STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “A Fistful of Dollars”
While I typically try to post about obscure or forgotten films, March is going to center around two franchises that are very famous in the world of cinema. Since I happen to own the films that relate to this March’s Criterion Week, it’s only fair that I write about them. If you’re confused on what I’m talking about, it’ll become clear on the last week (or you can just look it up if you’re impatient.)
But for everyone else, you know exactly what film I’m talking about as soon as you read the title for this week’s post.
We start off with the first film in the Man with No Name trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars.
Directed by Sergio Leone, and co-written by Leone and five other screenwriters (the film itself does not have any screenwriter credits), A Fistful of Dollars is about a Stranger who rides into the town of San Miguel, a small Mexican border town. After befriending the town’s innkeeper, Silvanito, the Stranger learns that the town is being plagued by two factions who want control of the town: the Rojos family and the town sheriff’s family, the Baxters.
The Stranger uses this opportunity to make some money by gaining the trust of both sides and pitting them against each other to the point where only one family stands or they both kill each other.
When the Mexican army arrives with a shipment of gold, the Rojos steal the gold and murder the soldiers in a sneak attack. The Stranger uses this opportunity to implement his plan.
The film is one of the earliest examples in having an anti-hero as its protagonist. The Man with No name, or Joe as he is nicknamed by a character in this particular film, arrives, and nonchalantly strings along a group of people to murder each other simply for financial gain. It’s important to note that John Baxter, the sheriff of San Miguel, is NOT a corrupt official, neither is his entire family. This meant that the Stranger did not care who got killed so long as he got what he want.
It’s also visually appealing, invoking classic western vibes, despite it being made by Italians and shot in Spain. There are gunfights, horse riding, and even a damsel in distress.
Also, we shouldn’t forget the framing of these shots; they are beautiful.
A Fistful of Dollars was made to reinvigorate the western genre in Italy, and it did so. Compared to the westerns of the 50’s, this 1964 film added a morally ambiguous protagonist and a lot more blood and violence in its action. For its time, this was the reason why the film was dismissed by critics. Today, it is widely considered to be a very influential film, especially for the Man with No Name, since he is the memorable part of the film.
For myself, it does bother me that the Stranger allows an innocent family to get killed. I guess what bothers me about it is the fact that he does go out of his way to rescue a woman and her family, yet when it comes to a government official and his family, they can be dispensable. However, I do understand the concept of this. Ultimately, this is supposed to be a cynical film and part of that cynicism comes from what was going on at that time.
What IS inexcusable is the logic that the film presents when it comes to how to kill someone. One of the Rojos, Ramon, has a bizarre logic that “if you want to kill a man, you shoot him in the heart.” Uh… no, you shoot him in the head. Even in the final showdown, the Stranger taunts him into this by convincing him that in order to kill him, he should shoot in the heart… and Ramon continues to ONLY shoot him in the heart.
Ramon also dispenses some philosophy that “between a man with a rifle, and a man with a .45 (handgun), the man with the rifle wins.” In a distant shootout behind walls and rocks, I can buy that. In a one-on-one climactic duel at high noon in the middle of an empty town… no.
I should also note the dubbing problems, not just in the English language version but even in the Italian version. No on-set dialogue or sound was recorded; all of it was done in post-production. However, this was normal for Italian films at the time.
Logic problems aside, there’s a reason why A Fistful of Dollars resonates until today. It takes its time to build tension, but it’s worth it.
Put on a poncho, and check it out.
