How come there are no more Spaghetti Westerns being made?

[Poeman]

I'm a huge fan of westerns and more so Sergio Leone and his epic collection of films from The Dollars Trilogy to my ultimate favorite 'Once upon a time in the west'.

The thing is everyone knows now that spaghetti westerns are witty and just awesome films. How come directors are more inclined to do films like 'Open Range, Appaloosa, 3:10 to Yuma, etc...

I know the Coen's are doing True Grit...Not sure how much of that spaghetti western feel there will be in it. However, we have lacked in these types of westerns for decades.

Spaghetti westerns primarily work because of the characters, score, out of the realism type of story. In fact, the old ones are considered all time great films on IMDB.

The recent video game also Red Dead Redemption has that spaghetti western feel to it and it was a major hit...

So, just wondering why are there no longer any real spaghetti westerns being made? And what are some stories you would like to see?

 

[Octoberist]

It's more of the fiances at the time and the era of the 60s.

I think we can pay homage to spaghetti westerns, but we can't go back and actually bring it back. Legitimately.

It's like the French trying to bring back French New Wave.

 

[matrix_ghost]

You have to look at this from the studio. exec. point of view.
If flicks like 3;10 to Yuma with all star casts didn't draw crowds , then spaghetti westerns won't either.

Any time a movie makes more then 100 million domestic , Hollywood starts getting interested in the genre in which the movie is set.
sword and sandals pics pretty much died out till gladiator arrived. Then hollywood got interested and made a crapload of bad movies. 300 came back to restore that confidence. Spaghetti westerns are definately movies that appeal to older audiences but if those people decide to flock to such a movie ,ýou'll see more of those movies being made.

 

[Catman]

To begin with, Spaghetti Westerns are Italian films. Yes, they starred American actors but they were made with Italian filmmakers and Italian crews. Hence the term Spaghetti Western. So, if you want to know why these movies are no longer being made then ask the Italians. As for American films in that style, well, it's too nich of a market.

 

[scifiwolf]

Here's my take on westerns. When they were done, they were done to death. We're talking oversaturation, the likes of which Hollywood hasn't really seen since (although comic book movies may hit that point pretty soon). Anyway, because sooooo many came out in that span between the 50's and 70's, they feel remarkably dated now. Films like Young Guns, Tombstone, The Quick and the Dead, and 3:10 to Yuma have been able to avoid that dated quality to a certain extent, but the genre will forever be associated with the time period of its heyday.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

Yeah, as some people here mentioned: Spaghetti Westerns were defined by the country they were made in, the people who made them and the era. You don't just ''bring them back''. But obviously, since the rise of those films and especially Leone the entire genre has completely changed. Leone introduced all these style trademarks that have become synonymous with westerns in general. When you look at something like The Proposition; it's nasty gritiness really comes close to those Italian films of old. But it's also very much it's own brand of film. I don't think directors should waste their time (and possibly) talent on making pastiches. The genre should evolve beyond winks and nudges at the past.

 

[Watchman]

Quentin Tarantino is bound to make a full fledge Spaghetti Western one of these days.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Enzo G. Castellari (director of Keoma and the original "Inglorious bastards") has been trying to shoot a new spaghetti western for like 10 years, but he's not able to raise the money to do it. Franco Nero is still supposed to star in it and many actors were contacted by Castellari to guest star in it, from Depardieu to Nick Nolte, Keith Carradine; Mickey Rourke and Tarantino himself.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

We need a rather stylish and say high speed flick in the vein of 300 or better yet Star Trek 09 to rejuvenate the classic Western. My suggestion? Go gritty and have a Ridley Scott's RED DEAD REDEMPTION movie or really awesome and epic with Spielberg's Cowboy Bebop adaptation

 

[Ghostvirus]

The problem is that people don't really know how to do a western these days. 3:10 to Yuma had some of the best actors in the world. But it had no atmosphere. You can't just show up with a guy on a horse in a field & call it a western.

You gotta capture the feel of that time. You got to smell the dirt from the ground. Smell the trees. The actors gotta look like they havent showered in a week. Their skin has to be like leather from the sun beating down on them for years. etc...

Today things are to clean to do that.

 

[Raiden]

Spaghetti Western was a hit back in the 60's and 70's, but it began to lose its popularity even though the genre began to move to the tube with shows like Bonanza. The reason why we hardly get any western movies nowadays (except for occasional remakes like 3:10 to Yuma) is quite simple: the audience have no interest for western. Hollywood will go where the money is, and the money right now is the superhero movies. There are many genres that fell out of flavor with the audience, like exploitation films from the 70's, old R-rated slash films from the 80's, etc. Spaghetti Western is just a product of its bygone time.

 

[Heretic]

You guys are all forgetting about Jonah He...nevermind.

 

[Antonello Blueberry]

Jonah Hex original script was a fun mix of spaghetti western style (from Django to Trinità) with a zombie movie.
I still have to see the movie, but I heard it lost both the fun and the atmosphere.

 

[Carmine Falcone]

The problem is that people don't really know how to do a western these days. 3:10 to Yuma had some of the best actors in the world. But it had no atmosphere. You can't just show up with a guy on a horse in a field & call it a western.

You gotta capture the feel of that time. You got to smell the dirt from the ground. Smell the trees. The actors gotta look like they havent showered in a week. Their skin has to be like leather from the sun beating down on them for years. etc...

Today things are to clean to do that.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who think 3:10 was an imitation-western. It was basically just an action movie in the Old West. They could all have been gangsters in New York or something.

The Propostion, like few westerns of the last few decades captures exactly what you are talking about. It looks and feels genuine. I also think the Assassination of Jesse James was a great western, although not of the dirty and grubby kind. It was poetic and polished. But it felt entirely right for the material.

 

[Drizzle]

Quentin Tarantino is bound to make a full fledge Spaghetti Western one of these days.

Yeah, that's what I'm waiting for.