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  • Writer's pictureGabe Powers

Grinding the Stream July 2020 UPDATES: Spaghetti Westerns

***This is going to be a mid-monthly tradition now, I guess. At least until social distancing standards are completely abandoned. Maybe even after that. Some updates will be bigger than others – it all depends on what differences I can find. ***


Are you self-isolating? Are you thinking about broadening your cinematic horizons? Perhaps you’d like to learn about a specific genre? I’m here to help. Let’s start by seeing what is available to stream, beginning with some worthwhile entries in the absolutely massive spaghetti western canon.


Netflix and Hulu have pretty pathetic western selections, not to mention a lack of movies made before 1980, so they weren’t particularly helpful in this regard. Amazon Prime has a healthy selection, however, as do a number of free streaming services available via Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, et cetera. I compared a bunch and, for the sake of simplicity, I found the best in terms of content and video quality to be Tubi, Midnight Pulp (a "+" will be included wherever subscription fees apply), VUDU’s free selections, The Roku Channel, and Shout Factory TV (though most of their titles can also be watched via Amazon Prime). Of course, who can forget smaller, but no less important paid services, namely Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Fandor, and Shudder.


Due to flimsy copyright, many free services, including YouTube, have loads of spaghetti westerns to choose from. So, for this entry in what will be a multi-part series, I’m also adding one more free-with-ads app, Spaghetti Westerns Draw, which overlaps with other grey market/budget apps/streaming sites, as well as Amazon Prime. Again, be warned – all of the free apps have ad breaks (I know, it sucks) and the video quality is inconsistent from app to app. Sometimes it's genuine HD, other times, it's sub-VHS. I've also included links to my own reviews of some of these films.



Sergio Leone's Western

  • The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Italian: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, 1966) – Netflix,

  • Once Upon a Time in the West (Italian: C'era una volta il West, 1968) – Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Crackle, and Popcorn Flix

  • Duck You Sucker! (Italian: Giù la testa; aka: A Fistful of Dynamite, 1971) – Amazon Prime

  • My Name is Nobody (Italian: Il mio nome è Nessuno; co-directed with Tonino Valerii, 1973) – Tubi and Roku Channel


Sergio Corbucci Westerns

  • Massacre at Grand Canyon (Italian: Massacro al Grande Canyon; co-directed with Albert Band, 1964) – Tubi

  • Django (1966) – Midnight Pulp, Tubi, and VUDU Free

  • Ringo and His Golden Pistol (Italian: Jonny Oro, 1966) – VUDU Free

  • The Hellbenders (Italian: I crudeli; Sergio Corbucci, 1967) – Amazon Prime

  • The Mercenary (Italian: Il Mercenario; aka: A Professional Gun, 1968) – Amazon Prime

  • Compañeros (Italian: Vamos a Matar Compañeros,1970) – Tubi and VUDU Free

  • Shoot First… Ask Questions Later (Italian: Il bianco, il giallo, il nero; aka: The White, the Yellow, and the Black,1975) – Amazon Prime


Lucio Fulci's Westerns

  • Massacre Time (Italian: Le colt cantarono la morte e fu...tempo di massacro; aka: The Brute and the Beast, 1966) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Four of the Apocalypse (Italian: I quattro dell'apocalisse, 1975) – Tubi

  • Silver Saddle (Italian: Sella d'argento; aka: They Died With Their Boots On, 1978) – Amazon Prime and Tubi


Ferdinando Baldi Westerns

  • Texas, Adios (Italian: Texas, Addio, 1966) – Tubi

  • Django Prepare a Coffin (Italian: Preparati la bara!; aka: Viva Django!, 1968) – VUDU Free and Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Hate Thy Neighbor (Italian: Odia il prossimo tuo, 1968) – Amazon Prime

  • Forgotten Pistolero (Italian: Il pistolero dell'Ave Maria, 1969) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Blindman (1971) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Get Mean (aka: Time Breaker, 1975) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Comin’ At Ya! (1981) – Amazon Prime and Tubi


Enzo G. Castellari Westerns

  • Kill Them All and Come Back Alone (Italian: Ammazzali tutti e torna solo,1968) – VUDU Free

  • Between God, The Devil and a Winchester (Italian: Anche nel west c'era una volta Dio, 1968) – Amazon Prime

  • Keoma (1976) – Tubi, VUDU Free, and Spaghetti Westerns Draw


Antonio Margheriti Westerns

  • ...And God Said to Cain (Italian: E Dio disse a Caino…, 1970) – Tubi

  • The Stranger and the Gunfighter (Italian: El kárate, el Colt y el impostor; aka: Blood Money, 1974) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw



Series & Double-Features


The Ringo Series

  • A Pistol for Ringo (Italian: Una pistola per Ringo; Duccio Tessari,1965) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • The Return of Ringo (Italian: Il ritorno di Ringo; also Duccio Tessari, 1965) – Amazon Prime and Tubi


Lee Van Cleef as a Mentor Double-Feature

  • Death Rides a Horse (Italian: Da uomo a uomo; Giulio Petroni, 1967 – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and VUDU Free (beware of wildly varying image quality)

  • Day of Anger (Italian: I Giorni Dell'ira; aka: Gunlaw; Tonino Valerii, 1967) – Amazon Prime and Midnight Pulp


The Sartana Series (five official films)

  • If You Meet Sartana Pray for Your Death (Italian: Se incontri Sartana prega per la tua morte; Gianfranco Parolini, 1968) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • I Am Sartana Your Angel of Death Sartana the Gravedigger (Italian: Sono Sartana, il vostro becchino; Giuliano Carnimeo, 1969) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • I Am Sartana, Trade Your Guns for a Coffin (Italian: C'è Sartana... vendi la pistola e comprati la bara; Giuliano Carnimeo, 1970) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Have a Good Funeral, My Friend… Sartana Will Pay (Italian: Buon funerale, amigos!... paga Sartana; Giuliano Carnimeo, 1970) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Light the Fuse... Sartana Is Coming (Italian: Una nuvola di polvere... un grido di morte... arriva Sartana; Giuliano Carnimeo, 1970) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • BONUS: Django Defies Sartana (Italian: Django sfida Sartana; Pasquale Squitieri, 1970) – Amazon Prime


The Sabata Series (Mostly in-name-only)

  • Sabata (Gianfranco Parolini, 1969) – Amazon Prime and Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Adios Sabata (Italian: Indio Black, sai che ti dico: Sei un gran figlio di…; Gianfranco Parolini. 1970)

  • Sabata the Killer (Italian: Arriva Sabata!; Tulio Demicheli, 1970) – VUDU Free

  • Wanted Sabata (Italian: Sabata vivo ou morto; Roberto Mauri, 1970) – Amazon Prime


The Tony Anthony Stranger Series

  • A Stranger in Town (Italian: Un Dollaro tra I Denti; aka: A Dollar Between the Teeth; Luigi Vanzi, 1967) – Amazon Prime

  • The Stranger Returns (Italian: Un Uomo, Un Cavallo, Una Pistola; aka: A Man, a Horse, a Gun and Shoot First, Laugh Last; also Luigi Vanzi, 1967) – Amazon Prime

  • Sadly, the third official Stranger movie, A Stranger in Japan (Italian: Lo straniero di silenzio; aka: The Silent Stranger; also Ferdinando Baldi, 1968) isn’t available to stream anywhere




Other Zapata Westerns

  • A Bullet for the General (Italian: Quién sabe?; Damiano Damiani, 1966) – Tubi and VUDU Free

  • Run Man Run (Italian: Corri uomo corri; Sergio Sollima, 1968, note that this is a sequel to The Big Gundown, which is not available streaming) – Amazon Prime and VUDU Free

  • Tepepa (Giulio Petroni, 1969) – Amazon Prime


Other Good to Great Films

  • Requiescant (aka: Kill and Pray and Let Them Rest; Carlo Lizzani, 1967) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, and Midnight Pulp

  • Django Kill...If You Live, Shoot! (Italian: Se sei vivo spara; Giulio Questi, 1967) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, VUDU Free, and Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Gentleman Killer (Italian: Gentleman Jo... uccidi; Giorgio Stegani, 1967) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • A Long Ride from Hell (Italian: Vivo per la tua morte; Camillo Bazzoni, 1968) – Amazon Prime and Tubi

  • Black Jack (Gianfranco Baldanello, 1968) – VUDU Free

  • Cemetery without Crosses (Italian: Une Corde, un Colt; aka: The Rope and the Colt; Robert Hossein, 1969) – Amazon Prime, Midnight Pulp, Tubi, VUDU Free, and Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Django the Bastard (Italian: Django il bastardo; aka: The Stranger's Gundown; Sergio Garrone, 1969) – Tubi and Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • The Price of Power (Italian: Il prezzo del potere; Tonino Valerii, 1969) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • Hanging for Django (Italian: Una lunga fila di croci; aka: No Room to Die; Sergio Garrone, 1969) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • The Unholy Four (Italian: Ciakmull - L'uomo della vendetta; Enzo Barboni, 1970) Spaghetti Westerns Draw

  • His Name was King (Italian: Lo chiamavano King; Giancarlo Romitelli, 1971) – Tubi

  • Grand Duel (Italian: Il grande duello; Giancarlo Santi, 1972) – Amazon Prime, Tubi, VUDU Free, and Spaghetti Westerns Draw



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