| Overall Grade: |
B+ |
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| Story: |
B+ |
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| Acting: |
B |
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| Direction: |
B+ |
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| Visuals: |
A- |
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"Get three coffins ready..."
by Dan (movies profile)
Aug 10, 2006
4
of
4 people found this review helpful
These words spoken by The Man With No Name, as he passes the coffin maker on his way to the desperados who shot at the ground to scare his horse are one of the most memorable in the world of Spaghetti Westerns. "Fistful of Dollars" may not be the first one to be made, but it is the one that popularized the Western sub-genre. The Man With No Name Trilogy, or the "Dollars Trilogy" begins here, althoguh Eastwood's character has a different name in all three.
The Man With No Name certainly has become a cult figure, Clint Eastwood in the green pancho, smoking a short cigar while squinting at his enemies is one of the most memorable characters ever. This is a remake of Akira Kurosawa's movie "Yojimbo." The story of a mysterious man who comes to a town, a ridiculously dead one ran by two gangs, the Rojos and the Baxters, with "Joe" as he is called here in the middle.
Joe is made to know that this town isn't a kind one in the beginning, seeing the little boy being kicked out of the house where his mother is beign held captive by the sadistic Ramon. Joe is immediately disliked as he is chased out of their side by three Baxters. He meets and befriends the local bartender who shelters Joe and constantly gives him advice, evne if most of it is telling him how he is going to get himself killed.
Joe sees a way to make money right away, he confronts the three (now four) Baxters who attacked him and throws up his poncho to reveal his gun, which is a memorable shot as we see the squint that became a trademark when in reality it was a combonation of the sun and set lighting. Quick drawing all three, he emotionlessly walks past the coffin maker. "My mistake, four coffins."
We become a fan of the Anti-Hero Clint portrays so cold and good he seems more then human. He plays both gangs, giving each information on the other, making money with both, setting up one of them, trciking the rivals into a gunfight to spy around. Soon his job to himself becomes a moral one as he sees the horror the town goes through, a happy father, wife and child torn away, the wife held captive by the lying Ramon.
Sergio Leone is without a doubt one of the greatest ever, he definately perfected Westerns better then most American Westerns, more gritty realism and all, making Clint a star who would later star in two other Leone Westerns and direct some of his own such as High Plains Drifter or Unforgiven. Even later to direct the Best Film of 2003 Mystic river. Leone is the master of closeups, they are significant in all his movies. Especially in standoffs focusing on the look of the character, their poker faces, their looks of hatred.
Leone has the honor of directed a trilogy that got perpetually better. He went on to continue Clint's iconic character in "For a Few Dollars More" and the best of all three, the prequel to the first two, "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." Leone also went on to make two other masterworks, "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Once Upon a Time in America." This may be Leone's first movie to gain attention but it would not be his last, and it would get better as he went along all the way until his death in 1989. Fistful of Dollars is an iconic film that defined and popularized a whole sub-genre as well as influenced future filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino who refers to close-ups on set as, "Give me a 'Sergio Leone'." |
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