The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) | Exhibitions + Events | Calendar

March 01 - April 26, 2008
Non-Western Westerns Phyllis Wattis Theater Perhaps no other artistic genre is as rich in American mythologies as the Western. It contains the spirit of the pioneer, the confrontation with nature, individualism, family values, the struggle between the lawless and the law, and the imperialist drive that led to the conquest of the West. It is also, arguably, the American genre that has been taken up most widely in the rest of the world. From Poland to India, Japan to Italy, variations on the Western are common in world cinema. Of course there are spaghetti Westerns, but we also have curry Westerns, noodle Westerns, sauerkraut Westerns, and many others. These are not just Westerns in different flavors; many non-Western Westerns challenge the mythologies that constitute the genre. In doing so, they force us to think differently about some of the fundamental beliefs that underpin the United States. $5 general, students, and seniors; free for SFMOMA members or with museum admission (requires free ticket, which can be picked up in the Haas Atrium). Tickets are available at the Museum (with no surcharge) or online. Film at SFMOMA is generously supported by the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation and Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein. Buy tickets

Past

Buy tickets Double Feature For a Few Dollars More, Sergio Leone, 1965, 132 min. Il Mercenario (A Professional Gun), Sergio Corbucci, 1968, 110 min.

Perhaps no other artistic genre is as rich in American mythologies as the Western. It contains the spirit of the pioneer, the confrontation with nature, individualism, family…

Buy tickets Non-Western Westerns El Topo, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1971, 125 min.

Gunfighter el Topo (the Mole), played by Chilean director Jodorowsky, sets out with his son (played by his actual son, Brontis Jodorowsky) to avenge his dead wife in this Mexican…

Buy tickets Non-Western Westerns El Topo, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1971, 125 min.

Gunfighter el Topo (the Mole), played by Chilean director Jodorowsky, sets out with his son (played by his actual son, Brontis Jodorowsky) to avenge his dead wife in this Mexican…

Buy tickets Non-Western Westerns A Girl Is a Gun (Une Aventure de Billy le Kid), Luc Moullet, 1971, 100 min.

Sometimes described as an "acid Western," A Girl Is a Gun is certainly a weird trip. French New Wave icon Jean-Pierre Léaud stars as Billy the Kid, attempting to escape capture…

Buy tickets Non-Western Westerns A Girl Is a Gun (Une Aventure de Billy le Kid), Luc Moullet, 1971, 100 min.

Sometimes described as an "acid Western," A Girl Is a Gun is certainly a weird trip. French New Wave icon Jean-Pierre Léaud stars as Billy the Kid, attempting to escape capture…

Buy tickets Non-Western Westerns Sholay, Ramesh Sippy, 1975, 162 min.

Sholay is Bollywood's landmark contribution to the Western genre. It remains the highest-grossing film in the history of Hindi cinema and was declared "film of the millennium" by…

Buy tickets Non-Western Westerns Summer Love, Piotr Uklanski, 2006, 93 min.