Vote for Our Official Top 20

My New Top 20 for 2018:

  1. For a Few Dollars More
  2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
  3. The Great Silence
  4. Once Upon a Time in the West
  5. Django
  6. A Stranger in Town (Un Dollaro Tra I Denti)
  7. A Fistful of Dollars
  8. The Big Gundown
  9. Duck, You Sucker
  10. Face to Face
  11. The Stranger Returns (Un Uomo, Un Cavallo, Una Pistola)
  12. Companeros
  13. Light the Fuse, Sartana is Coming
  14. The Mercenary
  15. The Return of Ringo
  16. Death Rides a Horse
  17. Navajo Joe
  18. Have a Good Funeral, My Friend…Sartana Will Pay
  19. Blindman
  20. A Bullet for the General
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This spaghie was always lurking around the edges of my Top. Such a simple yet cool film.

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Tony is back!

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Yeah, spot on. The characters’ depth may be severely lacking, but I love film’s autumnal atmosphere and Lavagnino’s splendid score.

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My Spaghetti-Western ranking (revised Dec 20 2018)

  1. For A Few Dollars More

  2. Once Upon A Time In The West

  3. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

  4. A Fistful Of Dollars

5-9. The Big Gundown, Django Kill If You Live Shoot, Cemetery Without Crosses, The
Grand Duel, My Name Is Nobody

10-14. Death Rides A Horse, Day Of Anger, Sabata, Django, The Forgotten Pistolero

15-20. The Return Of Ringo, Long Days Of Vengeance, The Unholy Four, A Pistol For
Ringo, Face To Face, Anda Muchacho Spara

Hey guys.
I am new on the forum. Just watched A Fistful of Dollars, For a few Dollars more and I am hooked. I had a question: Aren’t Clint Eastwood’s other westerns such as The outlaw Josey Wales and High Street Drifter not counted among these films? I was just skimming through the top lists, and even searched but there’s no mention of these films.

No because they are American westerns, not European productions.

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If you look up the definition of a Spaghetti Western, you’ll see why.

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I’d like to give this top 20 a try, I might have to include films I haven’t seen yet, but am planning to.

  1. Il Bouno, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) (1966), Dir: Sergio Leone

  2. C’era una Volta nel West (Once Upon a Time in the West) (1968), Dir: Sergio Leone

  3. Une Corde, un Colt…(Cimitero Senza Croce, The Rope and the Colt, Cemetery Without Crosses) (1969), Dir: Robert Hossein

  4. La Resa dei Conti (The Settling of Accounts/The Big Gundown) (1966) Dir: Sergio Sollima

  5. Django (1966) Dir: Sergio Corbucci

  6. Una Pistola per Ringo (A Pistol for Ringo) (1965) Dir: Duccio Tessari

  7. Gli Specialisti (The Specialist) (1969) Dir: Sergio Corbucci

  8. Se Incontri Sartana Prega per la Tua Morte (If You Meet Sartana…Pray for Your Death) (1968) Dir: Gianfranco Parolini (as Frank Kramer)

  9. I Giorni dell’Ira (Day of Anger) (1967) Dir: Tonino Valeri

  10. Vamos a Matar, Companeros (Companeros) (1970) Dir: Sergio Corbucci

  11. Sono Sartana, Il Vostro Becchino (I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death) (1969), Dir: Giuliano Carnimeo

  12. Il Ritorno di Ringo The Return of Ringo) (1965), Dir: Duccio Tessari

  13. C’e Sartana…Vendi la Pistola e Comprati la Bara! (I Am Sartana, Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin) (1970) Dir: Giuliano Carnimeo

  14. Per Un Pugni di Dollari (A Fistful of Dollars) (1964), Dir: Sergio Leone

  15. Il Grande Silenzio (The Great Silence) (1968), Dir: Sergio Corbucci *

  16. Da Uomo a Uomo (From Man to Man/Death Rides a Horse) (1967) Dir: Giulio Petroni

  17. Un Dollaro Tra i Denti (A Dollar Between the Teeth/A Stranger in Town) (1967) Dir: Luigi Vanzi

  18. Il Mercenario (The Mercenary) (1969), Dir. Sergio Corbucci

  19. Requiem para el Gringo (Requiem per un Gringo, Requiem for a Gringo, Duel in the Eclipse) (1968) Dir: Jose Luis Merino (J.L. Merino)

  20. Prega il Morto e Ammazza il Vivo (Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead) (1971) Dir: Giuseppe Vari (as Joseph Warren)

  • I still need to re-watch Il Grande Silenzio, as my first go around with it left a cynical impression. I’m hoping years away from it will give me a better perspective

Honorable Mention:

Buon Funerale Amigos…Paga Sartana (Have a Good Funeral my Friend, Sartana Will Pay) (1970), Dir: Giuliano Carnimeo

Garringo (1969) Dir: Rafael Romero Marchent

Corri Uomo Corri (Run Man Run) (1968), Dir: Sergio Sollima

Al’Ultimo Sangue (To the Last Drop/Bury Them Deep) (1968), Dir: Paolo Moffa (as John Byrd)

Minnesota Clay (1964), Dir: Sergio Corbucci

Preparati la Bara! (Django, Prepare a Coffin) (1967), Dir: Ferdinando Baldi

Requiscant (Kill and Pray) (1967), Dir: Carlo Lizzani

Ehi Amico…C’e Sabata, Hai Chiuso! (Sabata) (1969) Dir: Gianfranco Parolini

Future Hopefuls

1000 Dollari sul Nero ($1000 on the Black) (1966), Dir: Alberto Cardone

Tepepa (1969), Dir: Giulio Petroni

Il Pistolero dell’Ave Maria (The Gunman of Ave Maria/The Forgotten Pistolero) (1970) Dir: Ferdinando Baldi

Quella Sporca, Storia nel West (The Dirtiest Story of the West/Johnny Hamlet) (1968), Dir: Enzo G. Castellari

E Dio Disse a Caino…(And God Said to Cain) (1970), Dir: Antonio Marghariti (as Anthony Dawson)

Jonathan Delgi Orsi (Jonathan of the Bears) (1991), Dir: Enzo G. Castellari

There are probably thousands I could’ve mentioned, but I tried to stick with ones I like, and ones I would like to see that are unique. Hope everyone finds my choices interesting/

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So this list includes film you hadn’t watched then?

My updated list, thanks @Stanton for the reminder:

1 The Good, The Bad and The Ugly /Leone
2 A fistfull of Dollars /Leone
3 For a Few Dollars More /Leone
4 Once upon a Time in the West /Leone
5 My Name is Nobody /Valerii

6 Day of Anger /Valerii
7 Django /Corbucci
8 Companeros /Corbucci
9The Big Gundown /Sollima
10 Face to Face /Sollima

11 Sabata /Parolini
12 The great Silence /Corbucci
13 A Bullet for the General /Damiani
14 The Price of Power /Valerii
15 Requiem for a Gringo /Merino

16 Kill Them All and Come Back Alone /Castellari
17 Dead Are Countless /Marchent
18 Killer Caliber .32 /Brescia
19 Black Jack /Baldanello
20 Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead /Vari

I’ve actually watched every film on my current list, just need to finish Da Uomo a Uomo. I’ve been on a binge lately with the Westerns so I might update it at a future time. Some I need to rewatch.

How many Spags have you watched meanwhile? You are just starting with the genre, yes?

The idea is btw to chose for the top 20 those films you like the most, your personal favourites.

I watched a bunch in High School then kind of forgot about them for a while when I discovered the films of Melville, Kuorosawa (rediscovered actually), Rosi, Suzuki, Bava etc. Two years ago I purchased a Region Free Blu Ray player and I was able to see the German releases with the original Italian language (watching all the other types of Italian films got me semi-fluent) and now they’re a part of my favs along with Yakuza Crime, Giallos, Poliziottos, and of course the Kurosawa films. As of right now I’d say I’ve seen over 50.

The annual update of the forum’s top 20:

Title * Director * Points
1 The Good, the Bad, the Ugly * Leone, Sergio * 3407
2 Once Upon a Time in the West * Leone, Sergio * 2981
3 For a Few Dollars More * Leone, Sergio * 2864
4 The Great Silence * Corbucci, Sergio * 2249
5 A Fistful of Dollars * Leone, Sergio * 1837
6 Django * Corbucci, Sergio * 1832
7 The Big Gundown * Sollima, Sergio * 1821
8 The Mercenary * Corbucci, Sergio * 1294
9 Companeros * Corbucci, Sergio * 1145
10 Face to Face * Sollima, Sergio * 1084
11 Death Rides a Horse / Man to Man * Petroni, Giulio * 1078
12 Duck, You Sucker! * Leone, Sergio * 1057
13 A Bullet for the General * Damiani, Damiano * 989
14 Day of Anger * Valerii, Tonino * 793
15 Keoma * Castellari, Enzo G. * 778
16 Cemetery Without Crosses * Hossein, Robert * 719
17 The Return of Ringo * Tessari, Duccio * 614
18 My Name is Nobody * Leone, Sergio/Valerii, T. * 604
19 Django Kill…If You Live, Shoot! * Questi, Giulio * 526
20 Run Man, Run * Sollima, Sergio * 385
21 If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death * Parolini, Gianfranco * 381
22 Blindman * Baldi, Ferdinando * 354
23 10,000 Dollars Blood Money * Girolami, Romolo * 303
24 Sabata * Parolini, Gianfranco * 300
25 Navajo Joe * Corbucci, Sergio * 273
26 And God Said to Cain * Margheriti, Antonio * 271
27 Mannaja / A Man Called Blade * Martino, Sergio * 265
28 Tepepa * Petroni, Giulio * 256
29 A Pistol for Ringo * Tessari, Duccio * 250
30 Light the Fuse…Sartana is Coming * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 201
31 Massacre Time * Fulci, Lucio * 195
32 California * Lupo, Michele * 190
33 God Forgives…I Don’t * Colizzi, Giuseppe * 185
34 Kill and Pray / Requiescant * Lizzani, Carlo * 176
35 Bandidos * Dallamano, Massimo * 166
36 Johnny Hamlet * Castellari, Enzo G. * 164
37 El Puro * Mulargia, Edoardo * 162
38 Four of the Apocalypse * Fulci, Lucio * 157
39 Vengeance * Margheriti, Antonio * 150
40 The Grand Duel * Santi, Giancarlo * 142
41 The Forgotten Pistolero * Baldi, Ferdinando * 134
42 Matalo! * Canevari, Cesare * 131
43 The Hellbenders * Corbucci, Sergio * 126
44 Django the Bastard * Garrone, Sergio * 124
45 Death Sentence * Lanfranchi, Mario * 123
46 Shoot the Living and Pray for the Dead * Vari, Giuseppe * 122
47 Ace High / 4 for an Ave Maria * Colizzi, Giuseppe * 122
48 The Bounty Killer * Martin, Eugenio * 117
49 The Specialists * Corbucci, Sergio * 115
50 Trinity is Still My Name * Barboni, Enzo * 110
51 The Ruthless Four / Each One for His Own * Capitani, Giorgio * 104
52 I Want Him Dead * Bianchini, Paolo * 98
52 Arizona Colt * Lupo, Michele * 98
54 They Call Him Cemetery * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 95
55 A Stranger in Town * Vanzi, Luigi * 93
56 Dead Men Ride * Florio, Aldo * 92
57 For 100 000 Dollars per Killing * Fago, Giovanni * 90
58 Yankee * Brass, Tinto * 89
59 The Moment to Kill * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 80
60 They Call me Trinity * Barboni, Enzo * 79
61 A Bullet for Sandoval * Buchs, Julio * 78
61 Johnny Yuma * Girolami, Romolo * 78
63 Adios Sabata * Parolini, Gianfranco * 77
64 Cut Throats Nine * Marchent, Joaquin Luis Rom. * 77
65 Black Jack * Baldanello, Gianfranco * 75
66 Duel in the Eclipse / Requiem for a Gringo * Merino, José Luis * 74
67 Django, Prepare a Coffin * Baldi, Ferdinando * 71
68 Have a Good Funeral, My Friend…Sartana Will Pay * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 71
69 I am Sartana, Your Angel of Death * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 70
70 No Room to Die / A Long File of Crosses * Garrone, Sergio * 70
71 The Price of Power * Valerii, Tonino * 66
72 The Dirty Outlaws / El desperado * Rossetti, Franco * 65
73 Texas Adios * Baldi, Ferdinando * 64
74 Red Sun * Young, Terence * 60
75 The Silent Stranger * Vanzi, Luigi * 56
76 Long Days of Vengeance * Vancini, Florestano * 55
77 Cost of Dying / Taste of Death * Merolle, Sergio * 53
78 Today it’s Me…Tomorrow You * Cervi, Tonino * 51
79 One Silver Dollar * Ferroni, Giorgio * 51
80 One after Another * Nostro, Nick * 46
81 The Stranger Returns * Vanzi, Luigi * 44
81 A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die * Giraldi, Franco * 44
83 Long Live Your Death * Tessari, Duccio * 44
84 A Hole in the Forehead * Vari, Guiseppe * 42
84 Fighting Fists of Shanghai Joe * Caiano, Mario * 42
86 Garringo * Marchent, Rafael Romero * 41
87 Five Man Army * Taylor, Don * 36
88 Cowards Don’t Pray * Siciliano, Mario * 35
89 Blood at Sundown / 1 000 Dollars on the Black * Cardone, Alberto * 34
90 Shoot, Gringo…Shoot! * Corbucci, Bruno * 33
91 Pistoleros * Caltabiano, Alfio * 32
92 Ben and Charlie * Lupo, Michele * 32
93 Minnesota Clay * Corbucci, Sergio * 31
94 Night of the Serpent * Petroni, Giulio * 31
94 Sonny and Jed * Corbucci, Sergio * 31
96 Boot Hill * Colizzi, Giuseppe * 29
97 The Last Killer * Vari, Giuseppe * 28
98 I am Sartana, Trade Your Guns for a Coffin / A Fistful of Lead * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 28
99 Revenge for Revenge * Colucci, Mario * 28
100 Silver Saddle * Fulci, Lucio * 27
101 They Call Me Hallelujah / Heads I Kill You, Tails You Die * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 26
102 The Hills Run Red / A River of Dollars * Lizzani, Carlo * 26
104 Viva Cangaceiro * Fago, Giovanni * 24
105 Kill Them All and Come Back Alone * Castellari, Enzo G. * 23
106 Taste of Violence * Hossein, Robert * 23
107 A Man Called Sledge * Morrow, Vic * 22
108 A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe / Nobody’s the Greatest * Damiani, Damiano * 22
109 Hate for Hate * Paolella, Domenico * 21
111 A Barrel Full of Dollars * Fidani, Demofilo * 20
112 Dead Men Don’t Make Shadows * Fidani, Demofilo * 20
113 Beyond the Law * Stegani Giorgio C. * 20
114 Sartana Does Not Forgive * Balcazar, Alfonso * 19
114 Apache Woman * Mariuzzo, Giorgio * 19
118 The Unholy Four / Chuck Mool * Barboni, Enzo * 18
119 The Return of Sabata * Parolini, Gianfranco * 18
120 Drummer of Vengeance * Gariazzo, Mario * 18
120 Bullets Don’t Argue * Caiano, Mario * 18
120 God Made Them… I Kill Them / God Forgives … His Life is Mine * Bianchini, Paolo * 18
123 The Fury of Johnny Kid * Puccini, Gianni * 17
124 W Django * Mulargia, Eduardo * 17
124 A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die * Valerii, Tonino * 17
129 Life is Tough, Eh Providence? * Petroni, Giulio * 16
129 John the Bastard * Crispino, Armando * 16
131 Seven Guns for the MacGregors * Giraldi, Franco * 16
131 Fort Yuma Gold * Ferroni, Giorgio * 16
131 Killer Caliber .32 * Brescia, Alfonso * 16
136 For the Taste of Killing * Valerii, Tonino * 14
137 Man, Pride, Vengeance * Bazzoni, Luigi * 14
141 Death Walks in Laredo * Pero, Enzi * 13
144 Trinity Sees Red /The Color of the Wind * Camus, Mario * 12
145 Ringo from Nebraska * Bava, Mario / Roman, Antonio * 12
149 Train for Durango * Caiano, Mario * 11
150 Shotgun * Mauri, Roberto * 11
152 The Greatest Robbery in the West * Lucidi, Maurizio * 10
152 A Pistol for 100 Coffins * Lenzi, Umberto * 10
162 Seven Dollars on the Red * Cardone, Alberto * 7
163 Viva Maria * Malle, Louis * 7
170 Tequila Joe * Dell’Aquila, Vincenzo * 5
171 Any Gun Can Play * Castellari, Enzo G. * 5
171 Hate Thy Neighbour * Baldi, Ferdinando * 5
171 And for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars * Petroni, Giulio * 5
181 It Can Be Done, Amigo! * Lucidi, Maurizio * 4
181 The Belle Star Story * Wertmüller, Lina * 4
189 The Beast * Costa, Mario * 3
189 Ringo and his Golden Pistol * Corbucci, Sergio * 3
197 Get Mean * Baldi, Ferdinando * 2
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And the Spags which got only one vote, and are for that reason not part of the above list

Title * Director * Points
Death Played the Flute * Panaccio, Angelo * 25
Law of Violence * Crea, Gianni * 21
Ringo: The Lone Rider * Marchent, Rafael Romero * 19
Red Blood, Yellow Gold * Cicero, Fernando * 19
A Man Called Apocalypse Joe * Savona, Leopoldo * 17
Hate Is My God * Gora,Claudio * 17
Django and Sartana Are Coming… It’s the End * Fidani, Demofilo * 17
Killer Adios * Zeglio, Primo * 16
The Price of Death * Palli, Enzo Gicca * 15
Execution * Paolella, Domenico * 14
Two Crosses at Danger Pass * Marchent, Rafael Romero * 14
Twice a Judas * Cicero, Fernando * 14
No Graves on Boot Hill * Garrone, Sergio * 13
God Does Not Pay on Saturday / Kill the Wicked * Boccia, Tanio * 13
Comin’ at Ya! * Baldi, Ferdinando * 12
Gentleman Killer * Stegani, Giorgio * 12
El Rojo * Savona, Leopoldo * 12
Django Kills Softly * Pupillo, Massimo * 11
Return of Halleluja * Carnimeo, Giuliano * 10
Shango * Mulargia, Edoardo * 9
A Coffin for the Sheriff * Caiano, Mario * 9
A Bounty Killer for Trinity * Massaccesi, Aristide * 9
Up the MacGregors! * Giraldi, Franco * 9
Black Killer * Croccolo, Carlo * 9
A Man Called Noon * Collinson, Peter * 9
Garter Colt * Rocco, Gian Andrea * 8
Halleluja and Sartana Strike Again * Siciliano, Mario * 7
His Colt, Himself, His Revenge * Merighi, Ferdinando * 7
7 Guns from Texas * Marchent, Joaquin Luis Rom. * 7
Wanted * Ferroni, Giorgio * 6
Between God, the Devil and a Winchester * Girolami, Marino * 6
I’ll Sell My Skin Dearly * Fizzarotti, Ettore Maria * 6
Boldest Job in the West * De La Loma, José Antonio * 5
Revenge of the Resurrected * Marchent, Rafael Romero * 5
Those Dirty Dogs * Rosati, Giuseppe * 5
What am I Doing in the Middle of the Revolution? * Corbucci, Sergio * 5
Days of Violence * Brescia, Alfonso * 5
Rita of the West * Baldi, Ferdinando * 5
Killer Kid * Savona, Leopoldo * 5
Take a Hard Ride * Margheriti, Antonio * 4
Born to Kill * Mollica, Antonio * 4
Cjamango * Mulargia, Edoardo * 4
15 Scaffolds for a Killer * Malasomma, Nunzio * 4
Ringo, the Face of Revenge * Caiano, Mario * 4
The Tramplers * Antonini, Alfredo * 4
May God Forgive You… But I Won’t * Musolino, Vincenzo * 3
Buddy Goes West * Lupo, Michele * 3
Sugar Colt * Giraldi, Franco * 3
Five Giants From Texas / Five for Revenge * Florio, Aldo * 3
Sabata the Killer * Demicheli, Tulio * 3
Fasthand Is Still My Name * Bianchi, Mario * 3
God’s Gun * Parolini, Gianfranco * 2
Sartana in the Valley of Death * Mauri, Roberto * 2
The Stranger and the Gunfighter * Margheriti, Antonio * 2
Quinto: Fighting Proud * Klimovsky, Léon * 2
Trinity Plus the Clown and a Guitar * Antel, Franz * 2
More Dollars for the MacGregors * Merino, José Luis * 2
Vendetta at Dawn / Terrible Day of the Big Gundown * Garrone, Sergio * 1
A Stranger in Paso Bravo * Rosso, Salvatore * 1
For a Book of Dollars * Girolami, Renzo * 1
Don’t Touch the White Woman * Ferreri, Marco * 1
The White, the Yellow and the Black * Corbucci, Sergio * 1
This Man Can’t Die * Baldanello, Gianfranco * 1
Machine Gun Killers * Bianchini, Paolo * 1
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What happened in the past year? Not much.

Again only a few new lists, and the number of counted lists is now 174. Well, it seems we won’t reach the # 200 soon.

Death Rides a Horse has drifted out of the top 10 for the first time, while Run Man Run has it still managed to stay on # 20, and AFoD (the primal Spaggie) is still on #5, but the next 2 are pretty close.

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Much to your delight.

The greatest film ever made.

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Actually, yes.
But I’m surprised that it fell out though.

I still don’t understand why this comparatively ordinary film has such a following amongst the fans (but less in Germany anyway). Shouldn’t be in the top 30 imo, and is not in my top 50. Not a bad film though, but there are so many which are better directed and have more original stories to tell in a more original way.

He he, a bold statement.
I like that one, and I prefer it to Death Rides a Horse, but for me not the director’s best Spag.

ok, 50 is a good enough number for that kind of list. I think if someone starts with the usual suspects, such a top 20 list won’t change that much with the next 100 films.

Btw I hadn’t counted your list so far, cause it seemed you had named films you hadn’t seen then, but I will take it with your next update.