A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari)
Directed by Sergio Leone
Written by Victoria Andres Catena, Jaime Comas Gil, Sergio Leone et al from Akira Kurosawa’s screenplay for Yojimbo
1964/Italy/Spain/West Germany
Constantin Film/Jolly Film/Ocean Films
First viewing/Amazon

[box] Joe: When a man’s got money in his pocket he begins to appreciate peace.[/box]

The Spaghetti Western is born.

The man with no name (Clint Eastwood) is referred to as “Joe” here so I’ll call him that.  He wanders into a Mexican town that is plagued by the violent feud between two corrupt families, the Baxters and the Rojos.   Strangers are not welcome but Joe earns respect by quickly dispatching four of the Baxters.  He also befriends the local innkeeper and undertaker.

Joe is smart and enjoys playing the two sides against each other for fun and profit.  He rescues a damsel in distress while he’s at it.

The story comes almost straight from Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and translates well to the Western setting.  I enjoyed the film, especially Eastwood’s iconic performance and the music.  Recommended for Western lovers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ_7br_3y54

Clip

Awesome rendition of Ennio Morricone’s themes for the film