Customer Reviews

10,000 Ways to Die: A Director's Take on the Spaghetti Western

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Alex Cox's book, along with Howard Hughes' ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE ITALIAN WEST, are absolutely the only two books you need on the subject. Frayling concentrates mostly on Leone, and although I enjoy his commentary, all of his books kind of meld together. Weisser's SPAGHETTI WESTERNS, still my most referenced book, is too full of errors. The 3-vol. WESTERN ALL 'ITALIANA (Bruschini) is fun but loses alot in the translation. Fridlund's THE SPAGHETTI WESTERN...well, you can really get lost in all those charts and diagrams and ellipses.

Cox really gives you an exciting ride down the Spaghetti Trail; informative (a director's take), yet funny/witty as well, pulling no punches, calling a gringo a gringo. If he thinks a certain movie stinks he lets you know. He especially hates annoying cute characters, old timers that are suppose to be funny and bothersome children. His opinions are his own, not some re-hashing of some other critic/writer. A very good read, easy to grasp, hard to put down. And a lot of movies are covered, by many directors. Not just more Leone worship.

AN ESSENTIAL PURCHASE AND READ for Spaghetti Western fans. Buy this.

Very good overview of early Spaghettis with a brilliant critique of the overly complex Sartana movies. Lots of overly enthusiastic Sollima stroking and Eastwood bashing. I strongly disagree with many of Cox's assertions and conclusions but it's a fun enlightening read.

Alex Cox (best known to cineastes as the auteur of REPO MAN, SID AND NANCY and the underappreciated HIGHWAY PATROLMAN)has written an opinionated, informative book analyzing what he considers key films from all stages of the Italian Western's lifespan (roughly the mid-60s to the late 1970s).

Given Cox's leftist political views, he tends to put more emphasis on the works of, say, cult figure Sergio Corbucci (THE GREAT SILENCE is a particular Cox favorite)over the more well-known Sergio Leone. Cox devotes a chapter to a fascinating film from Tonino Valerii called THE PRICE OF POWER (which can be found on Volume 3 of the DVD collection THE SPAGHETTI WESTERN BIBLE). THE PRICE OF POWER is a Western allegory loosely inspired by the JFK assassination, with Van Johnson playing the Kennedy equivalent.

Recommended to both Spaghetti Western newcomers and fans who might welcome a different take on the genre.

When I read Alex Cox' line "...full of half-assed semiotics and other attenuated academic nonsense," it brought a smile to my face, since it reminded me of Christopher Frayling's book. This book is so much better. The juvenile anti-Americanism, trendy academic junk and communism/marxism of Frayling is largely absent here. But never fear-- instead you get at least 100 references to "racism" and sexism. After all, there is a pervasive misogyny in these Italowesterns and Mexicans, in particular, are usually portrayed as outrageously vile bandits or incredibly stupid and passive peones. As a result of reading these books it would seem that the Italian directors, who had to put up with censorship and cuts in the '60s because of torture and excessive violence, would have bigger problems today with charges of "racism" and "sexism."

The chapters in this book are organized by the year the movies came out. 51 films are highlighted, but many more are covered in the transition paragraphs between the featured movies. I have found Cox' comments useful and enlightening. Of course he is opinionated, but that's what we want in a book of this type.

Frayling's book was filled with silliness, such as his insistence that John Ford, the godfather of the Western movie, was not really an American at all, but rather an Irishman. Ford was a second-generation American, as am I, but nobody has ever told me that I'm not a real American, that I'm actually a German. The silliest comment from Cox comes on page 285, where he writes that British politicans and media people who insist on a special relationship with the US should ponder that a Hollywood studio financed a film (Sergio Leone's "Giu la Testa") which featured an Irish revolutionary played by an American actor who kills 2 British soldiers in the province of Ireland. This is absurd on the face of it-- as if movies should determine foreign policy. All the more so when one remembers just how many Italowesterns treat the subject of American intervention in the Third World. Ireland, you know...

I want to mention a few things about his review of "The Return of Ringo," one of my favorite Italowesterns. Cox does a good job discussing why most heroes wore the blue during the Civil War [but see the discussion for a refutation] and clearly likes Tessari's direction, but the strange political comments come on page 79. Ringo appears to Paco Fuentes in a dust storm, finally decked-out in his spotless US Cavalry uniform. Cox wonders: "Is this fantastical scene racist? Maybe." Paco is dressed in his aristocratic Mexican finery and Ringo is dressed in the best he can do at the time. Surely (maybe not) Cox can see that Ringo has a legitimate problem with Paco-- he has killed his father, a US senator, taken over the family estate and now is forcing his wife Hally into marriage? But Ringo should worry about being "racist" to Paco? Maybe not, to Cox, as he continues, because "...Paco is a low-down child-threatener, and by the Rainbow-of-Diversity Coalition which Ringo has assembled to defeat the foe..." Politically correct CYA, it would seem. I suppose that Cox thinks that whites should never engage in conflict or competition with "people of color" lest they be considered "racist."

Cox is very squeamish about women being beaten (The Big Gundown/La Resa dei Conti) and Blacks beaten ("The Price of Power"), but he laments the fact that the massacre of Christians in "Four of the Apocalypse" occurs off-screen and he didn't get to see it. He also loves it when "capitalists" get whacked. It makes me think that he would have been a good Chekist and perhaps an enthusiastic agitprop film-maker.

Despite the political silliness I like this book and recommend it to all who love these films.

10,000 Ways to Die offers a great guide to the world of the Spaghetti Western without being overly theoretical. It's a practical look at the important films and directors of Italian westerns through the sixties and seventies, highlighting common themes, archetypes, and characters. Cox' writing is accessible and fun, and he is honest about his opinion of the films. If he doesn't like a film, he won't devote many pages to it. Because of this, the book acts as a movie-watching guide, turning the reader on to films he/she would never have picked up before reading the book. If you're interested in westerns or film in general, pick it up.

As I like Alex Cox films (for the most part) and appreciate his sensibilities. His take on the spaghetti western phenomenon presented in this book is continually enthralling. What a fun read. Thanks Alex!! He has a director's eye, an academic bent and a kid's appreciation of the genre which he applies to this sprawling essay of a book. Reading this is like hearing a good friend talk enthusiastically over dinner. Less a 'director' viewpoint (as the cover and reviews remark,) this book is more of smart fan-boy's take. What elevates it, in my opinion, is Cox's political point-of-view coupled with his true appreciation of the craft of shooting, acting, editing and film scoring. I recommend this book highly and encourage Alex to keep writing.

Got my product in a timely fashion and I have no complaints. A great book! - JB