Tarantino: I love low-budget Italian 'macaroni westerns'

ROME, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino says he is a fan of Italy's low-budget "macaroni westerns," as well as its classic spaghetti westerns.

"Macaroni westerns, as we call them in America, are the ones I love the best because of their surrealism and the extremes they present," ANSA quoted Tarantino as saying at the Rome premiere of his latest film, "Django Unchained."

Tarantino has said "Django Unchained" -- set in 19th century America -- was influenced by Italian director Sergio Leone's "Dollars" trilogy of the 1960s, starring Clint Eastwood, and Sergio Corbucci's 1966 spaghetti western "Django," starring Franco Nero.

The International Rome Film Festival said it would present Quentin Tarantino with a lifetime achievement award Friday.

The festival concluded Nov. 17 but "Django Unchained" wasn't finished in time for a screening during the event.

Artistic director Marco Mueller said Tarantino's "vision has radically influenced our collective imagery over the past 20 years."

"Tarantino is a profoundly American yet very European filmmaker, because the relationship he has established with cinema and its history is as analytical as it is passionate," Mueller said.