illustrate their storylines in detail, in order to make it comprehensible to the viewership. Spaghetti western directors infused aspects of the Italian culture (characterized by brashness and wacky tensions) into their stories; this is embodied in the violence depicted by the Mexican bandits. This Italian cultural aspect is further highlighted through close range camera visuals of the actors’ face reactions and their guns, and together with the bizarre sound tracks; these aspects help in building up the tensions in the spaghetti western films (“Spaghetti Westerns and Italian Culture”).

Spaghetti western films are also renowned for their atypical hero characters that don’t strike as sympathetic, but instead have tendencies typical to the villain of the story. In other word, the hero is more like the villain, always dirty and untidy, sometimes