For a Few Dollars More

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/17/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Sergio Leone with a script by Leone, Fulvio Montella, and Luciano Vincenzoni, For a Few Dollars More is about two men on the hunt for a ruthless bandit who has been killing many with his gang. With Clint Eastwood returning as the Man with No Name, he is teamed up with character actor Lee Van Cleef as a fellow bounty hunter named Colonel Douglas Mortimer. The film is a more epic, stylistic that took Leone's visual style from his previous film to new heights with its iconic use of close-ups, editing, visual scope, and the duels that would define his westerns. Also starring Leone regulars Gian Maria Volonte, Joseph Egger, Aldo Sambrell, Mario Brega, and Benito Stefanelli along with Mara Krupp and legendary German actor Klaus Kinski. For a Few Dollars More is a solid, action-packed film from Sergio Leone and company.

Arriving into Tucumcari for a bounty, a man in black named Colonel Douglas Mortimer finds his target Guy Callaway (Jose Terron) and kills the man for $1000. While picking up his money, he asks about another killer targeted for a bounty in another part of town. Yet, a no-named man called Manco (Clint Eastwood) arrives into White Rocks where he finds and kills his bounty target Baby Cavanaugh (Jose Marco) along with his gang. Meanwhile, a ruthless killer named Indio (Gian Maria Volonte) has been freed by his gang while killing his cell mate (Dante Maggio), who turns out to be a carpenter who gave Indio information about the bank in El Paso, Texas. Indio's escape caught the attention of Mortimer and Manco as the two go to El Paso to find him and his gang. The two arrive at different times as Manco finds information through a young boy named Fernando (Antonio Ruiz) about the arrival of Mortimer as he charms a landlady named Mary (Mara Krupp) and gets a room.

After killing a man (Lorenzo Robledo) over his betrayal along with his family, Indio sends his group of men including Nino (Mario Brega) and the hunchback Wild (Klaus Kinski) to scout the bank. With Manco and Mortimer watching the men arrive, they also start to notice each other after Manco makes a confrontation with Wild. Both Manco and Mortimer watch what is going on as they realize they're after the same bounty. With Mortimer finding his information on Manco from the papers, Manco finds out about Mortimer through a prophet (Joseph Eggers). Realizing that they're both skilled and want the same thing, they decide to form a partnership as they plan for Manco to join up Indio's gang by freeing one of his notorious men named Sancho Perez (Panos Papadopulos). After freeing Sancho, Manco becomes part of Indio's gang as he and four other men are set to rob a bank for Santa Cruz as a diversion for Indio’s gang to rob the El Paso bank.

After killing a few of Indio's men, Manco makes diversions of his own while wanting to see what Indio and his men are doing. Realizing that they made a change of plans and not going for the expected safe, Manco and Mortimer try to figure out what is going on. Manco returns to Indio's hideout as they realize, they couldn't open the safe where Mortimer arrives wanting his own take. With the two men joining Indio, they ride into a town for a hideout as they finally got access to the money. Yet, Indio's intelligence that is supported by Groggy (Luigi Pistilli) reveals the identities of Manco and Mortimer as the two men are beaten up. Yet, Indio's wild plans to let them go while killing one of Indio's own men (Aldo Sambrell) for the blame. Groggy learns what Indio is up to as Manco and Mortimer have their own agendas with Mortimer revealing a far bigger motive to capture Indio that is worth more than any bounty.

Whereas Leone's previous film A Fistful of Dollars was a film that was reinventing the western genre with the story basis of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo. For a Few Dollars More is a more ambitious picture in terms of visual scope, staging, locations, look, and violence. In many ways, this film is really a transitional film for Leone as he uses a lot of the elements he is known for. Extreme close-ups, wide compositions, duels, huge locations, set designs, rhythmic editing, opera musical cues, and flashbacks are key to Leone's style of cinema. It's in this film where Leone is starting to incorporate these styles into his direction that would be perfected in his upcoming westerns The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. Still, despite all of these stylistic choices, Leone remains a storyteller.

While taking the same theme of playing double that was in his previous film, the film is really more about two men going after the same man for one thing, money. Yet, for Douglas Mortimer, it's about a lot more than that when it comes to Indio. Particularly in a flashback scene that involved the death of a man and the raping of a woman with a chiming stopwatch reveals not just Mortimer's motives but also Indio's hazy, paranoid behavior that is driven more by his use of drugs. This is in some ways, the first Western to feature the use of narcotics in a film, which was taboo at the time. It's only to convey Indio's state of mind where despite the fact that he's intelligent and ruthless, he is his own worst enemy as he is sometimes, more vicious than his own men than anyone else he kills including women and children.

The character of Indio is a very complex character as the role of the villain is given more depth as he isn't some caricature but a man with wits, intelligence and skill as he is a villain that people could fear yet his men seem to revere for the most part. Yet, he only has a few of his men that often questions his motives including Nino and Groggy, the latter is the one who knows what could go wrong. Then, you got the two men in the Man with No Name and Col. Mortimer. There's an uneasy relationship where you have the young, quick-witted Manco and the older, experienced, and inventive Mortimer who are both equals in skill and such. While Manco is the kind of guy who just wants to do things in a simple way, Mortimer is more of a strategist who plans his way and tries to see how he can outwit Indio.

Leone's take on characters and their development is heightened more through his fluid, eye-wielding direction. Taking a more epic approach for its scope and story, Leone decides to slow things a bit for a sense of tension and momentum. Notably the third and final act that involves a big shootout and most of all, a duel. Leone's use of the widescreen lenses and his knowledge for depth of field, definitely captures the sense of aura and location in that final duel where the two men are at the edge of the screen. There, Leone uses those compositions for a sense of excitement of what is to come. Leone's knowledge of the western with all of its momentum while bringing a sense of attitude with explosions, gunfights, and such as this film he was just getting better at his craft.

Cinematographer Massimo Dallamano does a wonderful job with many of the film's exterior look where the film has a gritty look yet looks gorgeous at the same due to its locations of Almeria, Spain while the interiors are also shot with style, notably the interiors of Indio's hideouts. Editors Eugenio Alabiso, Adriana Novelli, and Giorgio Serrallonga do great work in maintaining the film's epic feel while using fast-cuts to convey the film's sense of action and tension, notably the extreme close-up faces cut to another that would become iconic and later, perfected by Nino Baragli in the upcoming film, The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly.

Longtime art director Carlos Simi does exquisite work with the film's set design from the look of the towns to the decayed church hideout of Indio where it has an old-school Western feel but with a European look with its stoned villages, churches, and the bank itself as Simi's set design is brilliant in every way. Simi's work on the costumes is also great, whether it's the green shirt that Wild wears to the black suit of Col. Mortimer as the film's look is stylized yet cool. Sound designers Oscar De Arcangelis and Guido Ortenzi do amazing work with the film's sound whether it's the gunshots, the horses, or any moments of violence to emphasize the style of the West. Special effects supervisor Giovanni Corridori does some fantastic work with some of the film's action, notably the explosion of the bank that gives the film more bombast to complement Leone's ambitions.

Then there's the film's amazing music by the Maestro, Ennio Morricone. Morricone's intense, operatic score that features a galloping theme with Fender guitars to serve as the theme for Manco with uses of whistles and doomy music to convey the other themes of characters. Some of the intensity of Morricone's music features the use of piano and striking arrangements to convey the suspense while the chiming music in the clocks is used for Indio's hazy state of mind in the flashback sequences. Then, there's the music of the final duel that is purely in Morricone's operatic style with huge arrangements, lots of momentum, and a sweeping voice that is just jaw-dropping. It's another sign that when it comes to Leone’s music, it doesn't feel right without the contributions of Ennio Morricone.

The film's cast is wonderfully assembled to emphasize Leone's quirky yet unique visual style with performances from Rosemary Dexter as the woman Indio raped and Peter Lee Lawrence as her husband, Kurt Zips as Mary's husband at the hotel, and Carlos Simi as the El Paso bank manager. Other small roles like Antonio Ruiz as the boy informant, Jose Terron and Jose Marco as the opening targets early in the film, Diana Rabito as a girl in a tub, Dante Maggio as Indio's cell mate, Joseph Egger as a train-complaining prophet, and Leone's baby daughter Francesca as a crying baby. In the various roles of Indio's gang, Aldo Sambrell, Benito Stefanelli, are Panos Papadopulos excellent while Mario Brega is a notable standout as the big Nino and Luigi Pistilli as the intelligent Groggy.

Another notable standout as a member of Indio's gang is the late yet legendary Klaus Kinski as the blue-eyed hunchback Wild. Kinski brings an eerie presence to the film where if you mess with him, there is surely bound to be a whole lot of trouble. Though it's a small role, Kinski's performance is still memorable as it's a great early role before his landmark work with Werner Herzog. Gian Maria Volonte is brilliant as the crazed, ruthless Indio, a pot-smoking, intelligent killer who has huge ambitions but is also flawed when it comes to his drug use. Volonte's performance is intense as it is eerie as he gives the villain an edge that hadn't seen before. It's a great performance from the late, Italian actor.

Lee Van Cleef, who was known prior to this film as a character actor, is magnificent in his role as Colonel Douglas Mortimer. Van Cleef's performance is brilliant for his subtle, witty, and cool presence where his eyes is the most distinctive feature of his performance. A role, originally supposed to go to Henry Fonda, Van Cleef definitely brings that sense of experience and inventiveness that is a joy to watch as the late actor makes a mark into the genre. Finally, there's Clint Eastwood in another kick-ass performance as the Man with No Name. Eastwood's laconic, deadpan performance filled with witty one-liners is great to watch as the actor seems more comfortable with the iconic character he plays. Eastwood is a total badass as he throws punches and shoots without hesitation while being a stoic, charming man who can woo the ladies and such. It's a great performance from the iconic legend.

The Region 1 2-Disc DVD Collector's Edition that's also part of the Sergio Leone Anthology Box Set that included the Special Editions of A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, and Duck, You Sucker! features the film as it is presented in the 2:35:1 aspect ratio for the widescreen format. Restored and remastered in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound for English as well as Mono sound for English and Spanish with the French in Stereo. Included in the first disc of the DVD along with English and Spanish subtitles is a feature-length commentary track from film historian Sir Christopher Frayling.

Frayling's feature-length commentary is very informative about the film's history as well as what went on during production. The film, made for $600,000, gave Leone more confidence as he and his crew worked with a bigger budget, had more time, and for the most part was fun except for the later part of filming that involved problems with Gian Maria Volonte who had enough of Leone's multiple takes. Leone originally wanted Lee Marvin or Henry Fonda to play the role of Col. Mortimer but couldn't do it at the time because of budget concerns. Instead, he chose Lee Van Cleef based on the Westerns he had seen and loved where Frayling revealed that after this film and The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, Van Cleef became a superstar in Europe making loads of Westerns. Frayling said it was For a Few Dollars More that really broke the door down for European-produced Westerns that became big in Europe for years to come.

Frayling's commentary is extremely informative and insightful to hear while he does reveal a brief tidbit on Klaus Kinski who was hired by David Lean to be in Doctor Zhivago based on his appearance in this film. Frayling also does extensive profile on two of Leone's long-standing collaborators in production designer Carlos Simi and Ennio Morricone who would eventually become big names after this film.

The second disc of the DVD features similar special feature contents that appeared in the special edition DVD for A Fistful of Dollars. The first featurette entitled A New Standard is a 20-minute segment featuring an interview with Sir Christopher Frayling on the film. Discussing a lot of the similar details he mentioned in the audio commentary, Frayling emphasized more on what Leone wanted. With help from producer Alberto Grimaldi, Leone wanted to create film that was very different from his previous film and making it into a fairytale of sorts for grownups. Frayling also goes into the relationship of the Manco and Col. Mortimer characters that was different in some respects to previous westerns though there were a few references about a possible gay thing from a viewpoint of the gay community. The violence is also discussed because Leone didn't like the way Hollywood films approached violence by deciding to have men shot and then fall off dead in the same short or see a bullet hole of sorts to add a new edge. The interview is very brilliant overall.

The 13-minute featurette Back for More is an interview with Clint Eastwood recorded in August 2003 originally for the special edition DVD for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Eastwood discusses Leone's approach to casting minor characters as well as his directing style that has been an influence in Eastwood's own directing style. He decided to do For a Few Dollars More immediately thanks to the success of the previous film and he also talked briefly about Lee Van Cleef whom he knew as a character actor and had a lot of fun with him on set. Eastwood's interview is enjoyable to watch as the actor-director talks in a very laid-back style. Tre Voci is a 10-minute interview with producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and translator Mickey Knox about Leone and the film. Grimaldi talked about backing Leone after the rough experience in making Fistful that often had numerous producers fighting. Donati reveals his contributions to the film's script while Knox talked about Lee Van Cleef. They each talk about Leone's ambitions for the film and his emphasis to maintain a vision for the film.

The six-minute featurette about the film's original release and the American version reveals the subtle cuts made by American producers for the release of For a Few Dollars More. Three notable scenes in the film were trimmed for the American release, first is the introduction of Manco where in the American version, he's known as Mano to emphasize the promotional ad for the Man with No Name character. The second scene edited is the laugh of Indio with the poster following his escape from prison. The third scene is a shorter version of a beating scene with Eastwood and Van Cleef that is followed by longer dialogue from Indio and his gang. The fifth and final featurette is location comparisons scene to the exterior settings in Almeria, Spain then and now, notably the El Paso set which is now a tourist attraction. Looking at the locations then and some of the now, a few of those buildings are either in ruins or no longer exist with the exception of the El Paso set and the interior of Indio's church which is now a real church.

Also in the DVD are 12 radio spots promoting the film and trailers for this film plus a double-bill trailer with A Fistful of Dollars, the special edition of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly, The Great Escape, and the special edition DVDs of Hoosiers, Raging Bull, and the anthology box set for Rocky. Accompanying the DVD is a booklet discussing the film's influence and impact for the Spaghetti Western genre that would follow for years to come. The booklet also revealed its influence on other film directors, notably Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino who are both big fans. More recently, the third Pirates of the Caribbean film had a reference to the film in relation to stopwatches.

For a Few Dollars More is an overall thrilling, exciting, and epic film from Sergio Leone and company helmed by the brilliant performances of Clint Eastwood & Lee Van Cleef. Leone fans will no doubt consider this one of his essential films while fans of the westerns will also enjoy Leone's take on the genre as well as its humor. With Leone fans now getting a chance to own the special edition DVD, it's a good time for Leone completists as the late yet legendary director is still gaining some respect. In the end, for a film that is epic, stylish, and loads of fun, For a Few Dollars More is the film to see.

Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - A Fistful of Dollars - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America

Related: Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone

(C) thevoid99 2012

A Fistful of Dollars

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 12/4/07 w/ Additional Edits.

Directed by Sergio Leone with a script he co-wrote with A Bonzzoni, Victor Andres Catena, and Jaime Comas Gil, A Fistful of Dollars is about a no-named gunslinger who plays a double for two feuding gangs in the middle of a gang war in a small, Western town. Playing the Man with No Name was a then-unknown American TV actor named Clint Eastwood who was at the time, barely known for appearing in the TV show Rawhide while couldn't do films in the U.S. for contractual reasons. The film would mark the first of three collaborations between Leone and Eastwood as they would make history with this film. Also starring Gian Maria Volonte, Marianne Koch, Mario Brega, Benito Stefanelli, and Jose Calvo. A Fistful of Dollars is a thrilling, exciting, and intense film from Sergio Leone and company.

A no-named man arrives into a border-town near Mexico as he notices a town that has gone quiet. He realizes that a feud between two bosses over control of the town has emerged where he makes an encounter with a group of bandits. Entering into a tavern where he meets an old bartender named Silvanito (Jose Calvo), he learns what is going on. A beer-brewing baron named Miguel Rojo (Antonio Prieto) is in a feud with a weapons merchant named Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy) over control of the town. The man with no name encounters four of Baxter's men whom he kills immediately as he catches the attention of Miguel Rojo and his brother Esteban (Sieghardt Rupp) who wants to hire him but the no-named man wants more money since he isn't cheap. Making things worse is the arrival of the calvary who comes to stop at the town for a gold exchange to a group of American calvary.

The no-name man and Silvanito arrive to see that the calvary is immediately killed by Rojo's men in disguise led by the crazed, rifle-toting Ramon (Gian Maria Volonte). After meeting Ramon, the no-name man learns that Ramon is indeed crazy while keeping a mistress named Marisol (Marianne Koch) in secrecy. Deciding to get the feud between the Rojos and Baxter clan rolling, he and Silvanito grab two dead calvary men while feeding information to Baxter and his wife (Margarita Lozano) about the stolen gold. When he gives the Rojos false information about two living calvary going to the Baxter clan, a feud is waged as Baxter's son Antonio (Bruno Carotenuto) is captured. Yet, the battle is used as a distraction for the stranger to find the stolen gold as he encounters Marisol whom he gives to Baxter's wife.

An exchange is later occurred the day after the battle where the stranger learns about Marisol's role whose husband (Daniel Martin) got cheated at a card game by Ramon who threatened to kill their son Jesus if he could have Marisol. After Marisol's return to the Rojos' ranch, the stranger decides to free her by killing six of the Rojos men and making her, Julian, and their son leave to reach the border. Yet, after their departure, Ramon learns of the stranger's role in the game as he is immediately beaten for information. After barely escaping with help from the town's coffin maker Piripero (Joseph Egger), the war is over as the Rojos have captured Silvanito as the stranger, now in full recovery, goes for a showdown against Ramon and Rojo gang.

While the film's plot is simple about a stranger with no moral justification playing both sides in the middle of a gang war. The fact that the source came from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo is also noted that both films not only have different sources for background but were both rooted in the American western. While Kurosawa's film was a homage to the western, Leone went the opposite by giving the genre more edge, more violence, while spitting at the conventions of American westerns. The film's protagonist like Kurosawa's Sanjuro in both its title film and predecessor Yojimbo are both intelligent and witty. Yet, the no-named man doesn't talk very much and instead, prefers to sit back and observe with help from Silvanito who is the film's conscience.

While the script is similar to Yojimbo in some respects, the direction by Leone has the same similarities that Kurosawa's film had but the result overall is very different. Particularly for Leone's portrayal of the genre in relation to his own background. The film's violence is stylized but with dabbles of blood and gunshots that show the men falling down after they're killed. It was a reaction against the American style of violence in westerns that had been restricted at the time by censors since the 1930s. Leone rails against the conventions while making the character of Marisol, who is a bigger character than the sake brewer's mistress in Yojimbo, an unconventional female character as opposed to the schoolmarm character that is seen in American westerns.

With those unconventional takes on the genre, another shot in the arm to the western protagonist that was against the old-man idealism of John Wayne was a youthful protagonist. Here, we have the no-name man. He's fast, witty, has a dead-pan sense of humor, and is tough. It is claimed by some that this is where the prototype of the modern-day action hero comes from. The man has no morals except in one moment where he saves the life of Marisol and her family while telling her to flee. That's a brief moment where he's out of character but when he tells them to leave, it's a return to that laconic figure. When he's in a jam, he has to figure out to get himself out of the pickle he's in. Here's a figure who isn't a conventional figure but an anti-hero that people could relate to. It is there that Leone gives new life to the genre and there's more to what he brings.

The visual scope that Leone presents is just jaw-dropping. Even with inspiring locations of Almeria, Spain, the film has a look and feel that is different from American westerns. Still, Leone's depth of field from the look of the mountains and towns from various shots is indeed inspiring. Another presentation from Leone's camera that would become a trademark of his is his extreme close-ups. The close-ups refers to what the characters are feeling as well as objects, notably the film’s climatic showdown where shots of boots, guns, and such would be the prototype of what was to come in The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. The overall presentation that Leone presents is just awe-inspiring as it's a big step of what is to come from this legendary director.

Cinematographers Massimo Dallamano and Federico G. Larraya do great work with the film's Technicolor, Techniscope format in the widescreen to capture the colorful yet desolate landscape of Almeria, Spain while the interiors are wonderfully eerie to convey the stylish look of the west while paying homage to the cinematic style of Akira Kurosawa. Editors Roberto Cinquini and Alfonso Santacana do great work in capturing the film's intensity and action that would also become the prototype for action-film style editing that would later be perfected by Leone's longtime editor Nino Baragli in The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly.

Carlos Simi, who would become Leone's longtime art director/costume designer, does some great work in creating the look of the homes and ranches of the town that looks like the west but also the look of the graveyards to convey the sense of Catholic symbols that are prevalent for the film. Simi's work on the costume is great for the look of differing boss while the look of the Man with No Name is handled by Eastwood himself who brought his own boots, pistol, and gun belt from his show Rawhide while buying the pants from a San Francisco shop. The rest of the look including the pancho and hat were created by Eastwood and Simi. Sound mixer Elio Pacella does some great work in creating the winds and gunshots for the film to convey the world that is the American west.

One notable highlight that is above a lot of the technical achievements is the music and it's from the man who would also gain fame in the years to come and that is the Maestro, Ennio Morricone. Credited, like many people on the film as American names, as Dan Salvo, Morricone creates a score that is unlike any other before or since then with music that captures the intensity of the film's pacing and movement. From its title theme, to the accompanying score throughout the entire film. The huge, flourishing arrangements with strings, guitars, whistles, and a trumpet is just amazing and completely unforgettable. From the film’s dramatic tone to the final showdown that is filled with operatic arrangements that grabs the audience by its ear knowing what is to come and the music is just the icing on that sequence. If there's one person who needs to be noted for his technical achievements, it's Ennio Morricone.

The film's cast is brilliant with great, small performances from Aldo Sambrell, Benito Stefanelli, and Leone regular Mario Brega as Rojo's men, Bruno Carotenuto as Baxter's son, Daniel Martin as Julian, Nino Del Arco as Julian's son Jesus, and Joseph Egger in a hilarious performance as Piripero, the coffin-maker. Sieghardt Rupp and Antonio Prieto are great as two of the three Rojo brothers with Rupp as the dangerous but cautious Esteban and Prieto as the leader Miguel. Wolfgang Lukschy is good as Baxter with Margarita Lozano as Baxter's power-hungry wife. Marianne Koch is excellent as Marisol, the unconventional female character who is forced to be a mistress while dealing with not seeing her son and such as she acts like a Virgin Mary-like figure from an Italian/Catholic point of view.

Jose Calvo is great as the film's conscience and reluctant side-kick Silvanito who often warns the no-named man about his role. Salvo's performance is just memorable to watch as he sometimes get involved in affairs as he knows what is right and wrong. Gian Maria Volonte is amazing as the villainous Ramon, a man who is convinced that a Winchester rifle is stronger than anything. Volonte's performance is just mesmerizing for his charm and psychotic demeanor in the same way Tatsuya Nakadai has portrayed as Sanjuro's main nemesis in Yojimbo who matches the no-name man with wits and skill. It's a great performance from the late actor who would also appear in the sequel For a Few Dollars More.

Finally, there's Clint Eastwood in what has to be a real breakthrough performance as the Man with No Name. Eastwood's laid-back, laconic persona matched with his gun-slinging skills and dead-pan wit is a persona that defines the anti-hero. If there's really one word to describe Eastwood's character and his performance, it's this... cool. He's just cool as hell. From the way he smokes the cigar, the unshaven look, everything about the character and Eastwood's performance is truly iconic. While the Man with No Name might not be one of the toughest guys in the room but if he's armed with a pistol and street smarts, he is one of cinema modern-day bad*sses.

The 2007 2-disc Collector's Edition of A Fistful of Dollars that is also part of the eight-disc Sergio Leone Anthology Box Set that includes the 2-discs Collector's Edition of For a Few Dollars More and Duck, You Sucker! along with the 2004 2-disc Special Edition of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly from United Artists and MGM. With a wonderful packaging that features two discs featuring more than a hour's worth of material. The feature film, remastered and restored with remixed 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound plus in mono for both English & Spanish including subtitles in the two languages plus French. The film is presented in the widescreen 2:35:1 aspect ratio to preserve the same theatrical feature the film had more than 40 years ago.

The sole special feature in the first disc with the feature film is a feature-length audio commentary track from noted film historian Sir Christopher Frayling. Frayling's commentary is informative in the comparison and contrast of Leone's film to Kurosawa's Yojimbo in 1961. While explaining the similarities and differences of both films, he also mentioned the lawsuit made by Kurosawa about A Fistful of Dollars over copyright infringement. Eventually, it was settled with Kurosawa getting 15% of the worldwide grosses of the film claiming he made more money off of Leone's film more than any of his own films. Frayling also goes into detail of Leone's cinematic style while profiling a bit on two of Leone's long-standing collaborators in art director/costume designer Carlos Simi and composer Ennio Morricone. The film, originally titled The Magnificent Stranger, originally wanted to have the likes of Henry Fonda, Charles Brosnan, or James Coburn in the leading role but with a budget of $200,000, it was too expensive. Instead, they got Clint Eastwood, who was paid $15,000 for the entire production.

Another important visual style that Leone had put into the film was a lot of iconography with crosses and Catholic images since Leone made the film directly for a Southern Italian audience. With less dialogue and more action, it was an approach from Leone to that audience to have something with more attention as opposed to the films of Northern Italy by Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Even the unconventional approach to the Italian style of Western when it came to the film's violence while Frayling notes that this was not the first Spaghetti Western. There were many westerns made for Italy but as a co-production with West Germany and Spain but A Fistful of Dollars was still the first film that had an Italian feel. Frayling's commentary overall is brilliant and incisive.

The second disc of the DVD featuring six featurettes, trailers, and 10 radio spots promoting the film. The first featurette is a 20-minute documentary called A New Kind of Hero featuring Sir Christopher Frayling. Fraying discusses some of the similar stories that he explained in the film commentary. He discussed more about the decline of Westerns as a genre where it became more about the old heroes like John Wayne and Gary Cooper rather than the story. He also goes into length of Leone's inspiration from the Kurosawa film Yojimbo while deciding to cast Clint Eastwood after watching an episode of Rawhide. Eastwood, ended up doing the project despite having hesitation while in his contract with Rawhide, wasn't allowed to do any Hollywood films in the U.S. but could do films in Europe. Frayling goes into detail about the film's impact on the genre while also claiming that it was this film that started the prototype of the modern-day action hero. Particularly in the 1960s which was against the grain of the old-school cowboy of John Wayne.

The eight-minute featurette A Few Weeks in Spain is an interview segment with Clint Eastwood recorded in 2003 originally for the special-edition of The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. Eastwood discusses the reason he took the part largely because of Yojimbo while revealing that with the costume, because there weren't any duplicates. He took the costume home every night. Eastwood, who asked for less dialogue in the film, knew that the sound would be lost during the shoot as for the post-production dubbing, whatever he said was basically an improvisation. Eastwood admits to the overall experience being fun despite the constant arguing between the productions from West Germany, Spain, and Italy.

A ten-minute featurette called Tre Voci that featured interviews with three of Sergio Leone's friends including translator Mickey Knox, producer Alberto Grimaldi, and screenwriter Sergio Donati. The three men discuss their friendship with Leone as Donati was one of the men who saw Yojimbo with Leone during that late 1963 screening in Rome. Donati knew Leone for years and ended up contributing to the script for For a Few Dollars More and revealing that when Fistful came out, critics hated the film. Knox reveals Leone's love for the Western and wanted to add some edge to the dying genre as the film ended up being played all over Europe and at one point, played in France for a year with huge audiences. Alberto Grimaldi, recalled that when the film came out, he was an aspiring producer and when he made a deal to get the film out worldwide, he unknowingly realized that the film's success helped the industry as he ended up being one of Leone's great collaborators.

Two more featurettes involve a rarely-seen prologue by director Monte Hellman of Two-Lane Blacktop. The first featurette entitled Not Ready for Primetime was about the first-ever network showing of A Fistful of Dollars in 1977. Yet, network president Mike Medavoy felt the film's story and lack of moral justification was too obscene for the public. There, Monte Hellman was hired to create a scene where the Man with No Name was sent to the town to stop a feuding gang as he was hired by a man, played by Harry Dean Stanton. Hellman discusses how he got the job and shot the whole prologue for a day with Stanton in the role. While they were never able to get Clint Eastwood, they hired a double whose face was never seen. Hellman never talked about the prologue until now for the DVD but never considers it one of his best work as the prologue was only shown once. What was more surprising was Eastwood saw the prologue that night and wondered when did he shoot this.

The second featurette is the prologue itself with an introduction from Howard Fridkin, a Leone collector who provided the rarely-seen prologue from a recorded Betamax tape that he used to record the entire film. He recalled at the age of 9, already have seen Leone's films that he was baffled by the prologue and almost, stopped the tape. Having kept it so long, he realized he had a rare item and gave it to MGM. The prologue itself is then shown with the Man with No Name wearing all of his trademark clothing, though it is not the poncho, gun belt, or anything that is like the original film. The overall prologue and in its delapidated look on the Betamax tape, is pretty cheesy despite Harry Dean Stanton's performance. It's worth watching for Stanton but really doesn't have anything to do with A Fistful of Dollars.

The final featurette is a five-minute segment called Location Comparisons Then to Now featuring many of the film's original locations then and now in Almeria, Spain where some of the interiors is now someone's home, some places are in ruins while others are now part of a park or just with more trees and such. 10 radio spots are included that each saying it's the most exciting western in years starring Clint Eastwood is nice to hear for hardcore fans of the film. The trailers section features a double-bill trailer for A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More plus the 2004 2-disc Collector's DVD for The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly along with DVD trailers for The Great Escape, Hoosiers, Raging Bull, and the box set for the Rocky movies. Included in the DVD is a booklet explaining the film and its legacy along with a brief quote from Eastwood and details on the DVD itself.

A Fistful of Dollars is a thrilling, exciting, and entertaining film from Sergio Leone and company. Fans of Leone will no doubt consider this essential while fans of Westerns will consider this one of the best films of that genre. While not as superior as The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly or even 1968's Once Upon a Time in the West, the film still remains exciting while making it part of a great marathon for Leone's beloved westerns. The film also makes a great double feature with Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo for comparison reasons. With a great look, style, Ennio Morricone's music, and the laid-back persona of Clint Eastwood, Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars is a must-have for any aficionado of westerns or cinema itself.

Sergio Leone Films: The Last Days of Pompeii (1959 film) - The Colossus of Rhodes - For a Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly - Once Upon a Time in the West - Duck, You Sucker! - Once Upon a Time in America

Related: Yojimbo - Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone - The Auteurs #16: Sergio Leone

(C) thevoid99 2012