What film genre is named after spaghetti and was popular in the 1960s?

The film genre named after spaghetti is the spaghetti Western. It is a European-made Western subgenre that became internationally popular during the 1960s, especially through Italian directors and producers.

The label originally referred to the large number of Italian Westerns produced during the genre’s boom. Many were filmed in Spain, particularly around Almería, whose dry landscapes could resemble the American Southwest at a lower production cost. The films were often international co-productions involving Italy and Spain.

Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) helped define the style. Clint Eastwood became an international star through the trilogy, while Ennio Morricone’s distinctive scores became equally influential.

A common mix-up is assuming “spaghetti” describes the films’ subject matter or a comedy style. It actually refers to their Italian production roots; the genre is also called the Italo-Western or, in Italy, western all’italiana.