Today we’re looking at the first movie in the “Dollars Trilogy”. A Fistful of Dollars was released in 1964, directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volonté, and Marianne Koch. The film was based on Aikra Kurosawa’s Yojimbo which will be the last movie I watch as a part of this series.
Synopsis
A stranger, played by Eastwood, arrives at a small town on the Mexico-United States boarder and is informed about a feud between two families, the Rojos and the Baxters. Volonté plays Ramon, the leader of the Rojos who is keeping a local woman Marisol, played by Koch, captive and separated from her family. The stranger uses this heated situation to pit the two families against each other so that he can turn a profit. The stranger manages to free Marisol and gives her a chance to escape with her family but the stranger is captured and beaten in the process. He escapes the Rojos in bad shape but he has to go back for one last confrontation with Ramon and to rescue the town innkeeper who has been the stranger’s confidant.
The Western Sound
You cannot talk about a Sergio Leone movie without mentioning Ennio Morricone. I won’t mince words, Morricone is a god. When you think of a western the first thing that pops to mind is Morricone’s legendary scores. His most iconic score is probably The Good the Bad and the Ugly but his work on this film might be just as good. The whistle, the chanting, the guitar tone it’s all iconic there are no better words to describe it. I could watch a horseman riding along a desert vista set to Morricone’s music for the rest of my life and be perfectly content.
I’ve tried to pin down why Morricone’s sound goes so well with Leone’s visuals. I think it has something to do with the fact that Leone sets the majority of his movies in Mexico rather than in the American west. Leone shot all of his films in Italy thus the term “Spaghetti Westerns”. Because they were shot in Italy Leone used a mainly Italian cast and you can more easily pass an Italian person off as being from Mexico than from Wyoming. These spaghetti westerns can be brutal for sure but there is a kind of whimsical nature to them. Take for instance this movie, the stranger strolls into town, outsmarts the bad guys, saves the damsel in distress, gets beaten down, and then rises up. It’s a fairy tale and Morricone’s somewhat otherworldly soundtracks match that.
Nitpicks
This was the first Spaghetti Western of its kind and because Leone didn’t have much of a reputation the film’s budget was very small. This is noticeable in the limited number of sets and the lack of effects when people get shot. However, despite the low budget Leone still managed to create some great set pieces like the gold exchange between the Mexican government and faux US army. The scale of that scene is admirable but I also have a few nitpicks.
When Ramon first reveals himself and starts mowing down the Mexican soldiers the soldiers are somehow over selling and under selling being shot. Whenever a soldier gets shot they crumple up their body and slowly slink to the ground. Now, I’ve never been shot before but I don’t think that’s how a human body would react. Another issue is that not one of the soldiers being shot ever bleeds. I know the budget was low but a little blood splatter here and there would have gone a long way. The last thing I’ll point out is how Ramon and his goons seem to have an infinite amount of ammo. They are unloading dozens of rounds into people and not one time do any of them stop to reload.
Speaking of that final confrontation, it is one of the most memorable scenes in all of film history. Clint Eastwood emerges from the smoke wearing the poncho that must smell absolutely awful at this point. Ramon takes aim, shots him point blank and Eastwood tumbles to the ground. But miraculously he gets up and Ramon shoots him again and he gets up again, this goes on for a while. Fantastic scene, all time classic but come on Ramon you should have aimed for the head.
The Imperfections of Spaghetti Westerns
The imperfections in these Spaghetti Westerns are what make them memorable. The most famous quirk of these movies is obviously the syncing issues. Since the majority of the actors are Italian and are speaking Italian their voices were dubbed in English. This isn’t all that uncommon but for some reason it’s particularly noticeable in these Spaghetti Westerns. Maybe it’s because Clint Eastwood is actually speaking in English and his voice is synced up. I think that this actually a plus for the movie. Eastwood plays the stranger from America the fact that his voice is synced up while all of the other actors aren’t adds to his otherness.
Leone’s Distinctive Visual Style
I know I just spent a while roasting the small issues with this movie but I still am completely enamored with Leone’s visuals in this film. He is able to convey so much action through stillness. His signature shot is his close up. He will set up a perfectly lit shot tight on a character’s face and just linger there for what seems like an eternity. It takes guts to make shots like these but it totally pays off. There are a couple of gun fights in this movie but they are not nearly as entertaining as the standoffs. A few years after this movie Leone would reach the peak of his close up prowess with the epic final showdown in The Good the Bad and the Ugly but we’ll discuss that another time.
Clint Eastwood: An Undeniable Movie Star
Eastwood may not be the greatest actor in the world, his range is basically just stoic or grumpy but he does both very well. Despite his shortcomings as an actor, Eastwood is undeniably a movie star. There is a magnetism that he has that makes you want to watch him even if he isn’t doing much. I think Leone recognized that and highlighted Eastwood’s strengths. Eastwood’s protagonist is such a departure from the kind of leading men in other westerns. Let’s take his most notable peer, John Wayne for instance. Wayne was a big hulking man that was quite brutish. Unlike Eastwood, who is slight and nimble, we see him easily scale a wall in this film. Eastwood is a crack shot, sure but most of the time he outsmarts the bad guys rather than outpowering them.
The Scene that has Not Aged Well
Eastwood was definitely a different breed of hero but one scene stood out as particularly problematic. Eastwood character is sneaking around the Rojos compound when he hears someone coming around the corner and punches them. That person just happened to be Marianne Koch’s character Marisol, Eastwood knocked her unconscious. Sure, Eastwood’s character is regretful and it was clearly an accident but still, the punch had no real relevance to the plot. Eastwood has to carry her out of the compound unconscious but he could have just as easily talked to her and convinced her to come with him. This seems like a totally unnecessary inclusion of violence towards women that really felt out of place.
Kurosawa and Story Structure
This film was based off of the Kurosawa film Yojimbo. This story structure is really strong. A hero enters a new foreign town/situation. They are confronted by the antagonist(s) and use their smarts to deal with the plots of the bad guys. The hero manages to rescue one of their compatriots while sacrificing another and are captured and stripped of their power in the process. The hero must rebuild themselves and return to thwart the villain and save their friend. I had one thought when watching this story unfold, this would be a great structure to a Batman story. If there isn’t a Batman story based on Yojimbo/A Fistful of Dollars there should be.
