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Named for their strong association with Italian directors, this western subgenre gained prominence in the mid-1960s, when directors such as Sergio Leone, Sergio Corbucci, and Sergio Sollima churned out more than 500 films, and reinvented what had become an outdated genre. Filmed primarily in Spain, these westerns were more action-oriented than earlier American-made films and displayed an unprecedented level of violence, favoring sparse dialogue, a mix of powerful religious iconography, and musical scores that blended unconventional instruments with sound effects. Hosted by Arizona’s Official Western Film Historian Charlie LeSueur.