I don’t know if this will be of interest to anyone. I realize that the Spanish Western is likely the “ugly duckling” of the Euro-Western; however, while Spain’s primary contribution to the Spaghetti Western lies in its role in co-productions and that irreplaceable setting—the Tabernas Desert (along with the Western towns built there)—there are some essential films that I believe perfectly complement the genre. They offer a unique perspective, distinct from the more pop-oriented, “cartoonish” approach of the Italian ones.
So I’ve decided to do a list of my favourite Spanish Westerns:
1 The Bounty Killer
2 Dead Men Don’t Count
3 The Seven from Texas
4 The Man Who Killed Billy the Kid
5 Cut-Throats Nine
6 Two Crosses at Danger Pass
7 Desperate Men
8 Gunfight at High Noon
9 Dollar for the Dead
10 Dollars for a Fast Gun
11 Requiem for a Gringo
12 The Wind’s Fierce
13 Dead Are Countless
14 The Man Called Noon
15 Sartana Kills Them All
16 Awkward Hands
17 Ringo: The Lone Rider
18 And the Crows Will Dig Your Grave
19 Man and a Colt
20 Ride and Kill
Some other Westerns or look-a-like films that wouldn’t fit into the Spaghetti or Paella Western categories but might interest some people:
Condemned to Hang (Ladislao Vadja)
An essential film that portrays Spanish banditry through the lens of the Western.
800 Bullets (Alex de la Iglesia)
I suppose most people are familiar with this one: a meta-cinematic exercise centering on a handful of Western specialists surviving in a Western-style town in Almería.
Blackthorn (Mateo Gil)
Continuation of the story of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Vengeance (Juan Antonio Bardem)
This is a rural story set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. It is not a Western at all, but in a way, it comes close to being one.
So, um, I’m making my list with pure Paella Westerns and Spanish Italian co-productions. Therefore my list is suspiciously short with only 8 films. It’s hard to believe because I’ve seen around 160 spaghs. Guess majority is indeed Italian or Italian Spanish co-productions. I’ll try to add more later.
Well, I wouldn’t say all of them—although they are the best Spanish directors in the genre, Rafael also have their lesser works like
Prey of Vultires (probably one of the worst and cheap spaghetti westerns i’ve ever seen), The Avenger Zorro and Dos pistolas gemelas (Two Guns for Two Twins).
If we consider Sonora (Sartana does not forgive) as a “Spanish” film because it was directed by Alfonso Balcázar, it would also make my top 20 (and I think It would rank quite high).
Yes, that could be it… the website I use as a database (called FilmAffinity—it’s like a Spanish version of IMDb) lists it as a Spanish film, but looking closely, it’s actually a co-production. To be honest, I don’t know if Spain’s involvement was significant enough to warrant that classification… given that the director is British, I’d say it’s a bit of a toss-up, though the tone feels closer to Italian Spaghetti Westerns than to other British-made or British-directed Westerns I’ve seen, like The Deserter, Shalako, or Catlow.
