A great film from Sergio Leone

A Fistful of Dollars is not quite as good as The Good, The Bad and The Ugly from the Three Dollars trilogy(or Once Upon a Time in America and Once Upon a Time in the West), and I also think the film that inspired it Kurosawa's Yojimbo is the superior film. That said, that is not down-grading A Fistful of Dollars in any way, it is still a truly great film. As with all Leone's it is incredibly well made, the scenery is epic and looks gorgeous and the extreme close ups really helps to enhance the unrelenting violence. Ennio Morricone's score is wonderful with its minimalist style really fitting with the movie. The story is both elegiac which helps to give that feel of mystery to the Man with No Name's character and thrilling with the violence and the camera work. Leone's direction is as ever superb, as is the acting. Clint Eastwood became an international superstar and you can see why, he oozes charisma and his idea to make The Man with No Name mysterious with minimal dialogue proved to be a great one. Of the supporting cast, Gian Maria Volonte is especially impressive, as Ramon he snarls very convincingly. All in all, a great film. 9/10 Bethany Cox

9/10