Collector’s Corner: Spaghetti Western Film Posters of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood

by Pierre Vudrag on Monday, January 22, 2018

Western movies that were produced in Europe become known as Spaghetti Western, a subgenre of what had been traditionally American, emerged in the mid-1960s and became popular in the wake of Italian director Sergio Leone’s film-making style and international box-office success.

Spaghetti Westerns broke with the conventions and demythologized the traditional
American Westerns, something that certain American Westerns were starting to do but it took the Spaghetti Westerns to kick down the doors.  No more could movie goers clearly identify the heroes of these films as sometimes the heroes were more villainous than the villains of the film.

According to Wikipedia, over 600 European Westerns were produced between 1960 and 1980. The best-known of Leone’s films were the three films he made with American actor Clint Eastwood, the first being “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964), followed by “For a Few Dollars More” in 1965, and in 1966 with the film that has been continuously rated not only the best the best Spaghetti Western but one of the best Western films of all time “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”  Known as the Man With No Name Trilogy, these iconic films catapulted Clint Eastwood into international fame and set the stage for the roles and image that Eastwood would go on to play.

The poster art for each of these releases varied from country as you can see from the following selections of original vintage posters.

A Fistful of Dollars, the first film in Sergio Leone’s collaboration with Clint Eastwood,
was a remake of Akira Kurosawa‘s master piece Yojimbo.

 A Fistful of Dollars (United Artists) 1964 US One Sheet

A Fistful of Dollars (United Artists) 1964 French Grande
Vintage French poster designed by Vanni Tealdi of Sergio Leone’s first movie of the Man With No Name trilogy.

 A Fistful of Dollars (United Artists) Yugoslavia
Unique design with a great illustration of Clint Eastwood by Renato Casaro. Reproduced in “The Art Of The Moderm Movie Poster”

See more original vintage posters of A Fistful of Dollars

For a Few Dollars More, the second Sergio Leone / Clint Eastwood western:

For a Few Dollars More (United Artists) 1965 Italian 2-Folio
This country of origins poster has a great image of the Man With No Name.

For a Few Dollars More (United Artists) 1967 US One Sheet
Released initially in the US in 1967, this is a first release US one sheet.

For a Few Dollars More (United Artists) 1965 Japanese B2
Different artwork for this vintage Japanese B2

See more original vintage posters of For a Few Dollars More

 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Sergio Leone’s masterpiece and the last of his collaboration with Clint Eastwood:

 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (United Artists) 1968 US Three Sheet
The final film in Sergio Leone’s “Man With No Name” trilogy.  Released initially in the US in 1968, this is a first release US three sheet.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (United Artists) 1968 French Grande.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (United Artists) 1968 Japanese B2
Superb image of the duel finale used for this very rare original Japanese poster.

See more original vintage poster of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Love vintage posters, whether you’re a collector or just a casual fan, take a look at Collector’s Corner past blogs:

Collector’s Corner: Film Posters of Akira Kurosawa
Collector’s Corner: The Films of Elvis Presley
Collector’s Corner: Rare Movie Posters – SCI-FI COOL
Collector’s Corner: Italian Movie Posters
French Movie Posters
Collector’s Corner – Rare & Hard To Find Movie Posters
Collector’s Corner – Rare, Collectible and Sought After Movie Posters
Collector’s Corner – Rare, Collectible Movie Posters

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