Dollars Trilogy - Movie Review

Introductions are hardly necessary for Sergio Lione’s epic Western trilogy. Eastwood’s Man With No Name remains the quintessential tough guy, with the kind of straight-up macho bravado we all wish we had. After the trilogy, Eastwood went on to become a legendary movie figure, and we still tend to remember him as “The Man with No Name”, even though he left this role behind over half a century ago.                

                                                        A Fistful of Dollars  (1964)

The first movie in the Dollars trilogy, introduce us to the poncho-wearing, mule-riding mysterious stranger, the Man with No Name. Clint Eastwood nails down the iconic role, that made him an international star, with extreme efficiency. The Man with No Name does'nt speak much; but his gun certainly does, once it pops out of his Mexican poncho. The manner in which Eastwood deliver those laconic dialogues, with a cigarillo clenched in his gritted teeth, is simply  effing awesome; and the movie itself is just as entertaining as it was half-a-century ago and has lost none of its style and impact. That, I would say is the very definition of the term, Timeless.

Sergio Leone tells his story in the backdrop of a gritty world with some down and dirty characters, most of them which are morally ambiguous, including the hero. Leone has'nt shown any moderation in adding some gore and violence too, considering the time in which the film was made. 

Sergio Leone's trademark ingredients - grand vistas, wide landscapes, extreme close-up shots etc. make for a western movie with an epic grandeur to it, regardless the fact that the movie was made with a tight budget. Leone is helped considerably in this effort by Ennio Morricone's music score. The soundtrack, along with the rest of the movie-series has become iconic in itself. Rest assured once you're done watching each movie, you'll be whistling those tunes for days, if not months and years to follow.

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                                                        For a Few Dollars More  (1965)

The second film in Dollar's Trilogy finds Sergio Leone in better form than in A Fistful of Dollars. This time the movie has a better writing and more characters with the capability to stand toe-to-toe with Eastwood's machoistic charisma. 

The story is straightforward enough : Eastwood reprises his roles as the Man with No Name, a bounty hunter, who crosses paths with another deadly professional, equal in skills to himself. The pair form an uneasy alliance as both set in pursuit a ruthless outlaw with one heck of price on his head. 

Once again Leone shows his craftsmanship in stretching out narratively simple conflicts into elongated, ultra-choreographed showdowns of epic proportions, each shot milked for every drop of excitement. Everything about For a Few Dollars More can be said to be elaborate and over-the-top, but also it is clearly one of the showiest of the trilogy, with Leone's love of sharp-tongued confrontations, huge wide-angled shots and monstrous close-ups more evident than ever. 

Leone proves once again to be the master of stand-off showdown scenes, which he would prove again in the next sequel of the trilogy as well. The final face-off between Mortimer and Indio could very well be the greatest quick-draw scenes ever to have graced the screens. Leone cuts precisely between close-up shots of the characters - their faces, their eyes, their hands poised over the gun trigger, both preparing internally for the inevitable fate waiting for them ; And then a lightning fast draw - BANG - and it's over. Leone spends more time for such build-up and less for the actual action, which has always been his recipe for a grand-finale. For a Few Dollars More, besides being a great sequel, is a good movie in and of itself, and stands out as arguably the best of the trilogy.

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                                                        The Good, The Bad and The Ugly  (1966)

Though Sergio Leone has directed two amazing entries in the trilogy before, this is the film where everything came together, from his impeccable direction, to the grand panoramic cinematography, to a perfect casting and to the memorable musical score of the movie. Ennio Morricone’s musical score has always played a pivotal part in the success of previous two films of the trilogy. His immaculate score and Leone’s editing craftsmanship serves to be a marriage of music and image, which is more evident than ever during the final three-way stand-off in the graveyard. Leone delivers yet another perfectly choreographed grand climatic duel just as he did in A Few Dollars More.

One of the ultimate western sphagetti, the movie follows three sharpshooting gunslingers in search of a hidden treasure. Eastwood’s cool and level-headed Blondie (aka Man with No Name) contrasts sharply with the quirky Tuco (Eli Wallach) and the cunning Sentenza - Angel Eyes(Lee Van Cleef). The love-hate relationship between Blondie and Tuco provides a comic relief with the right amount of humour and slyness. Wicked and remorseless, Angel Eyes, has no intention of letting those other two to lay their hands on the treasure. Each of their performances are each equally memorable, and integrated into the storyline so precisely that one could not be taken out with out compromising the impact of the others.

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