***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. I've also added HBOMax selections this month.***
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, 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. Apologies if I’ve suggested something with particularly grim A/V quality and be aware that the availability is based on the research I did on May 4, 2020. Given the nature of streaming media, I imagine very few of these titles will be available in perpetuity. 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) – Amazon Prime and 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
Sergio Corbucci Westerns
Django (1966) – Midnight Pulp 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 (Ferdinando Baldi, 1971) – Spaghetti Westerns Draw
Get Mean (aka: Time Breaker; also Ferdinando Baldi, 1975) – Amazon Prime and Tubi
Comin’ At Ya! (also Ferdinando Baldi, 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) – Tubi and 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
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
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, 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
Twice a Judas (Italian: Due volte giuda; Nando Cicero, 1968) – 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, 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