"A FEW DOLLARS MORE" - COULD BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH!

I’m getting slightly hooked on these westerns. I really am. I totally see why there is a whole bunch of people out there who watch the old classics ad nauseam. Oh don’t worry; I won’t be subjecting you guys to the same treatment. But a few of the good ones will crop up in the blog now and again. The ones that are good, cinematically relevant you know… I kinda started watching Sergio Leone movies mainly because Quentin Tarantino is a fan (yes, I’m sad. But you see, Quentin Tarantino is a guy I am a MASSIVE fan of so I was curious. Plus Sergio Leone isn’t exactly an obscure character no one has heard of so I wanted to see what the fuss was about). Anyway. I now know what the fuss is about. I will attempt to convey said reasons.

We are, once again in the Wild West. When men were men and only those with sharp wits but even sharper shooting skills could survive. There are many ways you could use your wits and gun to live, and one of them is bounty hunting. And the bounty hunting stakes sky-rocket one fine day, when an infamous bandit and gang leader, Indio, escapes from prison. Munco (Clint Eastwood) and Colonel Douglas Mortimer ( Lee Van Cleef) cross paths and swords (well, guns) when they both start chasing the same man so an uneasy truce is formed between these two lone wolves. But as the chase continues deep into the heart of the desert and loyalties are tested over and over again, one thing begins to become painfully clear: Only one of the bounty hunters is actually after the bounty. The other one has a slightly different agenda ready for Indio.

I am actually pleasantly surprised by these films over and over again. We are – or at least I am – slightly prejudiced into thinking these “old” films are rather simplistic. They don’t have any special effects – but this we already knew – and they don’t have any “depth” in the story. You know, black vs white. Goodies vs Baddies. It HAS to be boring, right? Well, no. Not really.

I mean yes, it’s true, a lot of these films are “black and white”, but this is still often an occurrence, especially in mainstream cinema. It is a plain and simple fact that, for all our snobbery on the matter, we enjoy it. We want to cheer the good guys and boo the bad guys, get all worked up, but deep down know that the goodies WILL prevail in the end. When worded like that, that just sounds like an incredibly boring idea.       But this film appeals straight for our heart strings so cleverly, you just… Get sucked up. Besides, it is not a simple matter of good overcoming bad”. Firstly, this is the Wild West. Everyone is CONSTANTLY double crossing everyone else. You have to be constantly on your toes to follow the shifting alliances and you can never quite guess which way the plot is going to swerve next… Plus, there is the matter of the definition of “good” and “bad”. In this instance, Indio is as bad as bad can be. But the “good”… Well… I mean, to my mind, Clint Eastwood is automatically “good” but is he, here, in this instance? He is, basically, killing people for money. Ok I grant you, they are “bad” people but still. He is dangerously close to being a hired killer. And then there is the fact that he is very clearly quite selfish – in that he is out to protect number one – and ONLY number one. I mean, this being Clint Eastwood, his charisma carries him but still. Oh and by the way, you have NO idea how impressive Clint Eastwood is in a western role until you have seen it. No wonder he never quite drops the act (I mean I’m sorry but it IS true). As for Lee Van Cleef – the archetypal western villain – he seriously gives Mr Eastwood a run for his money as far as charisma goes. And that is really, REALLY saying something.

In short, if you need a whirlwind of cathartic emotion to whisk you away from your day to day troubles, Sergio Leone is your man, again. Highly recommended.               

THE THINGS WE GET UP TO TO MAKE A LIVING... "A FISTFULL OF DOLLARS"

I have, I believe, recently mentioned that I do not watch as many westerns as I should. It is of course up for discussion what “should” and “shouldn’t” be watched, but I pride myself in having more than just a passing interest in cinema. This is why I feel it’s a tad bit shameful I don’t know more about a genre that was the backbone of the entire art form at one time, not to mention the creator of so many sub-genres and cinematic traditions later on.  Hence, I have been a good girl, and have begun to properly research the subject. Now, am I influenced by the fact that Quentin Tarantino (yes, yes, him again) is such a fan of Sergio Leone in my choice? Yes. Unquestionably so. His films, starring Clint Eastwood and giving us so many moments and conventions that became cinematic staples later on are cinematic classics that should be watched though. Mind you there is a lot more than just duty that attracts me to this film. I know I moan on and on about originality and thinking outside the box but still. There is something very comforting about a simpler world, goodies vs baddies – both very clearly black and white, with the goodie winning out in the end. Mind you, in a fistful of dollars we can’t exactly call our goodie “white as snow” ethically speaking but hey…  At least there’s nothing complicated about who you’re meant to back… ;)

The beginning of the story is familiar to all, even to those of us who are complete foreigners to the genre. A nameless, sharp-shooting stranger rides into a little town close to the Mexican border. It is high noon and the town is shrouded in a deadly quiet, all but the coffin maker who always seems to have his hands full… The town is torn apart by the in-fighting of two rival families, both planted firmly on the wrong side of the law and both hell-bent on becoming the one and only masters of the town. The rivalry is all-consuming and the two gangs have no consideration for the consequences of this fight to the town. Our hero (Clint Eastwood), has other plans. He will play double agent, playing one family against another to make himself a wad of cash… And maybe, just maybe he might be able to do some good for the good folk of the town too. The stranger must be careful though. He walks a very dangerous path where one wrong step could cost him his life…

Well, first and foremost we are very much in the domain of comfort films ladies and gents. But you knew that already. It’s Clint Eastwood. It’s a western. You know how things are going to go down. It is a brilliant combination of “raah” moments and adventure, peopled with some of the badest baddies  you could possibly imagine. And, even though you may not be a huge fan of Clint Eastwood’s style – some are and some aren’t you know – you have to admit, here, it’s brilliant. The stranger has to keep his cards very close to his chest and not give a single shred of thought and emotion away as he negotiates the minefield that is the gang relations. But the true mark of a good director comes through here too because in with all the stuff we “know and love” is mixed a truly nail-biting story. We get caught up in it so very easily, and credit where it’s due, you have to admire the stranger’s shrewdness in playing the two families against each other (or in this case, the shrewdness of the scriptwriter). The story takes such twists and turns that it you never fall into the lethargy of knowing the “goodies will win in the end”, simply because you are never %100 sure what our hero is exactly up to. Well that and the fact that he does not really seem to be your common or garden “good guy”.  I mean, are we %100 sure  he “wins in the end”? You’re in for a jolly good adventure with this one, fellas. It’s the kind of film that makes you understand why kids were so obsessed with playing cowboys in the heyday of these films… If you’re looking to get away from your day to day life for an hour or two and go on an adventure from your front room, this is the fella to go for ladies and gents. And given the almost desert-like quality to the British weather at the moment, a rather fitting adventure at that.