That no good, Blondie haired, Angel Eyed, Son of a Tuco!

Spaghetti Western films tore into the film scene around the middle of the swinging sixties. What was significant to this genre of western film was that it was low budged, violent, and usually had a minimalist cinematography style. The term Spaghetti was introduced because they were produced by Italian studios, and usually filmed in Italy as well.

Although the history is highly interesting, the matter of concern with this post has to due to the composer who did the musical score for (in my opinion) the greatest spaghetti western film ever; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966). In fact, he did the musical scores for all of the ‘Man with No Name’ films. The composer is the great Ennio Morricone.

Below I’ve posted three videos. The first one up for your viewing pleasure is the opening titles for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly which features the theme song for the movie. The second film clip is the graveyard seen which features the composition entitles “The Ecstasy of Gold.” And finally, the third clip is of the final duel scene from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly which features some of the finest displays of cinematography I have ever witnessed; so simple, yet so affective. Please indulge!

What I wanted to tie this into was ordering European coffee and enjoying it! Specifically I wanted to look at ordering coffee in an Italian coffee bar (see the ties? Spaghetti westerns to Italian coffee? It’s a meal in itself!), and what I guess you could call…etiquette. First thing you will want to keep in mind is that ordering a drink at the bar, and ordering it to sit and enjoy, has two different prices. Because most of the tourists sit down and drink their coffee, they can exploit this (in a way) and charge more to use the seating capabilities.

If you were wanting to order an espresso in Italy, all you would have to do is simply ask for a “caffe,” however, you must remember to drink it quickly. Espresso is made to be enjoyed quickly, not a casual sip and bullshit drink. Also, any coffee after breakfast or 11am should not contain milk. You’ll be a laughing stock if you order a cappuccino after 11am. This is really too bad… because I really enjoy a good cappuccino… and I guess I hate to admit it?? In a later post I will go over proper drink terminology. Cappuccinos from most places in our little city are not cappuccinos at all…