Spaghetti Western (1967), Chili Western (1995)

[Benjamin Zimmer]

* spaghetti Western (OED2/MW11 1969)

Fred Shapiro already gave a 1968 antedating:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0412D&L=ads-l&P=R6797&m=26432

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1967 _Syracuse Herald Journal_ 11 Oct. 38/1 Lee Van Cleef is not at the
moment a name on the tips of millions of American tongues.  But it is
almost as familiar as pasta on Italian tongues here in Rome since the
release of what have come to be known as the spaghetti Westerns. (The
newest one now showing in America is "For a Few Dollars More.")
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OED's 1969 cite is from Mario Pei, who also gives "Sukiyaki Western" for
the Japanese equivalent.  I noticed another variation, "Chili Western", in
the Sunday Times:

     http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/20/movies/20ciuk.html
     New York Times, Feb. 20, 2005
     Chili westerns and movies about hookers and narcs dominated
     Mexican cinema during the 1980's and half of the 90's.

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1995 _Film Comment_ Nov/Dec (FindArticles) Of the bizarre series of what
Ripstein calls "Chili-Westerns," the most notable exponent was the
director Alberto Mariscal, who brought to them some of the same weird
atmosphere that David Lynch unleashed on Leave It to Beaver-land.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1069/is_n6_v31/ai_17934692/pg_3
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Surely there are earlier cites for "chili Western"-- online sources
suggest that the term was popularized in Mexico in the wake of the first
spaghetti westerns of the mid-'60s...

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http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/english/cultura_y_sociedad/arte/detalle.cfm?idsec=14&idsub=57&idpag=1041
México en el Tiempo # 38 september-october 2000
When the Spaghetti Westerns were made in Italy, Mexico didn’t waste any
time coming up with the Chili Western. These were mostly directed by Rubén
Galindo and the score was always written by Gustavo César Carrión.
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http://www.febiofest.cz/11_en/detail_filmu.php?filmid=2004128
Febio Fest 2004
Arturo Ripstein is one of the best known Mexican directors of our time. He
got his start as a director´s assistant on Luis Bunuel´s film The
Exterminating Angel (1962). His directorial début came in 1965 with the
chili western Tiempo de morir, with a screenplay by Columbian writer
Gabriel García Márquez - who was later to win the Nobel prize for
literature.
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--Ben Zimmer