A Fistful of Dollars
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Movie Reviews of A Fistful of Dollars
Movie Review: Get three coffins ready...my mistake, four coffins.
Summary: 5 Stars
We rented this because the trailer was so impressive (see dialogue above). Before watching it, I read a short review that said it was "the epitome of spaghetti westerns." Sold me. Man, I just love that term and the ring it has to it: Spaghetti Western. In all fairness, I will admit, right off the bat, a couple of things. First, I've only seen maybe 10 or less of the classic ones in this genre. Second, I confess that I kind of have trouble following the exact plot of most SW's (though this could also be due to the fact that, when a character is explaining crucial plot points, they have such a thick accent and talk so fast that I have to hit rewind--this probably has something to do with the dialogue dubbing). Also, Clint Eastwood never has too much dialogue, and he's usually one of the few who isn't dubbed and is actually clearly understandable. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make here is to let you know that this review is written by someone who is a fan rather than a completist or an expert source on the genre.
But as far as the plot points go, it’s pretty easy for you to get the idea. CE plays the proverbial Stranger in Town, who Has a Score to Settle. If you’ve seen more that one Clint Eastwood Western, you know exactly the type of character I mean. He gets called "Gringo" a lot. This is not the kind of guy who comes to town just kinda to kick back and relax, or hang out and visit buddies because he's on vacation. He doesn't take kindly to characters who shoot an unarmed man (especially in the back), or kill an innocent -especially a child, because he seems to have a soft spot somewhere in that hardened soul of his for kids--and his creed usually makes the wrong people, AKA the Bad Guys, mad. The aforementioned wrong people usually are a corrupt authority figure such as a sheriff, or the kind of Lowdown Dirty Gang that would kill a baby or a woman for money/gold, or just for kicks.
You either dig this kind of movie or you don't. No middle of the road. It is, however, possible to develop a taste for this kind of movie-I can say this because it happened to me. Maybe this genre is something you have to develop of taste for, the way you do with lobster. Maybe it’s just that I realized (after watching Hang ‘Em High) that I really enjoy a killer opening scene, the cool credits with the Morricone score, or hearing dialogue like, "Kill them like dogs!" or "Bring him in alive...I want him alive!" Maybe I acquired a taste for these movies while watching the way there's a build up when the Man With No Name enters (usually by showing a shot of his boots moseying into the frame, or his shadow), or someone being shot on a balcony and then crashing through the railing and plummeting a few stories to the dust below, or seeing something (or someone) getting spectacularly blown up or set on fire, or scenes where, even though they take place at night, it seems to be 110 degrees because there isn't one character's face that isn't shining or dripping sweat. Maybe I just secretly get a kick out of some character saying something along the lines of, "Please don't shoot, OK? I'll give you whate--" BLAMMO! I also like the extras that are missing key teeth and have pitted skin and look like they actually really are career criminals, Or, almost best of all, I love moments where a character either jeers at or beats up CE and you think/say, "OK, he's dead" or 'that guy just signed his own death warrant." and you can't wait for the moment when the character is riddled with bullets by CE.
Other than the fact that I had slight trouble following the plot (maybe it was so simple that I was reading too much into it), it's hard to find much negative to say about Fistful of Dollars. Some of the dubbing isn't so great- there's a child whose voice doesn't match at all, and is obviously an adult just talking in a whiny annoying voice. I also get the sneaking suspicion that the movie didn't exactly have the ASCPA's seal of approval. Hopefully those were stunt horses trained to fall down on cue, and they gave them plenty of water to drink between takes. One actress in particular had obvious mid-60's eye-makeup including liquid eyeliner and tadpole eyebrows that looked pretty dated, though now that I think of it, this wasn't necessarily a negative point for me.
This movie didn't have a high budget, but you would never know it from watching it. It didn’t look at all like it had low production values. I know I'm not exactly a groundbreaker in saying this, but If Clint Eastwood hadn't been born, someone would have had to invent him. I have to give credit where credit is due. . He’s in top form in this film. He sleeps in the same clothes he wears in the daytime. He almost never takes his hat off. He has a cigarillo clamped between his teeth half the time. He has two facial expression-angry and pis$ed. He has almost no change of expression in his face at all when he plugs someone full of lead. Women love him, but of course, he's a Ramblin' Guy and can't settle down. He could probably still manage to look cool while riding a unicycle, and never shows fear-he could have a noose around his neck, be about to be set on fire, and pushed off a cliff all at the same time and still look mean. Let's face it-his style as the Man with No Name his often been imitated and emulated, but no-one even comes close to touching him. Lance Henrickson is the closest I can think of (if they were to- shudder- remake any of his westerns, he would be the best to fill CE's shoes) but really, CE is simply one of a kind....
Movie Review: Incredibly influential and timeless Western masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Retroactively, I am a huge fan of the earlier (1960s to 1980s) works involving Clint Eastwood. Either not born or too young to appreciate his films during these times, I find that a high percentage of films that he either starred and/or directed during this time period have an immense appeal and re-watchability. The film that started it all is this one A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, directed by the great Sergio Leone. Leone did Eastwood a HUGE favor having him star in his early "spaghetti" Westerns. I know that the later 2 films of the trilogy (FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY) are more universally acclaimed and considered to be "better" films (whatever that means!), but I find myself re-watching A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS much more so than the other 2.
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS is very tight and fast paced as much of this has to do with the fact that Leone was forced to make his film on a shoestring budget with relatively unknown actors (Eastwood had been only in very low budget B movies and on TV up until this point and the supporting Italian and Spanish actors certainly weren't universally known, if they were in their own countries). In retrospect, the tight budget is the best thing that could have happened as Leone did a brilliant editing job as there are no wasted moments or overly long, drawn out scenes just to show off (as there are in the sequels!). It is a simple, tightly woven tale that moves at a brisk pace.
Eastwood, as "Joe", controls the film from start to finish, with a still to this day unmatched sublime coolness and precision that no one else could have accomplished. This is one of his most confident performances (and, ironically, his first major screen role!). He displays the perfect combination of toughness, savvy, sex appeal, and sensitivity, and he does it with a minimum of dialogue! His "mule" speech preceding the initial gunfight is a perfect balance of sarcasm, humor, and cold-heartedness! In fact, there is a LOT of natural humor in the dialogue in FISTFUL.
The supporting cast is wonderful, with the standout being Gian Maria Volonte, excellent as the main villain Ramon Rojo and is a fitting primary enemy for Eastwood. The two female cast members Marianne Koch (as Marisol) and Margarito Lozano (as Consuela Baxter) are original as well. Marisol may be a victim for most of the film, but Leone manages to make her not seem just like Ramon's sex object and gives her a quiet strength and dignity. And it definitely was a rarity to see such a powerful female as Consuela Baxter ruling an all-male roost!
Leone's camerawork is impressive. One thing I notice upon repeat viewing is how the character closeup reaction shots are so perfectly timed and placed, simultaneously underscoring and accentuating the action. The editing is as much a star as Eastwood and Ennio Morricone's infectious score. This is most evident in the brilliant final showdown scene between Joe and Ramon, one for the ages; Leone imbibes this scene with snappy dialogue delivered by Eastwood, dramatic music fitting of a finale, and wonderful editing to underscore the gravity of the situation. Made on the cheap with an international cast and anchored by a future screen legend in his first major role, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS is an engrossing masterwork!
Movie Review: One of the truly great Westerns of all time
Summary: 5 Stars
It is difficult now to realize what a very, very unusual movie this is. It is hard to remember that before this film, Clint Eastwood was merely a well-known and well-liked television personality (Rowdy Yates on RAWHIDE), but not a major star and very definitely not a movie star. His casting in this film was, at the time, surprising. On RAWHIDE, he had played a hotheaded young Turk, full of emotion and with a tendency to say too much rather than too little. The idea of having him star in any movie was somewhat unusual, but especially one in which he had to play a close-mouthed, mysterious, and almost emotionless stranger. And the idea of an Italian director filming a Western in Spain with a largely European cast with most of the voices dubbed was unheard of. And the soundtrack sounded as if it had somehow seeped into our universe from some parallel but much stranger galaxy. But the movie was not only a success, it managed to create a new genre of Western (the spaghetti Western), made Sergei Leone an internationally successful director, and made Clint Eastwood one of the movies greatest stars. A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS was based on the Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, with Toshiro Mifune playing the Clint Eastwood role. I am a huge fan of Kurosawa, but I have to confess that I like the Western much more. YOJIMBO was in turned based on the Dashiell Hammett novel RED HARVEST, in which the Continental Op (who was himself a man with no name, in that in the few dozen stories and the two novels in which the operative from the Continental Detective agency stars, we never learn his name). In that novel, the Op goes to the town of Personville (which one wag in the book pronounces "Poisonville") and turns the two rival criminal organizations against each other. RED HARVEST was remade yet again in the late 1990s in a much weaker movie starring Bruce Willis called LAST MAN STANDING.
Many things contribute to the success of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS: Ennio Morricone's shockingly original soundtrack, the highly ritualized and stylized direction of Leone, the marvelous adaptation of the Hammett novel and the Kurosawa screenplay. But in the end, it is the character of "Joe" AKA "The Man with No Name," who makes this movie work. At first, we view him as a cold-blooded and calculating schemer, who is concerned only with how much money he can wring out of the two crime families by playing them against one another. But when he witnesses the plight of a woman who has been stolen from her husband and child and forced to be the mistress of the head of one of the families, his humanity is awakened, and he takes tremendous risks to free her and reunite her with her family. When asked why, we learn the only biographical detail that we learn of The Man With No Name in the three movies that Eastwood made with Leone: "I knew someone like you once."
A great movie. And one of the most improbable successes in the history of the cinema.
Movie Review: Our Introduction To Sergio Leone - Brilliant Film Maker
Summary: 5 Stars
It's over 40 years ago now, but I can vividly recall being a young boy and seeing the television ads / trailers for this "new" kind of western.
In the early 60's, westerns ruled the television airways - Bonanza / Gunsmoke / Cheyenne / Maverick and on and on the list goes.
But nothing prepared me for the impact that this western - and Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone - would have on me throughout my teen and adult years.
To this day, I'm in awe of Sergio Leone's ability to take something that's uniquely American - the western - and re-invent the "art form".
A Fistful of Dollars is certainly not unique in terms of the story line -in fact, it's a western adaptation of a famous Japanese film - a "stranger" rides into a town and is pitted against rival forces. Read any Louis L'Amour western novel, for example, and chances are that the protaganist of the book is exactly in the same / similar situation.
This film was a "preview" of things to come in For a Few Dollars More and the epic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly where Clint is the "good guy", but sometimes he's not so "good".
Watch any American western of the 50's or 60's and chances are that the good guy is always wearing a white hat and ONLY draws his gun when it's absolutely necessary and then ONLY to kill "bad" guys.
Clint's Man With No Name character. for example, is quick to kill 4 men at the beginning of this film just for shooting at the feet of his burro. It's unlikely you would have seen Ben Cartwright react the same way had he been in the same situation.
And then, of course, we have the beginning of a wonderful "marriage" between Leone and Ennio Morricone, whose soundtracts became as recognizable and as important as the film itself. This marriage only got better with the later Dollar films and the masterpiece - Once Upon A Time In The West.
There's a story - and it's probably true - that Clint was offered this film during the summer hiatus of Rawhide and initially was going to turn down the $[...] role.
However, his then-wife Maggie convinced him to do it saying that the worst that could happen is that they would enjoy a vacation in Italy and Spain, where the film was primarily shot.
You have to wonder if we'd even know or remember who Clint Eastwood was had he not taken this film, which eventually propelled him to international superstardom.
This is a very, very good film (the next one was better and the last of the dollar pics was the best) that I can watch 100 times and never get bored.
If you haven't seen it, you should if only to see how an American Icon - CLINT EASTWOOD got his start..!!
Movie Review: Fans of westerns and/or Eastwood have no excuse, buy this DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the first of the famed "Man with No Name" trilogy, aka the Sergio Leone trilogy. Of course, Eastwood's character is in fact given a name in this film, though you won't notice it until the end of the picture. The "Man with No Name" was largely a marketing creation, but the character Eastwood plays is roughly the same man in all three films. This film sees his genesis.
In "A Fistful of Dollars", an opportunistic gunslinger (Eastwood) arrives in a town full of corruption and money to be made. The interesting thing about this particular town, the thing that draws Eastwood to seek his fortune here, is that it has *two* bosses. The Baxters and the Rojos split the town, one running the booze whilst the other is running the guns. Eastwood's character sees opportunity where others see only pain and strife, and he quickly resolves that there must be some money to be made in a town like this.
The character is not as self-confident and detached as he is in either "For a Few Dollars More" or "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". Eastwood plays his character with a much more genuine slant, actually displaying at times his affection for the methods and ideas of the Rojos or for specific persons in the Baxter clan. He isn't quite the detached and supremely confident character he portrays in the later films, though this character still represents a radical departure from western film tradition.
The way in which Eastwood's character plays both sides is extremely clever. His nihilism is a refreshing departure from the white-hat/black-hat construction of the westerns popular before this time. The plot stays focused, and the characters stay true to their natures through the end, such as they are.
This film is supposedly based on the film "Yojimbo" by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa (famous for the film "Shichinin no Samurai".) I am not a fan of Japanese cinema, and cannot remark on that too much. Still, it is very clear that Kurosawa's films were inspired directly by John Ford's, and so ultimately it is a matter of western begetting western, and the genre is not diminshed by the fact that other nations may have attempted to copy it and impose their own cultural ideas on it. The basic ideal of the western is nearly universal, after all, and the Italian Sergio Leone is a master of it.
At an amazing price of $5 on the Amazon marketplace, this is definitely worth a purchase!
[DVD extras are minimal, I would base purchase of this DVD on whether or not you considered yourself likely to enjoy the movie itself.]