Yes, what was it that triggered you? That I would like to know. What was it that made you so interrested in the italian “version” of the West? Was it the cynical hero, the brutal world, the superb clipping, the music ? Now…
For me it was the music. When i first saw GBU there was no way back. I had to explore more of the genre. I was the music that draged me in to this italien world. dont know how many SW i have seen only because of the music; knowing that the film itself sucked.
You’re absolutely right, the music is one of the main attractions of this genre.
Even if the film itself is not so good sometimes, the music is almost always excellent.
Apart from that it’s the overall atmosphere that I like the most about these films I think.
But I like everything about this genre, as you probably know there are also different types of films within the sw-genre, most types are very good and interesting, the only ones that I find not so interesting is some of the comedy-westerns from the seventies, Terence Hill/ Bud Spencer-type films.
Always been fascinated with the old west,the mythological and the real,(its just so American) just something cool about a man on a horse traveling untamed territorys with nothing but his wits and a gun to survive ,a time when men were men.something heroic about the whole deal even if its an anti-hero,in the end right always wins(in the movies) (…well most times)…but to answer your question more directly, how can you not watch a movie like the good bad and ugly and not love it? leone took the template of the western and exagerrated to its extremes , its interesting to see how foreigners view this time in American history,the flip side of the american western if you will,seems they had a mixture of disdain and respect ,on the one hand in awe of the tenasious,unyeilding spirit of its people, on the other hand repulsed at the untamed way of the gun,might makes right" law of the west" … AND YES THE MUSIC HELPS!
plus how can you not want to watch a film with a title like HATE FOR HATE,CEMETARY WITHOUT CROSSES,I AM SARTANA YOUR ANGEL OF DEATH,CUTTHROATS NINE…they just scream watch me.
dust, no glamour, grittyness, violence, women, music…
everything american westerns didn’t have before the 60s 
The sardonic humour that some of these films have is also very enjoyable.
Another thing is this latin flavour present in most spaghettis that gives these films a certain style.
Watching these film with my Italian Nonno (Grandpa in English) during the summer holidays in Italy on late night TV, and I thought the music and the occasional hot women were great/
I just love everything about SW’s. The awesome music (usually by Morricone), the action, the nonlinear stories, the anti-heros, whatever.
To be honest, it was the music that first got me into it. My mother had me listen to the GBU theme and I found it great at the first listening and deseperately wanted to see the movie.
I had also watched the film “Hang 'em high” that, if it’s not Italian, made me know Clint Eastwood.
What do you obtain if you mix Morricone’s music and Clint ? You got a perfect Italian western like the GBU ! ;D
Apart from that, what I like the most in SW is the cynical way of treating violence, the original scenario, the not-always-pure-and-clean hero as you often see in western (High Noon is a good example, I didn’t like that one at all).
Finaly someone with a good answer. I was hoping to awoid answers like “I like the overall atmospher about the SP, you cant just pick out on thing… bla bla bla”.
So if we would devide the things in the spaghetti westerns that facinates us, and then choose the one that made you become so interrested in the genre. I have made up some elements:
feel free to add things to the list.
As I said earlier; the music was the element that made me become so interrested in the films.
I t was reading the books in my old English classes and seeing the movies at school that got me interested in it. Maybe it was the main character being an outcast that I identify with most.
You saw spaghetti westerns at school?
We saw “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” once, as well as a few old John Ford movies too on the side. It pretty much solidified my interest in the genre.
I guess Its the " no rules here " feeling you get when your watching westerns
[quote=“Sebastian, post:5, topic:277”]dust, no glamour, grittyness, violence, women, music…
everything american westerns didn’t have before the 60s ;-)[/quote]
Agree!
But it’s not true.
There were enough American westerns which had these ingredients. On the other hand there are enough SWs which haven’t.
July 06 silence? Nice!
They came in the right moment for me, I saw my first spaghettis at the age of fourteen, fifteen
I loved the movies (Once upon a Time in the West, return of Ringo), but some others (Death rides a Horse, Arizona Colt) had an ‘18 rating’, so I wasn’t allowed to see them in those days.
People are always fascinated by things they’re not allowed to see, taste or do, so I guess this ‘no access for you, little fellow’ only poked up the already flickering flame of my love for the genre.