Origins

• Although a few westerns had already been made in Italy, "A Fistful of Dollars" (released in 1964) is considered to be the first true spaghetti western. Directed by Sergio Leone, "A Fistful of Dollars" was based on the 1961 Japanese film "Yojimbo." It tells the story of a lone gunfighter who protects a prairie town from a gang of bandits. "A Fistful of Dollars" set the template for films to follow, which typically included elements such as desolate villages and cynical antiheroes. "A Fistful of Dollars" also had a now-iconic score from composer Ennio Morricone that featured a distinctive trumpet-based main theme and sound effects such as cracking whips and gunshots.
  
  

Clint Eastwood

• Actor Clint Eastwood popularized the spaghetti western genre as much as the genre popularized him. At the time, Eastwood was starring in the hit TV western "Rawhide," and "A Fistful of Dollars" was his first starring role in a feature film. Eastwood plays a character now called "The Man With No Name," a mysterious stranger who is only out for himself until he finds he has no choice but to step in and help when bandits ravage a small village.
  
  

The Fistful of Dollars Trilogy

• After the success of "A Fistful of Dollars," Eastwood went on to star in two more Leone-directed westerns: "For a Few Dollars More" (1965) and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). The latter is considered by some to be the genre's masterpiece. The success of the "Dollars" trilogy opened the door for numerous copycat movies, which typically followed the same basic format and featured a cynical, gun-slinging stranger who becomes a reluctant hero or seeks vengeance.
  
  

Other Films

• The so-called "glory years" of the spaghetti western were between 1966 to 1968, when several Italian directors put their unique stamps on the genre. Among these are Sergio Corbucci (sometimes called "the other Sergio"), whose film "The Great Silence" subverted conventions by having his protagonist lose his ultimate battle. Sergio Sollima (also called "the third Sergio") deconstructed the myth of the good-guy gunslinger with "The Big Gundown," starring Lee Van Cleef (who also appeared in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"). A series of comedic spaghetti westerns appeared in the early 1970s, led by "They Call Me Trinity" and its sequels. The influence of spaghetti westerns can be seen in modern movies as well, especially the films of Quentin Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction") and Robert Rodriguez ("Machete").