Carillon (For A Few Dollars More (DVD))

Member Name: berlioz II

Product:	For A Few Dollars More (DVD)
Date:	24/03/09 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic film where Leone's growing style is getting more and more confident

Disadvantages: Only if you don't like westerns.

The surprising success of A Fistful of Dollars in 1964 was a wake-up call for many other Italian film makers. The stylish, violent and devil-may-care attitude of filmmaking was something that hit hard in the Italian film industry and many directors were ready to jump on the bandwagon to produce similarly themed and stylised westerns of their own, though the real boom didn't properly get underway until 1966. But A Fistful of Dollars had shown something new and fresh, something that was different to what westerns of the past and the old great role models, the American westerns, had provided. It brought out a new type of hero who wasn't that concerned with honour and dignity, and was more like a bad guy himself with the only difference being that the other bad guys simply were worse, thus making the main character still seemingly a hero. But as much as A Fistful of Dollars made a statement of this type of new film, it wasn't until the following year that the style of filmmaking really was beginning to be noticed as something new and exciting and worth pursuing. After his first western, director Sergio Leone immediately set out to do another western, providing the screenplay himself with Luciano Vincenzoni, and upping the sense of spectacle which was to become a habit for Leone on future productions. Thus For a Few Dollars More came into being.

The film once more stars Clint Eastwood, this time as a man named Monco (or Manco, meaning one-handed), a young, hot shot bounty killer out for rewards in the plains of the old west. This time instead of being alone on his own, he ends up coming into grips with another bounty hunter named Colonel Douglas Mortimer, as played by Lee Van Cleef, an older and more experienced man in his field, while Gian Maria Volontè makes a follow up performance from Fistful as the main bad guy El Indio, a deranged and dangerous man with some serious mental issues, not unlike his previous role as Ramón. The plot itself is once more extremely simple with Indio planning to rob a bank and the two bounty hunters are out to get him through various means of infiltration. It's not a hugely original storyline, but once more Leone makes the most out of it simply with style and an attitude that made the first film so successful, carrying the 132 minute film forward effortlessly. What's significantly different when compared to the previous film, though, is that For a Few Dollars More is considerably more character oriented. The story itself is almost by design a simple one that is there to highlight the characters' psychology more than the actual story.

This is particularly evident with Volontè's Indio, who is often seen either being a maniac with no sense of morals or compassion of any kind (he'd even kill women and children without as much as flinching), while at the same time he is haunted by some distant event in his past he visits in the stupor brought about by a marijuana joint. The story of Indio thus is slowly unravelled by showing his descent into complete madness while punctuated by him always playing the haunting tune of his chiming pocket watch that bares some deep importance to him, while a couple of flashbacks explain the significance of both the object as well as Indio's state of mind. On the other side is Lee Van Cleef as the specialist bounty hunter, who's connection to Indio is played with extremely subtle hints throughout the story. You'll never really get to know of this connection until the very end of the film, but for any astute observer, the hints are easy to pick up on when one knows where to look. It is Van Cleef's performance that particularly shines in this film, and considering that it was his first starring role (he had previously been accustomed to playing smaller henchmen in other westerns), the confidence he displays while tackling the role of Mortimer is one that'd make you think he had already had a lot of practice being in the limelight beforehand. And his looks certainly are memorable, that it is no wonder he became one of the most prolific spaghetti western actors in the 1960s and 70s.

Eastwood's character by comparison is perhaps left a bit over-shadowed by both Van Cleef's cunning presence and Volontè's over-the-top performance, but retains the same air of cool he already had in A Fistful of Dollars, making the film seem more like a sequel than it in actuality really was (this also compounded by him again wearing the same clothing he had brought along with him from California all the way to him smoking those thin cigars). But what Eastwood may loose in not having the limelight on him so squarely this time is more than compensated by his interaction with Van Cleef, and the two make for a surprisingly functioning and fun pair to watch. The general rivalry, the cocky behaviour of Eastwood's "less talk, more action" attitude, and Van Cleef's calculating and technical plotting make the two interesting to see at times working together, and at others - usually through Eastwood's actions - separating before ending up again back to the level of helping each other out, while never really relinquishing their sense of rivalry. Also one should mention Indio's gang, which in itself is also interestingly colourful, such as Klaus Kinski's humpbacked Wild One that Mortimer likes to tease, Luigi Pistelli's more calculating Groggy, not entirely trusting of Indio, and Mario Brega's loyal Nino among others, make for a varied group of personal looking faces, many of whom also were to become mainstays of the spaghetti western iconography.

The wider issues of a changing climate of the 1960s is also something Leone likes to lap on and at times parody, with the youth movements starting to bare down on the older establishments, which is clearly seen in the contrasts of Eastwood's rough and hewn rebel, and the more experienced, immaculate and thoughtful old school Van Cleef, who changes more and more toward the hero of the older, honour-bound west as the film progresses, ultimately going down as far as to bow down and ride off into the sunset like the heroes of the old. Also there is plenty of rather carnivalesque, crude humour on the expense of some of the side characters, as in the guesthouse scene as Eastwood evicts another person from a room he wants to stay in, Leone poking fun at the pathetic rich man's underwear, the short size of the guesthouse owner, and the unattractive appearance of the woman behind the counter who incidentally proves to be a lot taller than the innkeeper once the outlook changes. The same irreverence is also extended to moments of religion, where Indio pretty much becomes Jesus within his little group of disciples. This is particularly emphasised in the sermon he keeps in a church pulpit, detailing a story of a carpenter who knew of a special safe he designed, and which story he imparted to Indio in jail, while his flock listen intently. Even a major duel he has with a former informant in a church is underscored by a monstrously powerful organ, emphasising the ritual setting within the spheres of taking place on holy ground. It is things like this that provide those little moments of surrealism that mixes both the old, archaic world together with the newly coming uncaring freedom, rebelliousness, and increasing cynicism.

The production design and cinematography continue in the same style of A Fistful of Dollars, combining wide vista-like shots, in which Leone uses the 2.35:1 aspect ratio to its fullest capacity, and the Techniscope method, which allowed for the extreme close-ups of his characters' faces, only this time the larger budget also allowed for more scope to make this film considerably more grandiose than the previous one. Ennio Morricone's music also plays a vital part in the narrative, and not only as underscore for the action this time. The pocket watch melody in particular is the first in a Leone film to actively involve the music as a part of the narrative as Indio uses it as a means of countdown in his duels, as well as a reminder of his past. Likewise the score uses the theme as a subtle device to give hints on the story behind the story, which works wonderfully as a permeating plot device tying together everything to a more cohesive whole. Likewise Leone doesn't shy away in allowing for long stretches of the music to dominate the scene, most notably in the major duel scenes that move with the epic slowness of a ritual setting, and which conversely are over within only moments. On the whole, For a Few Dollars More is a considerable jump up in quality from A Fistful of Dollars, and shows the rapid development of Leone's filmic style, as well as his rising confidence. It is perhaps the first spaghetti western to truly develop its style to its full height and it is no wonder that it still stands the test of time and remains one of the most revered classics of its genre. Certainly Sergio Leone proved his initial success wasn't just a fluke.

© berlioz, 2009

Summary: Spaghetti Westerns Vol.2