Alternative Top 20

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So you've been a fan for a while, you've seen most of the well known and more famous Spaghetti Westerns and you're looking for some recommendations for films that maybe fall outside the obvious canon. Well, this list is for you. Selected by our forum members, this Alternative Top 20 is derived from individual lists of favourite films which do not already sit in our Essential Top 20. The idea is to highlight some of the titles which often get crowded out of lists of favourites by the films of the "three Sergios" but which are excellent and worthy of note for anyone interested in delving a little deeper into what this genre has to offer. (That said, Mr Corbucci gets a few mentions here too). Besides, in a genre that boasts literally hundreds of films, and on a site full of people who love making lists, limiting our recommendations to only 20 just didn't seem right.

If you want to contribute to this list, please read the instructions at the bottom of the page. Click here to see this list on Letterboxd

1 $10.000 BLOOD MONEY, Romolo Guerrieri (1967)
Guerrieri's masterpiece and crammed full of more murder, sexual tension and eye make-up than you can shake a stick at.

Check out a full review of the film here.

2 BLINDMAN, Ferdinando Baldi (1971)
A reworking of the Zatoichi character transplanted to the old west in which Tony Anthony goes in search of his 50 women.

Check out a full review of the film here

3 AND GOD SAID TO CAIN, Antonio Margheriti (1969)
Margheriti uses all his horror expertise to create possibly the Spaghetti Western's most gothic example and a lead role for Klaus Kinski to boot.

Check out a full review of the film here.

4 JOHNNY HAMLET, Enzo G. Castellari (1967)
Less well known than Keoma, this film is considered Castellari's best by many. A retelling of Shakespeare's play which includes some genuinely beautiful images from a man better known for his bang crash kablooey approach to film making.

Check out a full review of the film here.

5 CALIFORNIA, Michele Lupo (1977)
One of the latest entries into the Italian Western cycle but well worth waiting for. This film is built on decay but affords Giuliano Gemma one of his very best performances.

Check out a full review of the film here.

6 MASSACRE TIME, Lucio Fulci (1966)
Fulci wasn’t as active in the western genre as much as in some others but his contributions were significant and Massacre Time was his first, and many believe his best, effort in this area. With Franco Nero in the lead and with George Hilton and a whip wielding psychotic Nino Castelnuovo in support there is certainly plenty for any Spaghetti fan to enjoy.

Check out a full review of the film here.

7 NAVAJO JOE, Sergio Corbucci (1966)
Not even Burt Reynolds' hair piece can spoil this action packed bonanza. And worth seeing if only for an all too rare major role for Aldo Sanbrell and the stunning beauty of Nicoletta Machiaveli.

Check out a full review of the film here.

8 GOD FORGIVES, I DON'T!, Giuseppe Colizzi (1968)
The first pairing of Hill and Spencer in a western but don't be fooled, this is no Trinity film. A much grittier dish indeed and one which was the first in what became the 'Cat Stevens' trilogy from director Colizzi.

Check out a full review of the film here

9 THE SPECIALISTS, Sergio Corbucci (1969)
It's Corbucci. And this time complete with hippies and an entire town's population stripped naked!

Check out a full review of the film here.

10 TEPEPA, Giulio Petroni (1968)
Possibly one of the most thought provoking of the Zapata Westerns, with its unreliable narrators and its morally ambiguous characters, this film certainly splits opinion. What is not in doubt is that Milian is in great form and that this is by far Petroni’s most serious Spaghetti. It’s a must see.

Check out a full review of the film here.

11 BANDIDOS, Massimo Dallamano (1967)
Enrico Maria Salerno stars in this excellent tale of sharpshooting and revenge. A great opening scene sets the tone for what was sadly to be Massimo Dallamano's only western. A film definitely overdue for a U.S or European BluRay release.

Check out a full review of the film here.

12 DEATH SENTENCE, Mario Lanfranchi (1968)
Unique as a portmanteau film made up of four short stories this was Lanfranchi's only western but its visual style and intriguing stories make it a winner. Fine performances from Enrico Maria Salerno and Adolfo Celi and a bizarre over the top turn from Tomas Milian as an albino epileptic just add to the fun.

Check out a full review of the film here.

13 SHOOT THE LIVING AND PRAY FOR THE DEAD, Giuseppe Vari (1971)
A slow paced, house bound story doesn’t sound so good on paper but Kinski’s tight wound performance and the slow release nature of the narrative make for a film high in tension and well worth the patience of the viewer. Vari’s westerns are on the whole less celebrated than some others but they seldom disappoint.

Check out a full review of the film here.

14 SABATA, Gianfranco Parolini (1969)
A rifle in a banjo, a multi-barreled pistol, a comb over the size of a small family car and a theme tune as catchy as a bag full of velcro. Throw in Lee Van Cleef, William Berger and Franco Ressel and you have all the ingredients you need for a session of pure Spaghetti fun. Carnimeo handles this light hearted stuff perfectly and Sabata remains one of the most enjoyable Italian westerns of all.

Check out a full review of the film here.

15 THE BOUNTY KILLER, Eugenio Martin (1966)
Tomas Milian's first western and one in which he exhibits one of his most understated performances along with one of the all time great dust eating death scenes. Eugenio Martin only made one great western and this is it.

Check out a full review of the film here.

16 IF YOU MEET SARTANA PRAY FOR YOUR DEATH, Gianfranco Parolini (1968)
The first, and some say best, of the Sartanas. Parolini creates a franchise with a mix of detective mystery, gadgetry and almost impossible to follow plotline. Garko plays the eponymous lead which came to define him in Spaghettiland and you have Klaus Kinski, William Berger and Fernando Sancho along for good measure. What more could you ask for?

Check out a review of the film here.

17 A PISTOL FOR RINGO, Duccio Tessari (1965)

The film that made a star of Giuliano Gemma and gave Italy their very own western hero. This is everyone’s favourite Christmas Spaghetti (or at least should be) and features a beautiful theme song from maestro Morricone just in case everything else wasn’t quite enough.

Check out a full review of the film here.

18 EL PURO, Edoardo Mulargia (1969)
The first (and probably only) full on gay kiss in a spaghetti western, a savage beating of poor Rosalba Neri and a banging whistled theme tune from Alessandro Alessandroni. How this film was so obscure for so long is beyond me but thankfully it has refound its audience over the past decade and is now a firm fan favourite. Not easily found on an official release but this one is well worth seeking out.

Check out a full review of the film here.

19 The Grand Duel, Giancarlo Santi (1972)
Arguably Lee Van Cleef’s finest western of the 1970s and graced by a haunting score by Luis Bacalov this film has a lot to enjoy despite coming from a time when the genre was starting to decline in quantity and quality.

Check out a full review of the film here.

20 THE FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO, Ferdinando Baldi (1969)

It's Orestes out Westies. Greek tragedy played out in the Italian West with one of the most memorable non-Morricone music scores in the genre. One of the genuine hidden gems of the genre.

Check out a full review of the film here.

The criteria for compiling the list is simply that it must not contain any film already included in the top 18 places of the Official Top 20 and the rating is based on a purely one point per vote system. This is to try and future proof the Alternative list no matter what changes happen to our Official one. This list will be updated regularly to ensure that no film appears at any time of both lists but that a film which drops out of the Official list can be recognised here without a complete recount. Where films gain the same number of votes I will simply enter them alphabetically.

So, you can include in your Alternative Top 20 any film not currently appearing in the Top 18 spots on the Official Top 20.

That means you can vote for any film except one of the following:

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
For a Few Dollars More
The Great Silence
The Big Gundown
Django
A Fistful of Dollars
The Mercenary
Companeros
Death Rides a Horse
Face to Face
Duck, You Sucker!
A Bullet for the General
Day of Anger
Keoma
Cemetery Without Crosses
The Return of Ringo
My Name is Nobody

Only the film sitting outside the Official Top 20 will appear in our published Alternative Top 20 list but votes will be collected and saved for the others in case one of them drops out at some time in the future.

I daresay this may be a little confusing for some but if you just work on the basis that you can vote for any film except those 18 listed above (even if you have previously included them in your own top 20) you should be fine.

So, go on, submit a list now. Just stroll over to our forum and add your own list. We'll update this one as the votes build. (Here's the link).

Information on this list:

• Related: An earlier version of this list on YouTube