Euro War
Encyclopedia
Macaroni Combat, also known as Macaroni War or Euro War films, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre
of war film
that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by European co-productions notably Italians
.
The typical team was made up of an Italian director, Italo-Spanish technical staff, and a cast of Italian and Spanish actors and sometimes German and French, sometimes a fading Hollywood star
. The films were primarily shot in Europe and later, the Philippines.
s, the Macaroni Combat film mimicked the success of American films such as The Dirty Dozen
and Where Eagles Dare
. Like spaghetti westerns, Euro War films were characterized by their production in the Italian language, low budgets, added violence, and a recognizable highly fluid and minimalist cinematography. This was partly intentional and partly the context and cultural background of the filmmakers. Throughout the '60s and '70s the films were almost all set during World War II
. In the 1960s and 1970s some films were made about mercenaries in Africa following the success of Dark of the Sun
, and some filmed in the 1980s would be set during the Vietnam War
following the success of Platoon
.
The best-known and perhaps archetypal Macaroni Combat film is probably The Inglorious Bastards directed by Enzo G. Castellari
. Its present status is mostly due to Quentin Tarantino's
2009 film Inglourious Basterds, an American produced film inspired by the genre.
In decades past, far and away the best known of the Italian-made World War II films were Anzio
(1968) and Hornet's Nest (1970) with their A-list cast members.
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
that emerged in the mid-1960s, so named because most were produced and directed by European co-productions notably Italians
Cinema of Italy
The history of Italian cinema began just a few months after the Lumière brothers had patented their Cinematographe, when Pope Leo XIII was filmed for a few seconds in the act of blessing the camera.-Early years:...
.
The typical team was made up of an Italian director, Italo-Spanish technical staff, and a cast of Italian and Spanish actors and sometimes German and French, sometimes a fading Hollywood star
Movie star
A movie star is a celebrity who is well-known, or famous, for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. The term may also apply to an actor or actress who is recognized as a marketable commodity and whose name is used to promote a movie in trailers and posters...
. The films were primarily shot in Europe and later, the Philippines.
History
Much like the Italy's own spaghetti westernSpaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
s, the Macaroni Combat film mimicked the success of American films such as The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen
The Dirty Dozen is a 1967 film directed by Robert Aldrich and released by MGM. It was filmed in England and features an ensemble cast, including Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, and Robert Webber. The film is based on E. M...
and Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare
Where Eagles Dare is a 1968 World War II action-adventure spy film starring Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood and Mary Ure. It was directed by Brian G. Hutton and shot on location in Upper Austria and Bavaria....
. Like spaghetti westerns, Euro War films were characterized by their production in the Italian language, low budgets, added violence, and a recognizable highly fluid and minimalist cinematography. This was partly intentional and partly the context and cultural background of the filmmakers. Throughout the '60s and '70s the films were almost all set during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In the 1960s and 1970s some films were made about mercenaries in Africa following the success of Dark of the Sun
Dark of the Sun
Dark of the Sun is a 1968 adventure-war film starring Rod Taylor, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Brown, and Peter Carsten...
, and some filmed in the 1980s would be set during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
following the success of Platoon
Platoon (film)
Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth....
.
The best-known and perhaps archetypal Macaroni Combat film is probably The Inglorious Bastards directed by Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari
Enzo G. Castellari is an Italian film director. He became famous during the 1960s by directing several spaghetti westerns with such titles as Go Kill and Come Back Enzo G. Castellari (born July 29, 1938) is an Italian film director. He became famous during the 1960s by directing several spaghetti...
. Its present status is mostly due to Quentin Tarantino's
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
2009 film Inglourious Basterds, an American produced film inspired by the genre.
In decades past, far and away the best known of the Italian-made World War II films were Anzio
Anzio (film)
Anzio, also known as Lo Sbarco di Anzio or The Battle for Anzio, is a 1968 war film about Operation Shingle, the 1944 Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of Anzio in World War II...
(1968) and Hornet's Nest (1970) with their A-list cast members.
Notable films
- Under Ten FlagsUnder Ten FlagsUnder Ten Flags is a 1960 Italian-American war film directed by Duilio Coletti. It was entered into the 10th Berlin International Film Festival.-Plot:...
(1960) - The Best of EnemiesThe Best of EnemiesThe Best of Enemies is a 1961 film directed by Guy Hamilton that was an Italian and British co-production set during the WWII East African Campaign but filmed in Israel. It stars David Niven and Michael Wilding. It was nominated for three Golden Globe awards in 1963-Cast:*David Niven as Maj....
(1961) - La guerra continua (Warriors Five)(1962)
- Torpedo BayTorpedo BayTorpedo Bay is a 1963 war film directed by Charles Frend and Bruno Vailati and starring James Mason. The story is based on events that took place at Betasom, a submarine base established at Bordeaux by the Italian Navy during World War II....
(1962) - Marcia o CrepaMarcia o CrepaMarcia o Crepa known as The Legion's Last Patrol in the UK and Commando in the US is a 1962 European co-production war film about the Algerian War of Independence...
(Commando) (1962) - Attack and Retreat (Italiano Brava Gente) (1964)
- War Italian Style (1966)
- Dirty HeroesDirty HeroesDirty Heroes, also known as From Hell to Victory and Heroes Five , is a 1967 Italian "macaroni combat" war film directed by Alberto De Martino and starring Frederick Stafford.-Cast:* Frederick Stafford - Joe Mortimer, Sesame...
(1967) - Desert Commandos (1967)
- Hell in NormandyHell in NormandyHell in Normandy is a 1968 World War II film directed by Alfonso Brescia. -Plot:...
(1967) - Commandos (1968)
- Suicide Commandos (1968)
- AnzioAnzio (film)Anzio, also known as Lo Sbarco di Anzio or The Battle for Anzio, is a 1968 war film about Operation Shingle, the 1944 Allied seaborne assault on the Italian port of Anzio in World War II...
(1968) - Attack Force Normandy (1968)
- The Red Berets (1969)
- Eagles Over LondonEagles Over LondonEagles Over London, also known as Battle Squadron and Battle Command , is a 1969 Italian "macaroni combat" war film directed by Enzo G. Castellari.-Plot:...
(1969) - Salt in the WoundSalt in the WoundSalt in the Wound is a 1969 Italian "macaroni combat" war film directed by Tonino Ricci and starring Klaus Kinski and George Hilton.-Plot:...
(1969) - Probability Zero (1969)
- The Battle of El Alamein (film)
- Thunder from the West (1969)
- Desert AssaultDesert AssaultDesert Assault is a 1991 run and gun arcade game by Data East. In this arcade game, up to four players control four soldiers holding machine guns and other projectile weapons, while fighting their way through the terrorist arsenal to take control of the Persian War.-External links:**...
(1969)
- La legione dei dannati (1969)
- Five for HellFive for HellFive for Hell is a 1969 Italian "macaroni combat" war film film starring Klaus Kinski. -Cast:* Gianni Garko - Lt. Glenn Hoffmann * Klaus Kinski - Standartenführer Hans Mueller* Aldo Canti - Nick Amadori...
(1969) - Churchill's LeopardsChurchill's LeopardsChurchill's Leopards is a 1970 Italian"macaroni combat" war film directed by Maurizio Pradeaux and starring Richard Harrison.-Plot:A German SS officer suspects that an officer in command of a dam may not be the loyal Nazi he claims to be...
(1970) - Hornet's Nest (1970)
- Ranger's Attack at Hour X (1970)
- Hell RiverHell RiverHell River, also known as Partizani and The Last Guerilla is a 1974 Yugoslavian partisan film starring Rod Taylor as a Yugoslav raised in America who returns home to fight the Nazis as a partisan in World War Two. Adam West plays a Nazi officer....
(1974) - The Inglorious Bastards (1978)
- Battle Force (1978)
- Tough to Kill (1978)
- From Hell to Victory (1979)
- The Last HunterThe Last HunterThe Last Hunter is a 1980 Italian "macaroni combat" war film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring David Warbeck.-Plot:Following the suicide of his best friend, Captain Harry Morris accepts a final deadly mission to go behind enemy lines to destroy a radio tower that is broadcasting...
(1980) - Tiger Joe (1982)
- Code Name: Wild GeeseCode Name: Wild GeeseCode Name: Wild Geese is a 1984 Italian "macaroni combat" war film directed by Antonio Margheriti and starring Lewis Collins.- Plot :In Hong Kong, DEA man Fletcher heads up an operation to cut off the supply of opium to the west; to fund this operation Fletcher has found himself allied with...
(1984) - Kommando Leopard (1985)
- Warbus (1985)
- A Bridge to Hell (1986)
- Apocalypse Mercenaries (1986)
- Hell's Heroes (1987)
- Warbus 2 (1989)
Notable personalities
- Lee Van CleefLee Van CleefLee Van Cleef was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures. His sharp features and piercing eyes led to his being cast as a villain in scores of films such as High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and The Good The Bad and the Ugly.-Early life:Van Cleef was...
- Lewis CollinsLewis CollinsLewis Collins is an English actor best known for his tough-guy role as Bodie in The Professionals. He was educated at Bidston Primary and Grange School in Birkenhead. He started out as a ladies' hairdresser before playing drums and guitar in pop groups. He had a number of other jobs before...
- Richard HarrisonRichard Harrison (actor)Richard Harrison is an American B-movie actor and occasionally a writer/director/producer.Harrison was very prolific and worked with most of the better-known names in European B-movies during the 1960s and 1970s, branching out to exploitation films shot all over the world in the early 1970s...
- George Hilton
- Klaus KinskiKlaus KinskiKlaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
- Bo SvensonBo SvensonBo Svenson is a Swedish-born American actor, known for his roles in American genre films of the 1970s and 1980s.-Early life:...
- David WarbeckDavid WarbeckDavid Warbeck was a New Zealand actor best known for his film roles in Europe.-Career and move into Italian cinema:...
- Fred WilliamsonFred WilliamsonFred "The Hammer" Williamson is an American actor, architect, and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s.-Football career:...