By Kt Schaefer
Sergio Leone is a giant of cinema, and while he worked on dozens and dozens of films in various capacities (an influential film director as a father sure helps with that), he only directed 8 of them, most of which deserve high spots on ‘best of’ lists. His 2nd film, "A Fistful of Dollars," was his first to cause a serious splash in the world of cinema. A remake of Akira Kurosawa’s "Yojimbo," Leone adapted the story to the American West some time post-Civil War, with up and coming star Clint Eastwood as his terse antihero gunslinger Joe. Leone went on to make two more westerns, each a different type of story but both have Eastwood at the center. "A Fistful of Dollars" is incredibly well done and shows signs of Leone’s greatness to come with its artful camerawork and willingness to tell stories unique stories that kept audiences guessing. However, it doesn’t reach the highs of the other two films, "For a Few Dollars More" and especially "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." Joe arrives in San Miguel Mexico, a seemingly dead town with only a few cowed citizens remaining beside the two large crime families that alternately sell guns and liquor to whoever has the gold. When one group, the Baxter’s, shoot at his mule on his arrival, he kills 4 of them and then offers his services as a hired gun to their rivals the Roja’s who eagerly accept. The head of the family, Ramon (Gian Maria Volonte), proves to be a despicable man involved in nefarious dealings to achieve his wealth and Joe easily plays the two families off each other resulting in the final bloody destruction of both. Joe doesn’t succeed without cost to himself and others, but he never flags in his determination to meet his goals, not all of which are noble. Throughout the film Ennio Morricone’s impressive score sets the tone perfectly, providing a rich aural backdrop that is imperative to the success of the film. All of these aspects of the film are remarkable, but it is with the side characters that Leone truly shows his skill in "A Fistful of Dollars." Silvanito (Jose Calvo) a local bar owner who befriends Joe, gives all the necessary backstory with a few deft scenes that tell us all we need to know in a few crucial moments throughout the film. Despite knowing little about him, his actions are decisive and tell the viewer exactly what kind of man he is and Joe’s efforts would never succeed without his help. The local coffin maker, Piripero (Joseph Egger), is profiting from all of the deaths in town but is also watching the place he lives crumble around him from the grinding forces of the two families. Despite his profits, he endeavors to help Joe and provides the only comic relief with his facial expressions and few words of dialogue. Ramon keeps one of the local women, Marisol (Marianne Koch), as his sex slave and her story along with her small child and desperate husband are a telling example of how this situation has affected the town while also giving Joe the opportunity to show his inherent benevolence towards the downtrodden. These few characters are all that is necessary to populate this small town, Leone makes them feel real and as though their stories continue after this one comes to a conclusion. While Joe is the protagonist of the story, we learn nothing about his past and instead become engrossed in the fate of these people. Leone’s talent as a director grows exponentially with every film he made, and that growth is particularly obvious in his "Dollars Trilogy." Each one offers something new to marvel at, and while the side characters in the other two are also intriguing, for me they are the high point of an already fantastic film that is well worth watching over and over again. Have you seen "A Fistul Of Dollars?" Have you seen other Sergio Leone westerns? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below or on our Twitter account. You can follow Kt and hear more of her thoughts on the Oscars and Film on Twitter at @kt_schaefer
Comments
|
BEST PICTURE Nomadland (31) - AFCC, AWFJ, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, CIC, DFWFCA, GG, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, IPA, KCFCC, LFCC, LVFCS, NDFS, NSFC, NTFCA, OFCS, PFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, TFCA, TIFF, VENICE, VFCC, WAFCA Promising Young Woman (9) - AACTA, COFCA, HCA, KCFCC, MCFCA, NFCS, OAFFC, SCA, SDFCS Minari (4) - NCFCA, NYFCO, OFCC, UFCA Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC Da 5 Bloods (2) - CIC, NBR First Cow (2) - FFCC, NYFCC The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (2) - DFCS, HFCS Another Round - EFA Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains - ICS Rocks - BIFA Small Axe - LAFCA The United States vs. Billie Holiday - AARP BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao (41) - AACTA, AFCC, AWFJ, BOFCA, BFCC, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, DFCS, DFWFCA, FFCC, GG, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, IPA, KCFCC, LAFCA, LVFCS, MSFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NTFCA, NYFCC, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, OFCS, PFCC, PFCS, SEFCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, TFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Spike Lee (3) - CIC, HFCS, NBR Regina King (2) - BFCC, UFCA Emerald Fennell - NFCS Darius Marder - SCA Steve McQueen - LFCC Andrew Patterson - GOTHAM Kelly Reichardt - ICS Aaron Sorkin - AARP Thomas Vinterberg - EFA Remi Weekes - BIFA BEST ACTRESS Frances McDormand (23) - AWFJ, BOFCA, CFCA, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, IPA, LFCC, LVFCS, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, OFCC, OFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, SFCS, TFCA, UFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Carey Mulligan (19) - AACTA, AFCC, COFCA, DFCS, DFWFCA, HCA, HFCS, KCFCC, LAFCA, MCFCA, NBR, NFCS, NTFCA, NYFCO, OAFFC, PFCS, SCA, SDFCS, StLFCA Viola Davis (3) - BFCC, CIC, PFCC Sidney Flanigan (2) - BSFC, NYFCC Maria Bakalova - IPA Paula Beer - EFA Nicole Beharie - GOTHAM Andra Day - GG Sophia Loren - AARP Rosamund Pike - GG Wunmi Mosaku - BIFA Isabel Sandoval - ICS BEST ACTOR Riz Ahmed (19) - AFCC, COFCA, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IPA, KCFCC, LVFCS, NBR, NDFS, NFCS, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFCS, TFCA, UFCA Chadwick Boseman (18) - AACTA, AWFJ, BFCC, CFCA, CIC, DFCS, DFWFCA, GG, IFCA, LAFCA, LFCC, MSFCA, PFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Delroy Lindo (9) - BOFCA, HCA, HFCS, IFJA, NCFCA, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCS, PFCC Anthony Hopkins (5) - AARP, BIFA, BSFC, FFCC, NFCS Sacha Baron Cohen (2) - GG, IPA Mads Mikkelsen - EFA Aditya Modak - ICS Steven Yeun - NTFCA BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Youn Yuh-jung (25) - AWFJ, BFCC, BSFC, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, IFCA, KCFCC, LAFCA, MCFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NTFCA, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, PFCS, SCA, SEFCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, VFCC, WAFCA Maria Bakalaova (15) - AFCC, BOFCA, CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HFCS, IFJA, LFCC, MCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCC, OFCS, TFCA, UFCA Amanda Seyfried (4) - DFWFCA, IPA, LVFCS, PFCC Ellen Burstyn (2) - DFCS, NYFCO Jodie Foster (2) - AARP, GG Kosar Ali - BIFA Sônia Braga - ICS Glenn Close - NFCS Olivia Colman - AACTA Olivia Cooke - HFCS BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Paul Raci (17) - AFCC, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, COFCA, FFCC, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, IFCA, NBR, NSFC, OFCC, SCA, SDFCS, SFBAFCC, StLFCA Daniel Kaluuya (9) - DFWFCA, GG, LVFCS, NFCS, OAFFC, PFCS, SFCS, TFCA, VFCC Leslie Odom Jr. (9) - AWFJ, BFCC, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, NYFCO, OFCS, UFCA, WAFCA Sacha Baron Cohen (7) - AACTA, DFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, NDFS, NTFCA, SEFCA Chadwick Boseman (4) - CIC, IPA, NYFCC, PFCC Francisco Barreiro - ICS Demián Bichir - AARP D’angelou Osei Kissiedu - BIFA Shaun Parkes - LFCC Glynn Turman - LAFCA BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Nomadland (14) - AWFJ, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HFCS, IFJA, KCFCC, LFCC, NCFCA, OAFFC, OFCC, OFCS, SEFCA, WAFCA The Father (5) - BIFA, IPA, NFCS, SCA, SDFCS I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (5) - BOFCA, BSFC, FFCC, StLFCA, UFCA First Cow (4) - DFCS, ICS, PFCC, SFBAFCC One Night In Miami (3) - HCA, LVFCS, PFCS Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - BFCC, CIC News Of The World - NBR BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Promising Young Woman (19) - AFCC, AWFJ, CIC, COFCA, DFWFCA, HCA, HFCS, IPA, KCFCC, LAFCA, NDFS, NFCS, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCC, OFCS, SFCS, StLFCA, WAFCA The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (10) - AACTA, AARP, CIC, DFCS, GG, HFCS, MCFCA, PFCS, UFCA, VFCC Minari (8) - BFCC, FFCC, NBR, NCFCA, SDFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, TFCA Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always (6) - CFCA, GWNYFCA, IFJA, NSFC, NYFCC, OAFFC Another Round - EFA Bacurau - ICS The Forty-Year-Old-Version - GOTHAM Fourteen - GOTHAM Judas And The Black Messiah - LVFCS BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Nomadland (28) - AFCC, AWFJ, BOFCA, BSFC, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, DFWFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, LVFCS, MCFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NDFS, NSFC, NYFCO, OAFFC, OFCS, PFCC, PFCS, SDFCS, SEFCA, SFCS, StLFCA, UFCA, WAFCA Mank (4) - FFCC, IPA, OFCC, SCA Tenet (4) - BFCC, HFCS, NFCS, NTFCA Small Axe (2) - LAFCA, NYFCC Dwelling In The Fuchun Mountains - ICS First Cow - SFBAFCC Hidden Away - EFA Saint Maud - BIFA The Vast Of Night - KCFCC BEST COSTUME DESIGN Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (5) - CIC, HFCS, LVFCS, PFCS, SFCS Emma. (2) - CFCA, SDFCS The Personal History Of David Copperfield (2) - HCA, IPA Hidden Away - EFA Misbehaviour - BIFA BEST FILM EDITING Nomadland (8) - AWFJ, BOFCA, GWNYFCA, NDFS, OFCS, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA The Trial Of The Chicago 7 (8) - CIC, COFCA, HCA, HFCS, IPA, MCFCA, PFCS, UFCA The Father (2) - BIFA, LAFCA I'm Thinking Of Ending Things (2) - BSFC, CFCA The Invisible Man (2) - MCFCA, SDFCS Once More Unto The Breach - EFA Sound Of Metal - LVFCS Tenet - WAFCA The Wasteland - ICS BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2) - CIC, HCA The Endless Trench - EFA Mank - HFCS Misbehaviour - BIFA BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Soul (24) - AFCC, BOFCA, CFCA, CIC, COFCA, DFCS, FFCC, GG, GWNYFCA, HCA, HFCS, HMMA, LAFCA, LVFCS, NCFCA, OFCC, OFCS, PFCS, SCL, SFBAFCC, SFCS, StLFCA, UFCA, WAFCA Tenet (4) - HMMA, IFJA, MCFCA, SCA Mank (3) - DFWFCA, HFCS, NDFS David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet (2) - HMMA, IFMCA Minari (2) - BSFC, HMMA Berlin Alexanderplatz - EFA Blizzard Of Souls - SCL The Call Of The Wild - IFMCA Fukushima 50 - IFMCA The Invisible Man - HMMA The Midnight Sky - IPA News Of The World - HMMA Nomadland - IFCA The Personal History Of David Copperfield - IFMCA Preparations To Be Together For An Unknown Period Of Time - ICS Wolfwalkers - IFMCA Wonder Woman 1984 - IFMCA BEST ORIGINAL SONG One Night In Miami (7) - CIC, DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, IFCA, MCFCA, PFCS The Life Ahead (3) - GG, HMMA, IPA Eurovision (2) - HCA, SCL Giving Voice - HMMA Judas And The Black Messiah - LVFCS The Outpost - HMMA Over The Moon - NDFS Trolls: World Tour - HMMA BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Mank (16) - CFCA, CIC, FFCC, HCA, HFCS, IPA, LAFCA, LVFCS, MCFCA, NDFS, NFCS, PFCS, SDFCS, SFCS, StLFCA, WAFCA First Cow - SFBAFCC His House - BIFA The Personal History Of David Copperfield - EFA A Portuguesa - ICS BEST SOUND Sound Of Metal (3) - HFCS, ICS, IPA Little Girl - EFA The Reason I Jump - BIFA BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Tenet (10) - DFCS, HFCS, HFCS, IPA, NCFCA, NFCS, PFCS, SDFCS, SFCS, StLFCA The Invisible Man (4) - CFCA, CIC, HCA, LVFCS The Platform - EFA Possessor - FFCC BEST ANIMATED FEATURE Soul (28) - AFCC, AWFJ, BFCC, CCA, CIC, DFCS, DFWFCA, FFCC, GG, HFCS, IFCA, IFJA, LVFCS, MSFCA, NBR, NCFCA, NDFS, NFCS, NTFCA, NYFCO, OFCC, OFCS, PFCC, PFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, WAFCA Wolfwalkers (14) - BOFCA, CFCA, COFCA, GWNYFCA, HCA, IPA, KCFCC, LAFCA, NYFCC, OAFFC, SDFCS, SFCS, TFCA, UFCA Josep (2) - EFA, ICS The Wolf House - BSFC BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM Another Round (16) - AFCC, AWFJ, CFCA, EFA, IFJA, KCFCC, LFCC, LVFCS, MCFCA, NCFCA, PFCS, SEFCA, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, UFCA, WAFCA Minari (10) - COFCA, DFCS, DFWFCA, GG, GWNYFCA, NTFCA, NYFCO, OFCS, SFCS, VFCC La Llorona (4) - BSFC, HCA, IPA, NBR Bacurau (3) - BOFCA, NYFCC, TFCA Collective (2) - AARP, NSFC The Life Ahead (2) - HFCS, SDFCS And Then We Danced - NDFS A Sun - HFCS Beanpole - LAFCA His House - CIC Identifying Features - GOTHAM Jumbo - PFCC Los Fuertes - FFCC Martin Eden - OFCC Night Of The Kings - BFCC BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Time (11) - AFCC, BFCC, DFWFCA, GOTHAM, GWNYFCA, LAFCA, NBR, NYFCC, PFCC, SDFCS, SEFCA Collective (9) - BSFC, EFA, IPA, LFCC, OAFFC, SFBAFCC, StLFCA, TFCA, VFCC Dick Johnson Is Dead (8) - CCA, CFCA, COFCA, IFCA, IFJA, NCFCA, OFCS, UFCA Boys State (6) - CIC, DFCS, LVFCS, OFCC, PFCS, WAFCA All In: The Fight For Democracy (4) - AWFJ, HCA, NDFS, NTFCA The Dissident (2) - KCFCC, NFCS The Painter And The Thief (2) - AWFJ, BOFCA Beastie Boys Story - HFCS Class Action Park - HCA Crip Camp - IDA The History of the Seattle Mariners: Supercut Edition - SFCS My Octopus Teacher - HFCS The Reason I Jump - BIFA A Secret Love - AARP The Social Dilemma - MCFCA A Thousand Cuts - GOTHAM The Way I See It - NYFCO The Year Of The Discovery - ICS You Don't Nomi - FFCC AuthorsNicole Ackman Archives
March 2021
Categories
All
|