Poncho, hat, tan boots: the look the films made famous.
A spaghetti western is a subgenre of Western films produced in Europe, mostly by Italian producers and directors, that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's style and international box-office success. Its best-known figure, the Man with No Name, is recognizable by his sarape, brown hat and tan cowboy boots, per Wikipedia.
What did the Man with No Name wear?
He wears a sarape, a brown hat and tan cowboy boots. Wikipedia's Man with No Name entry says that is how the character is recognizable, along with his fondness for cigarillos and the fact that he rarely speaks. Wikipedia's A Fistful of Dollars entry says Clint Eastwood was instrumental in creating the character's visual style.
| Piece | Where it came from | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sarape (called the poncho in the film's entry) | Acquired in Spain; Leone and costume designer Carlo Simi decided on the Spanish poncho for the character | Wikipedia, "A Fistful of Dollars" |
| Brown hat | Came from a Santa Monica wardrobe firm | Wikipedia, "A Fistful of Dollars" |
| Tan cowboy boots | Listed with the sarape and hat as part of how the character is recognizable | Wikipedia, "Man with No Name" |
| Black jeans | Eastwood bought them at a sports shop on Hollywood Boulevard | Wikipedia, "A Fistful of Dollars" |
| Cigars | The trademark cigars came from a Beverly Hills store | Wikipedia, "A Fistful of Dollars" |
| Props from Rawhide | Eastwood brought a Cobra-handled Colt, a gunbelt and spurs | Wikipedia, "A Fistful of Dollars" |
Wikipedia does not say who made the boots. It does quote Leone: he needed "a mask," and Eastwood "only had two expressions: with hat and no hat."
Bespoke Western's view is that a boot still does that work today: worn without a costume, a cowboy boot reads Western. What to wear with cowboy boots covers how.
What are the best spaghetti westerns to watch first?
Start with A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and watch the Dollars trilogy in release order. Wikipedia says A Fistful of Dollars gave Eastwood his first leading role and initiated the popularity of the genre.
| Watch order | Film | Year | Why at this point |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Fistful of Dollars | 1964 in Italy, 1967 in the United States | Directed by Leone, with Eastwood in his first leading role; it started the genre's popularity |
| 2 | For a Few Dollars More | 1965 | The second Dollars film; Ennio Morricone scored all three |
| 3 | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly | 1966 | Eastwood is "the Good," Lee Van Cleef "the Bad," Eli Wallach "the Ugly"; its score is regarded as one of the most influential soundtracks in history |
| 4 | Once Upon a Time in the West | 1968 | The BFI calls it "Leone's masterpiece"; shot mostly in Almería and Cinecittà, briefly in Monument Valley |
Pick release order if you want the Man with No Name from his first appearance. Pick Once Upon a Time in the West if you want the film the BFI calls Leone's masterpiece. Beyond those four, Wikipedia names Sergio Corbucci's Django, starring Franco Nero, as a most influential film beside Leone's first three, and says the box-office success of Enzo Barboni's They Call Me Trinity gave Italian filmmakers a new model to emulate.
What is a spaghetti western?
A spaghetti western is a Western made in Europe, with Italy dominating the market. Wikipedia says over six hundred European Westerns were made between 1960 and 1978, including nearly five hundred in Italy. Its Sergio Leone entry credits him as the pioneer of the genre.
Why are they called spaghetti westerns?
The name refers to the Italian food spaghetti. Wikipedia says Spanish journalist Alfonso Sánchez Martínez coined the phrase in 1966, and that foreign critics used the term because most of these Westerns were produced and directed by Italians. Wikipedia's entry on The Good, the Bad and the Ugly says the name was originally a pejorative, given by foreign critics who thought the films inferior to American westerns.
Other names include Italian Westerns, meatball Westerns and, primarily in Japan, macaroni Westerns. In Italy the genre is typically called western all'italiana, or Italian-style Western.
Where were spaghetti westerns filmed?
Most were shot at Cinecittà Studios and at locations around southern Italy and Spain, on low budgets, according to Wikipedia. Common locations were the Tabernas Desert and the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, both in the province of Almería in southeastern Spain.
Wikipedia says A Fistful of Dollars was shot mostly near Hoyo de Manzanares, close to Madrid, and also in those two Almería locations. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was filmed primarily in Spain, including at the purpose-built Sad Hill Cemetery. Some sets survive as theme parks, such as Texas Hollywood, Mini Hollywood and Western Leone.
How is a spaghetti western different from a Hollywood western?
Core spaghetti westerns are often described as having turned away from the conventions of the traditional U.S. Western. Wikipedia says Leone's films and other core spaghetti westerns are often described as having eschewed, criticized or even "demythologized" many of those conventions. The BFI says they carry a greater sense of operatic violence than their American cousins.
Wikipedia calls Eastwood's performance an important novelty of the genre and describes the character as an unshaven, sarcastic, insolent Western antihero with personal goals in mind. It adds that Leone's style juxtaposes extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots.
How did spaghetti westerns change the Western?
They set off a boom in Italian production, and later filmmakers borrowed from them. Wikipedia says the wave crested in 1968, comprising one-third of Italian film production, and collapsed to one-tenth in 1969. The BFI says that in the late 1960s almost half of the films produced in Italy were westerns. The two figures differ, so each is given here as its source states it.
Wikipedia says Eastwood's first American Western, Hang 'Em High, incorporates elements of spaghetti westerns.
Quick answers
Who composed the music for the Dollars trilogy?
Ennio Morricone provided the original score for all three films, per Wikipedia. On A Fistful of Dollars he was credited as "Dan Savio" or "Leo Nichols," depending on the print.
Is Django part of the Dollars trilogy?
No. The trilogy is Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, with Eastwood as the Man with No Name. Django is Sergio Corbucci's film starring Franco Nero.
Do spaghetti westerns have an official language?
Wikipedia says most were released in Italian or with Italian dubbing, but multilingual casts and post-synched sound mean most westerns all'italiana lack an official dominant language.
Are spaghetti westerns still referenced today?
Wikipedia says Quentin Tarantino has used elements of them in Kill Bill, Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It says the Back to the Future trilogy pays homage to them on a variety of occasions, most notably in the third film.
Bottom line
Start with A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and watch the Dollars trilogy in release order. The Man with No Name's look, a sarape, brown hat and tan cowboy boots, was assembled piece by piece, from jeans Eastwood bought to a poncho chosen in Spain. Wikipedia and the BFI give different boom figures, so read each as its own source's number.
Where to go next
- Shop all boots
- What to wear with cowboy boots
- History of the cowboy: from vaquero to custom boots
- Cowboy hat shapes: crown creases and brim styles
Sources: Wikipedia ("Spaghetti Western," "Man with No Name," "A Fistful of Dollars," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "Dollars trilogy," "Sergio Leone," "Ennio Morricone"); BFI, Jon Towlson, "10 great spaghetti westerns."
