link : For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More
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| Eastwood in his iconic role. |
The opening scenes cross-cut between two men who are searching for a notorious outlaw called El Indio (Gian Maria Volontè). Monco (Eastwood) is a bounty hunter who wants to collect the $10,000 reward--dead or alive--for El Indio. The well-mannered Colonel Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef) has more personal reasons for finding the outlaw.
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| Van Cleef as Colonel Mortimer. |
As in Once Upon a Time in the West, the connection between Mortimer and El Indio isn't revealed until the climatic confrontation between the two men. But Leone provides key information along the way in the form of flashbacks and a pair of gold pocket watches. Each man possesses one of the watches, which play the same disturbing little tune. Leone expands on this objectification of revenge in the later Once Upon a Time, in which Charles Bronson's character wears a harmonica around his neck--an instrument which also carries significant meaning in terms of the
narrative.
Frequent Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone contributes one of his finest scores, perhaps rivaled only by his work in (again) Once Upon a Time in the West. However, it's Leone's use of Morricone's haunting music that sets it apart from scores which simply enhance a film's atmosphere. Whenever El Indio confronts a man with murderous intentions, he opens his watch and waits until its melody winds down before drawing his gun. Leone uses this to great effect in the big showdown between El Indio and Mortimer. As the music gradually slows down almost to a stop, another iteration of it starts to play again as the camera pulls back to show Monco's hand holding Mortimer's watch. It's one of my favorite scenes in all of Leone's films.
Casting is key in character-driven films like this and the dry Lee Van Cleef brilliantly complements Eastwood's cynical character. Although Van Cleef was only five years older than Eastwood, Monco constantly refers to the Colonel (almost affectionately) as "Old Man." The mutual respect between the characters is established during the aforementioned scene in which they shoot each other's hats.
Of course, one must have a good villain and For a Dollars More has that in spades with Gian Maria Volontè's hypnotic portrayal of the creepy El Indio. Volontè had worked with Leone and Eastwood previously in A Fist of Dollars. His subsequent films departed from the Western genre and included the critically-lauded 1970 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion.
For a Few Dollars More received mixed reviews on its initial release. Roger Ebert found it "delicious" and described it as "a gloriously greasy, sweaty, hairy, bloody and violent Western." It was a huge international hit, establishing Van Cleef as a star and enhancing Eastwood's reputation. It may not be as widely acclaimed as Leone's other Westerns, but I'd rank it as his second best. Yes, Once Upon a Time in the West holds down the top spot for me.
Source: 70s Movie
Frequent Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone contributes one of his finest scores, perhaps rivaled only by his work in (again) Once Upon a Time in the West. However, it's Leone's use of Morricone's haunting music that sets it apart from scores which simply enhance a film's atmosphere. Whenever El Indio confronts a man with murderous intentions, he opens his watch and waits until its melody winds down before drawing his gun. Leone uses this to great effect in the big showdown between El Indio and Mortimer. As the music gradually slows down almost to a stop, another iteration of it starts to play again as the camera pulls back to show Monco's hand holding Mortimer's watch. It's one of my favorite scenes in all of Leone's films.
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| Monco's hand and the watch, with Mortimer and El Indio in the background. |
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| Gian Maria Volontè. |
For a Few Dollars More received mixed reviews on its initial release. Roger Ebert found it "delicious" and described it as "a gloriously greasy, sweaty, hairy, bloody and violent Western." It was a huge international hit, establishing Van Cleef as a star and enhancing Eastwood's reputation. It may not be as widely acclaimed as Leone's other Westerns, but I'd rank it as his second best. Yes, Once Upon a Time in the West holds down the top spot for me.
Source: 70s Movie
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