A Fistful Of Dollars (1964) Dir: Sergio Leone
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When it comes to Westerns, there are no more famous examples than those of Sergio Leone's legendary 'Man With No Name' Trilogy. These films have been high on my watchlist for the longest time, but it took until now for me to be able to finally watch them. I haven't seen too many Westerns, but I like the ones I have seen.
The soundtrack is magnificent. It has so much character and rhythm, and is an excellent backing to the events playing out on-screen. The main audio quality isn't great by modern standards, but it's adequate enough that you can just about hear what everyone says properly.
I thought the film looked pretty great, to be honest. Sure, it's a little funny seeing various gang members flying about with no bullet wounds and falling dramatically, but that's part of the charm I think. It was easy, as a viewer, to get sucked into the world of this western civilization, and their all-consuming conflicts.
The film had a classic Western storyline, full of cunning scoundrels, a typically helpless dame and a mysterious but intelligent lone wolf protagonist. It has a little bit of everything. It even has one hell of a scintillating final stand-off, which was shot and acted excellently, particularly its culmination. It's also worth noting that the narrative is based upon Akira Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo'.
Clint Eastwood was steely, charismatic and all kinds of cool. He looked the part and utilised a less is more style of acting which worked to great effect. Having said that, he did show a lot more personality than I initially expected, which, to be honest, was greatly appreciated. It made him more interesting for longer.
The best performance of the supporting cast came from Gian Maria Volonté, whose cocky and villainous persona proved to be a great foil to Eastwood's measured heroics. The likes of Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp and Antonio Prieto deserved mentions as well, for their respective supporting roles.
Overall, this was a great Western, and a very good start to what has become a truly classic trilogy. I can't wait to see the other two, and, honestly, it makes me want to try out more Westerns. This had so many cracking elements to it, all executed in simple but effective ways. It's a thoroughly good film.
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