How Is Sergio Leone’s Influence Living on in Mainstream Culture to This Day?

During the 1950s and 1960s, western movies were at the forefront of the mainstream and cinemagoers were spoilt for choice with content in the genre. Although he didn’t spark this craze, Sergio Leone was at the heart of it, and he is considered the father of the subgenre known as the spaghetti western. His three seminal films that began with A Fistful of Dollars in 1964 were not originally intended to be linked, but they are now known as the Dollars Trilogy and are considered some of the most influential pictures ever made.

Tropes that began in 1964 and continued in the following two years in For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly can now be seen in every corner of modern popular culture.

The Western Genre Spans Across All Media

The western genre is so prevalent that no matter your preferred type of entertainment, you’ll find some content that draws inspiration from Leone’s movies. Console players, for instance, recently had the pleasure of playing Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar Games, which is now regarded as one of the paramount titles ever made. For gamers on mobile, there’s an even greater abundance of choice. Some titles that clearly draw influence from the pictures that put Clint Eastwood on the map include West Gunfighter and Six-Guns: Gang Showdown.

Then, there are titles that were based on famous scenes from the movies. The train heist in For a Few Dollars More went down in history, and now there are games like Money Train 2 that pay tribute to it. When you play Money Train 2 at Metaspins Casino, you’ll feel as if you’ve entered a spaghetti western, with all the iconic tropes such as outlaws, gold, and dynamite in place.

Without Leone’s legendary offerings, there’s a chance that these well-loved titles may have never come into existence. There’s no doubt that the developers who found success with them have a lot to thank the late Italian director for.

Modern Western Offerings Can be Traced Back to the Dollars Trilogy

The western genre is nowhere near as popular as it was back in the days of Leone, but the cinema industry still throws out the odd film to appease fans. There’s no doubt that the best place to find western offerings now is in games but, for some, the movie experience can’t be beaten. Some of the superlative modern westerns have included The Revenant in 2015, Hostiles in 2017, and the Coen brothers’ True Grit in 2010.

Joel and Ethan Coen are two of the most famous modern directors that clearly draw a lot of influence from the pictures of the 1960s, and their adaptation of Charles Portis’ 1968 novel paid homage to that. The movie starring Jeff Bridges as the drunken Deputy U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn was lauded for staying true to the genre and including many of the facets that made Leone’s films so well-loved. Screenrant discusses how True Grit could be the best western from the directorial duo.

No Country For Old Men is another famous western offering from the Coen brothers, but the 2007 picture subverted some of the most common aspects of westerns. However, there were still a few important features that Leone would have approved of, such as the inclusion of a formidable gunslinger.

Few Modern Films Can Live Up to These Classics

Part of the reason for the western genre fading away in modern cinema is the fact that almost everything that could be done was done in the films of the genre’s golden age. That makes it hard for modern directors to put their own spin on things without having viewers compare them to the iconic classics of yesteryear. As CBR.com notes about newer pictures like The Power of the Dog, it can be hard to define contemporary western offerings.

Because so many pictures were made during the heyday of the western genre, coming up with new concepts for original films is no easy feat. And as the age of the American frontier becomes an even more distant memory, modern audiences may find it less relatable.

The best way to enjoy Leone’s legacy is to watch his Dollars trilogy and then search for references to it in the mainstream media of today. The gaming industry is packed full of offerings that are inspired by Leone, and the director’s influence is unlikely to wane anytime soon.