Review of For a Few Dollars More (1965) by Josh M — 08 Aug 2009

When I watched this for the first time, I commented that I thought I liked Fistful of Dollars a little more. Maybe it's just a second viewing, or the chance to see it on the big screen, but I finished a glorious (if red-shifted) print screening today feeling like this surpasses Fistful in every way, and sets the stage for the masterpiece of the trilogy - The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly - next week.

The evolution in Leone's style is obvious here; eschewing the denser plotting of Fistful, Few Dollars More plays out on a more operatic scale, something which works well with Leone's epic-feeling films.

The introduction of Van Cleef is key to the film's success, as he plays a bounty hunter with more complex motivations than we expect; Volonte is given even more to do here, playing the vicious and yet oddly haunted Indeo; and, of course, there's Clint Eastwood, playing the dryly hilarious, smart, quiet Man with No Name.

The film is filled with great sequences, from the silent opening to the climactic final duel (anchored by Morricone's brilliant music), and watching it all on the big screen allows it to play as the Western epic it is.

And yet, it's as if Leone and company saw this, and said to themselves, "How do we go even bigger?" Which leads to next week...