Spaghettis in comparison to other exploitation movies

Town Hall
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I’ve been into spaghettis for a while now. One of the aspects i love about them is the so distinct style they have. You just need to see a erratic zoom to extream eye shot close up to know its a spaghetti. Even the low budget films are very stylistic in this manner. I know some of the big budget pictures kind of transended this - ouatitw, duck you sucker etc. but even fistfull with its low budget was able to be ultra stylish.

Now i was wondering as i’ve not gotten into any other exploitation genre, grindhouse, blaxploitation etc so i was wondering if some people more in the know could help me out. I’m not particularly into low budget for the sake of it. I’m into style and camera work, direction. I was curious to wether any of these other genres were able to match spaghetti westerns in term of style not only on a aesthetic level but a artistic level. for example i watch cemetery without crosses and i think “god damn this is art”

Its not looking to good, from what i have seen - clips etc the acting does look a little shoddy and camera work not very stylish but maybe one of you guys with a better understanding can help me out.

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Check out Giallo films, they are basically only style and no action. Otherwise, apart from SWs, Explotation films aren’t that stylish, it’s just not the purpose of Explotation films. They are good if you want to look at a highly unserious film about women in a prison, a death camp, a drug dealer on the run or something like that, but if you wanna look at a stylish or even an art film, look at films from people like Jodorowsky, Tarkovsky or whatever, but Exploitation is not the genre for that ;). Afraid I can’t help you more than that.

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thanks for the reply, yes i will look up giallo films. but other than that i think you confirmed what i had already suspected. i do have the jordorowsky box set but its not really the same thing i was looking for.

i like the themes of exploitation, but if there is no style to it then i’m less intrieged. the other thing is where to start?

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[quote=“Alias, post:3, topic:2600”]thanks for the reply, yes i will look up giallo films. but other than that i think you confirmed what i had already suspected. i do have the jordorowsky box set but its not really the same thing i was looking for.

i like the themes of exploitation, but if there is no style to it then i’m less intrieged. the other thing is where to start?[/quote]
You mean with Giallo films? Start with some Argento films, like Deep Red, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (not really my type of film but it was a long time ago since I watched it and it is very popular), Cat O’Nine Tails etc… I’ve not seen that many Mario Bava films (only one, in fact), but I’ve heard they are supposed to be very good aswell.

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thanks. i’ll look those up. shortly after posting i found the swdb sister site the duce and had a browse through there. i’ll pick a couple of titles from the top ten there also and have a look at how fucci fared after four of the appocolypse.

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Enzo Castellari is a pretty stylish director. Maybe try some of his films.

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If you like Spaghettis, You’ll probably really like Polizios. Basically Spaghettis with cars as one directpr put it. And being Italian genre films, they are of course highly stylized and action packed.

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I can’t agree with that they are like SWs with Cars, I think they are more like Diry Harry in Italian Style.

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This thread may be of help to you Alias:

http://www.spaghetti-western.net/forum/index.php/topic,2357.msg77476.html#msg77476

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thanks john, i’ll have a look at that in my own time
to fully digest.

and korano and silence, while polizios may be cop films or dirty harry rip offs then thats irrelevent and worth checking out for me. i’ll have a look into it. I’ll probably start with watching all my girlfriends felini dvd’s.

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[quote=“Alias, post:1, topic:2600”]Now i was wondering as i’ve not gotten into any other exploitation genre, grindhouse, blaxploitation etc so i was wondering if some people more in the know could help me out. I’m not particularly into low budget for the sake of it. I’m into style and camera work, direction. I was curious to wether any of these other genres were able to match spaghetti westerns in term of style not only on a aesthetic level but a artistic level. for example i watch cemetery without crosses and i think “god damn this is art”

Its not looking to good, from what i have seen - clips etc the acting does look a little shoddy and camera work not very stylish but maybe one of you guys with a better understanding can help me out.[/quote]

I understand completely what you mean, but I think this is a very narrow-minded view. Admittedly spaghettis have a distinct style, but holding that up as being “art” while dismissing other films for not being stylish enough means you will miss out on some truly great films. Other genres use different methods to convey their stories and they have impact of a different sort.

In addition, the term “exploitation” is quite broad in the sense that it encompasses a variety of genres. A lot of the most infamous exploitation films were appropriated by grindhouse cinemas, rather than made with those audiences in mind. Spaghetti westerns are not really exploitation films as they were never really pushed in the same way as other genres in grindhouse cinemas.

However, if you’re looking for exploitation films with a similar visual impact to spaghetti westerns, you could try some of the “Chambara” films like the Lone Wolf and Cub series or the two Lady Snowblood films. Those Japanese films are visually stunning and filled with the kind of flair you’re looking for.

Some of the “carsploitation” films also look amazing, but especially the epic Vanishing Point. And Mad Max of course.

The “giallo” genre has been mentioned, but it’s true some of those films ooze style. It’s of a different type to what you will find in spaghettis, but is breathtaking in its own way.

To be honest, I think there’s a lot of great stuff to be found in other genres. I would suggest not making pointless comparisons with spaghettis and just try to enjoy stuff for what it is.

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Not to forget the so called Mexploitation Movies especially El Mariachi and Machete. :slight_smile:

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smokedown, thanks for your lenghty reply. i understand completely what you said and in all fairness tend to agree with you. it is very narrow minded intended in a unashamed way. i think its just a curiosity for me at the moment. i’m looking for new things to watch, with no peers in “real life” who have a similar interest in films its very hard to get into a scene of films. well the way i consider it when looking in the world cinema section of hmv and thinking should i take a wild punt on this film for £20? it seems in most cases to be a big risk.
i enjoy a wide selection of films outside the spaghetti genre. if its worth seeing then i’ll get round to it one day. at the moment my interest has been sparked by some of the visuals and style of spaghettis so i’m curious to see if thats translated in any other genre/set of films that i am not aware of. my inital post being as they have, like you said a loose connection with grindhouse, which i thought may be a avenue of which to go down.

“The “giallo” genre has been mentioned, but it’s true some of those films ooze style. It’s of a different type to what you will find in spaghettis, but is breathtaking in its own way.” - that i think is kind of what i’m looking for, and those two sentences have wet my appetite for that. what you said about "chambara"sounds very interesting to. so thanks! thats given me alot of think about and investigate.

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[quote=“Alias, post:13, topic:2600”]smokedown, thanks for your lenghty reply. i understand completely what you said and in all fairness tend to agree with you. it is very narrow minded intended in a unashamed way. i think its just a curiosity for me at the moment. i’m looking for new things to watch, with no peers in “real life” who have a similar interest in films its very hard to get into a scene of films. well the way i consider it when looking in the world cinema section of hmv and thinking should i take a wild punt on this film for £20? it seems in most cases to be a big risk.
i enjoy a wide selection of films outside the spaghetti genre. if its worth seeing then i’ll get round to it one day. at the moment my interest has been sparked by some of the visuals and style of spaghettis so i’m curious to see if thats translated in any other genre/set of films that i am not aware of. my inital post being as they have, like you said a loose connection with grindhouse, which i thought may be a avenue of which to go down.

“The “giallo” genre has been mentioned, but it’s true some of those films ooze style. It’s of a different type to what you will find in spaghettis, but is breathtaking in its own way.” - that i think is kind of what i’m looking for, and those two sentences have wet my appetite for that. what you said about "chambara"sounds very interesting to. so thanks! thats given me alot of think about and investigate.[/quote]

Fair enough. Do check out the full Lone Wolf and Cub series, as I think that’s exactly what you’re looking for. And they’re cracking movies to boot. :slight_smile: