„You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.“

Heute also endlich die vor geraumer Zeit von mir angekündigte Liste mit meinen zehn liebsten Italowestern. Das war nicht die einfachste Geburt, hauptsächlich bedingt durch Kopfzerbrechen und Zeitmangel. Kopfzerbrechen, weil ich dieses recht spezielle Genre wirklich sehr mag und sich im Laufe der Jahre doch so einige Vertreter des Italowestern bei mir angesammelt haben, die ich wirklich gut kenne, so dass mir das Abwägen der einzelnen Platzierungen und Erstellen dieser Liste nicht immer leicht fiel. Und der Zeitmangel…. naja, ihr kennt das ja. Der Italowestern, dessen Hochphase nur etwa von 1965 bis 1970 andauerte und danach bereits wieder abebbte, dafür aber in diesem Zeitraum enorm produktiv war und wirklich unzählige Vertreter jeglicher Qualität hervorbrachte, unterscheidet sich in vielerlei Hinsicht vom klassischen amerikanischen Western. Meist ist er düsterer und zynischer, dreckiger und vor allem auch blutiger. Strahlende Heldenfiguren gibt es hier für gewöhnlich keine, meist nur sehr ambivalente Charaktere und Gerechtigkeitssinn und selbstloses Handeln der Figuren in den amerikanischen Western sind hier entweder im Heldencharakter gerade nur zu erahnen oder weichen ganz Habgier und Eigennutz. Vornehmlich Rache oder auch das Streben nach Geld sind eher als Motive zu finden und die vermeintlichen Heldenfiguren halten sich oft aus moralischen Konflikten heraus, wenn sich diese nicht mit ihrer Antriebsfeder decken. Oft als B-Movies wahrgenommen, eröffnete das jedoch den Machern ganz andere Möglichkeiten soziale und gesellschaftliche Missstände anzuprangern und zu thematisieren, was sich bei vielen Italowestern mal subtiler, mal plakativer tatsächlich auch so finden lässt. So, genug davon, hier sind sie also, meine zehn liebsten Italowestern…

10.

A Professional Gun (1968)
	Rating: 7.3/10 (2,295 votes) Director: Sergio Corbucci Writer: Giorgio Arlorio (story), Adriano Bolzoni, Sergio Corbucci, Franco Solinas (story), Sergio Spina, Luciano Vincenzoni (story) Stars: Franco Nero, Jack Palance, Tony Musante, Giovanna Ralli Runtime: 110 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Comedy, Western Released: 29 Aug 1968
Plot: While a Mexican revolutionary lies low as a U.S. rodeo clown, the cynical Polish mercenary who tutored the idealistic peasant tells how he and a dedicated female radical fought for the soul...

9.

A Bullet for the General (1966)
	Rating: 7.2/10 (2,446 votes) Director: Damiano Damiani Writer: Salvatore Laurani (story), Franco Solinas (adaptation) Stars: Gian Maria Volonté, Klaus Kinski, Martine Beswick, Lou Castel Runtime: 115 min Rated: M Genre: Western Released: 1 Sep 1968
Plot: A band of Mexican gun-runners employed by a revolutionary general lure an American mercenary into joining their gang, unaware that he is targeting their general.

8.

Gunlaw (1967)
	Rating: 7.2/10 (1,863 votes) Director: Tonino Valerii Writer: Ron Barker (based on the novel "Der tod Ritt Dienstags" by), Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay), Tonino Valerii (screenplay), Renzo Genta (screenplay) Stars: Lee Van Cleef, Giuliano Gemma, Walter Rilla, Christa Linder Runtime: 95 min Rated: M Genre: Western Released: 1 Nov 1969
Plot: Amiable, unassertive Scott Mary picks up the trash, cleans the toilets, sweeps the floors in the town of Clifton. Then a gunfighter comes to town. He offers advice and guidance to Scott who...

7.

Death Rides a Horse (1966)
	Rating: 7.2/10 (4,042 votes) Director: Giulio Petroni Writer: Luciano Vincenzoni (script) Stars: Lee Van Cleef, John Phillip Law, Mario Brega, Luigi Pistilli Runtime: 114 min Rated: N/A Genre: Western Released: 31 Aug 1967
Plot: In the Old West a little boy witnesses the murder of his family by gunmen and grows up with plans to track them all down, and kill them.

6.

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
	Rating: 8.1/10 (115,938 votes) Director: Sergio Leone Writer: Adriano Bolzoni (story), Víctor Andrés Catena (story), Sergio Leone (story), Víctor Andrés Catena (screenplay), Jaime Comas Gil (screenplay), Sergio Leone (screenplay) Stars: Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonté, Wolfgang Lukschy Runtime: 99 min Rated: R Genre: Action, Western Released: 18 Jan 1967
Plot: A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

5.

Django (1966)
	Rating: 7.3/10 (16,599 votes) Director: Sergio Corbucci Writer: Sergio Corbucci (story), Bruno Corbucci (story), Sergio Corbucci (screenplay), Bruno Corbucci (screenplay), Sergio Corbucci (dialogue), Bruno Corbucci (dialogue), Franco Rossetti (screenplay), José Gutiérrez Maesso (screenplay), Piero Vivarelli (screenplay) Stars: Franco Nero, José Bódalo, Loredana Nusciak, Ángel Álvarez Runtime: 92 min Rated: UNRATED Genre: Action, Western Released: 1 Dec 1966
Plot: A coffin-dragging gunslinger enters a town caught between two feuding factions, the KKK and a gang of Mexican Bandits. That man is Django, and he is caught up in a struggle against both parties.

4.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
	Rating: 8.6/10 (179,968 votes) Director: Sergio Leone Writer: Sergio Leone (screenplay), Sergio Donati (screenplay), Dario Argento (from a story by), Bernardo Bertolucci (from a story by), Sergio Leone (from a story by), Mickey Knox (dialogue: English version) Stars: Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson Runtime: 175 min Rated: PG-13 Genre: Western Released: 1968-12-21
Plot: Epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.

3.

The Great Silence (1968)
	Rating: 7.8/10 (8,629 votes) Director: Sergio Corbucci Writer: Mario Amendola (screenplay), Bruno Corbucci (screenplay), Sergio Corbucci (screenplay), Vittoriano Petrilli (screenplay) Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Frank Wolff, Luigi Pistilli Runtime: 105 min Rated: N/A Genre: Western Released: 19 Nov 1968
Plot: A mute gunslinger faces off against a gang of bounty hunters in the great blizzard of 1899, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.

2.

The Big Gundown (1966)
	Rating: 7.4/10 (3,206 votes) Director: Sergio Sollima Writer: Franco Solinas (story), Fernando Morandi (story), Sergio Donati (screenplay), Sergio Sollima (screenplay) Stars: Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Walter Barnes, Nieves Navarro Runtime: 110 min Rated: Approved Genre: Western Released: 1966-11-29
Plot: Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

1.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
	Rating: 8.9/10 (421,579 votes) Director: Sergio Leone Writer: Luciano Vincenzoni (story), Sergio Leone (story), Agenore Incrocci (screenplay), Furio Scarpelli (screenplay), Luciano Vincenzoni (screenplay), Sergio Leone (screenplay), Mickey Knox (English version by) Stars: Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè Runtime: 161 min Rated: Not Rated Genre: Western Released: 1966-12-23
Plot: A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.