I had watched when I was a veery little kid A fistful of dollars. Then I forgot all about this movie until some years later I watched The good, the bad and the ugly, when I started remembering scenes from A fistful of dollars. And thus I discovered the genre…!
The first SW’s I watched were of the old Anchor Bay Spaghetti West pack, which I’m eternally grateful for and is a set I re-visit often, since their transfers are excellent.
Companeros- My first SW, that got me hooked.
Texas Adios- I think this one is underrated. Great soundtrack, and great fights.
A Bullet For The General- Epic, probably the BIGGEST non-Leone SW in terms of Scope.
Keoma- Awesome slo-mo, and an ethereal soundtrack and lighting contributes to the dream-like atmospehere.
Four of the Apocalypse- Brutal and Cruel, and introduced me to Lucio Fulci.
I can remember going to see A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS at the cinema with my Father. This would’ve been shortly after it’s release here in the States. I was completely blown away, and continued on with the Dollars Trilogy as they were shown. I’ve been a lover of spaghetti oaters ever since (with no slowing down!).
First of all, I was a great jidaigeki fan. Akira Kurosawa is just without words and one of my favourite films is Yojimbo with Toshiro Mifune!
So, one day when I was around 12 my father had an inspiration…
Dad: You know son, there is a western themed remake of Yojimbo. It’s called “A Fistful of Dollars” and was made by Sergio Leone. It’s Italian. Salty Jim: An Italian Western? Dad: Sure! They are called Spaghetti Westerns! Salty Jim: Ok… Show me!
The next day or so my father went to a video club. Asked about the film and returned with a DVD. We watched it the same night.
Salty Jim: Wow! That was cool! Dad: Yes, but it was the wrong film! The guy from the club has no idea. That was “For a few Dollars more”. The sequel! Salty Jim: You have to go again then!
The next week we went together. We stood there and searched the movie in the western section, when my father said full with excitment:
Dad: That’s what we are gonna watch tonight! Salty Jim: But that’s called The good, the bad and the Ugly. Dad: Exactly! And it’s much much better!
And so I fell in love with Sergio Leone and later with the entire genre.
The next films were A fistful of Dollars (at last), Once upon a time in the west, Duck, you sucker and then lots of films…
But I have to tell you that there is no experience like seeing them on the big screen in a theater, or even a drive-in (where I saw a lot of the films). Home viewing is nice, and it’s great that it burst the door open for you, but it’ll never replace the big screen for me.
I can’t remember the year, but it was definitely not in the 80s. I’m not so old! I’m sure that my father watched them at the Greek TV at that time.
I know what you mean and it has nothing to do with the western fans, but that the Greek channels don’t have, as you mentioned, any respect for the audiences any more. I haven’t watched TV for many years and the reason is that it makes me feel idiotic.
The only westerns I’ve watched at Greek TV are “The Wild Bunch” and “The hired Hand” (at Βουλή channel). Some years ago I found some videotapes of Unforgiven and The good, the bad and the ugly and other Leone films, that my parents recorded from the TV. They must have been recorded in the beginning of the 2000s, but I can’t imagine that they would play such films any more…
Can’t remember which one was the first, but it could have been one of the Spencer/Hill-Westerns or one of the Karl May westerns. I was very young then, maybe 6 or 7.
But the first one that really got me hooked specifically on Italian westerns was THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. I taped it and watched it like 5 or 6 times in 2 or 3 years, which was a looot for me, back then. I guess if it hadn’t been for the third Dollar film, I might not be in this forum today.
Yeah, it was just the faces of the actors, the landscape, the atmosphere and the sound. The first minutes nothing is said, but so much is happening. And I adore the sound design. A door opening, the wind blowing, the sound of a horse’s hoofs, people eating. Ah, and the dirt, the dirt. I didn’t like US westerns (I guess the ones I had seen had too much psychology) when I was already hooked on the Italian ones.
Stumbled across Fistful of Dynamite on TV when I was in high school. I don’t want to make the “blew me away” pun, but it really did. A few weeks later I saw GBU and Once Upon a Time in the West, all with no clue that the three movies had the same director. Simpler times.
I can’t remember exactly, but it was on Swedish television in the 1970’s or 1980’s or less likely after that when I first saw most likely A Fistful Of Dollar which I guess was the first one on TV, but all 4 first Leone SW was seen on TV in those days long ago. And I liked them very much from the beginning. But I didn’t know then that Once Upon A Time In The West was directed by the same man…
It was not until last year I began seriously collect my 5th, 6th, etc and so forth SW. I could have been hooked before, but have other time consuming interests…