What Are Your Top Five Spaghetti Western Directors?

[chuck_connors_brother]

@John Welles

Indeed, I wrote it so directors like Lucio Fulci, Giulio Questi and Sergio Martino weren’t listed (you can keep Fulci though chuck connors brother!).

Fulci made the same amount as Sollima, though. I only really like the Big Gundown of his Westerns

[stanton]

Yes, Fulci made obviously 3. He is “in”.

But I wouldn’t count Lizzani or Damiani.

[John_Welles]

You caught me out there; initially I thought Lucio Fulci only made Massacre Time and Four of the Apocalypse; I had of course foregot about Silver Saddle, Challenge to White Fang and White Fang (which makes five unless you don’t count the White Fang films as “true” Spaghetti Westerns).

[ENNIOO]

The Fulci White Fang films are of course in the database listed as westerns, and I think they are westerns even though some do not think so. So Fulci has always made five westerns in my view.

[stanton]

@John Welles

Do you think Corbucci is that far above Sollima?

For me, yes, definitely.

Corbucci made a lot of weak and later even several worse films, and his SW output is also very uneven. But he had a specific talent for filming westerns which he developed in his early films, and which is still visible in the forgettable comedy The White, the Yellow, the Black.

He could be brilliant in a way which is high above the best scene Sollima did in his 3 westerns.

And his best SWs are easily far above Sollima’s, which I always enjoy, but which don’t make me enthusiastic.

And Corbucci’s best SWs changed the genre or brought it to perfection. And this is also something I only can say about Leone (and maybe Se sei vivo spara, but only maybe as it is not that well shot). Django was groundbreaking and TGS and TM are togetehr with Leone’s GBU and OUTW the main works of the SW, the films in which the genre reached its points of culmination. Sollima’s films are not even half as important imo. Compared to these 4 Sollima’s SWs are banal. Which sounds now more negative than it is meant.

And Petroni’s 2 best SWs are way beneath Sollima. Even if Tepepa was better directed than I remembered it. But Da uomo a uomo is for me (for being in the top10) obviously the most overrated SW of all. Closely followed by the slightly better Day of Anger.

[chuck_connors_brother]

@Stanton

Then you probably haven’t seen Brother Outlaw. Very bad Crea-like IW, this hopeless one could be the one directed by Fid. This is the one in Mulargia’s output which doesn’t look like directed by him. 2/10

Yeah, I forgot about it… the whole film just feels like stretched out filler scenes to make it to the 78 minute running time, nothing interesting happens

[Mickey13]

Corbucci is far more distinctive director than Sollima and he had a great influence on spaghetti western and the whole cinema. Sollima has decidedly made some great films, which aren’t as groundbreaking as Corbucci’s ones though. Nevertheless I like both directors very much.

[adamm07]

1. Sergio Leone
2. Sergio Sollima
3. Sergio Corbucci

and Petroni, Valerii, Bianchini, Cardone, Vari, Guerrieri, Carnimeo in no particular order.

[Tut (Mboyatom)]

Great list.

[Djabartana]

Tough One!

1. Leone

2. Corbucci

3. Sollima

4. Carnimeo, Lupo

5. Petroni, Fulci, Baldi

Lupo is very underrated! Even in this thread no one mentioned this guy…

[JoshuaTracy]

1. Leone
2. Corbucci
3. Sollima
4. Colizzi
5. Parolini

This was tough. I strongly considered Baldi or Castellari for the last spot but I’ve become a really big fan of Parolini’s style with Sabata and the Sartana films. In some ways I actually ghink Sollima is a weaker director than the two below him, but it’s still hard to overlook the overall strength of his three movies if that makes any sense.