Spaghetti Westerns

1. "A Fistful of Dollars" is considered to be one of the top spaghetti westerns of all time.

1.1. "A Fistful of Dollars' is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role.

1.1.1. Promoting A Fistful of Dollars was difficult, because no major distributor wanted to take a chance on a faux-Western and an unknown director. The film ended up being released in September, which is typically the worst month for sales.

2. Spaghetti Western, also known as Italian Western or Macaroni Western (primarily in Japan),[1] is a broad sub genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's film-making style and international box-office success.

2.1. According to veteran Spaghetti Western actor Aldo Sambrell, the phrase "Spaghetti Western" was coined by Spanish journalist Alfonso Sánchez.

2.1.1. Italian cinema often borrowed from other films without regard for infringement, and Leone famously borrowed the plot for A Fistful of Dollars, receiving a letter from Japanese director Akira Kurosawa congratulating him on making "...a very fine film. But it is my film".

3. The first American-British western filmed in Spain was The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1958), directed by Raoul Walsh.

3.1. This marked the beginning of Spain as a suitable film shooting location for any kind of European western.

4. Spaghetti Westerns have left their mark on popular culture, strongly influencing numerous works produced outside of Italy.

4.1. Clint Eastwood's first American Western film, Hang 'Em High (1968), incorporates elements of Spaghetti Westerns.

5. Django, is a 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Corbucci, starring Franco Nero (in his breakthrough role).

5.1. The film earned a reputation as one of the most violent films ever made at the time, and was subsequently refused a certificate in the United Kingdom until 1993, when it was issued an 18 certificate (the film was downgraded to a 15 certificate in 2004).

5.1.1. A commercial success upon release, Django has garnered a large cult following outside of Italy and is widely regarded as one of the best films of the Spaghetti Western genre,