A genre of films popular in the 1960s and early 1970s. The films were usually filmed in Spain, and directed by Italian directrors. Several Factors can be looked upon to distinguish Spaghettis from regular American-westerns:

1. Level of Violence (Usually more than American made westerns).
2. The Music (Often scored by Ennio Morriconne and Bruno Nicolai).
3. Sound Effects (Particulary the gun and horse sounds are different from the ones used in American made westerns).
4. Religious imagery, symbols and names.
5. Filmed in Almeria Spain.
6. Italian and Spanish names in the credits (It is highly likely the director will be named Sergio).
7. Out of sync dubbing (Even the Italian versions are dubbed).
8. Stereotypes (Mexicans as theives, women as whores).
9. A shitload of alternate titles.
10. Banned in several countries.
11. Often they star Franco Nero, Lee Van Cleef, Tomas Milian, Klaus Kinski, Luigi Pistili, Mario Brega and other spaghetti regulars.

When you eat dirt for the first time and leave your family to build a shack in the woods

a low-budget western film made by a european, especially an italian, film company.

A cowboy movie made by Italian producers and directors