Clint Eastwood’s
first lead role, way back in 1964, introduced the genre of Spaghetti Western
films directed by Sergio Leone. This wonderful Western movie is a classic and
is the first part of the Dollars Trilogy, introducing Clint Eastwood as the
"Man with No Name."
Produced on a
$200,000 budget, Sergio Leone made good use of his environments and, blessed
with an awesome cast, wonderful dialogue, and catchy lines, succeeded in making
this movie a memorable one. Once you’ve seen this film, you’ll be eager to
watch the rest of the trilogy.
A Fistful of
Dollars is often seen as a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s film Yojimbo (1961),
which was about a samurai playing a role similar to Eastwood’s. This remake is
just as good as Yojimbo (1961).
The movie does
have its flaws, though, especially when it comes to effects. The shooting
effects were cool, but the damage effects could have been better. For example,
in one scene, when Ramón shoots at the Man with No Name, you don’t see any
damage to his clothes after being shot. The blood effects also could have been
done better. But that is a lot of complaining coming from me, knowing that the
movie was made with just $200,000.
The movie’s plot
starts subtly. We see the lead character watch a man and his son being harassed
by some bandits, and he does nothing about it. He then enters a strange town
and is shot at by some hoodlums. He gathers information about who they are and
decides to take them out. He succeeds and wins the favor of the rival gang, the
Rojos. The Rojos pay the stranger for eliminating four members of their rival
gang, the Baxters.
Now that the
stranger is aware the two gangs are at war for control of the town, he decides
to play them against each other to make money from both sides. Each gang wants
to hire him because he’s the fastest gunslinger in town, but the stranger
alternates his services, betraying one gang for the other and vice versa to
achieve a goal known only to him.
His allies in
this weird plan are the local bar owner and the undertaker, who seem to be
doing a lot more business now that this new stranger has come to town.
This is a
wonderful movie to see, and it is a nice start to the trilogy.
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