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.