2. The Spaghetti Western
Though traditionally an American genre, many of the most popular westerns of the sixties were made on low budgets in Europe, predominantly by Italian filmmakers. This earned them the title of 'spaghetti westerns', and it was in three such films (Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy, to be precise) that Clint Eastwood first came to prominence. In contrast to their American counterparts, Italian westerns such as Leone's films and Sergio Corbucci's Django were dark and violent, making them stand out amongst the 'Cowboys and Indians' style of film that the likes of John Wayne are known for. The western genre as a whole began to decline in the seventies, and though the occasional great film (such as the Coen Brothers remake of True Grit) is still made, mainstream releases are few and far between. As a result, it has long since been unviable for European filmmakers to make knockoffs, though fans such as Quentin Tarantino have tried to keep the genre alive by incorporating signature elements of it into their films. Though welcomed, such homages are not quite the same as the authentic product, which is now sadly a relic of a time gone by.