- Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars is the first Spaghetti Western, the first film to star Clint Eastwood, and proof that you there is such as thing as an original remake. The plot similarities between this film and Kurosawa's Yojimbo are undeniable (as demonstrated by Toho's successful lawsuit), but the differences between the two films are as plain as...well, the difference between technicolor and black & white. If it helps, you can think of this film as a homage that just forgot to ask for permission in advance.
- The story, which both films also inherited from Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest, is that a wandering stranger (Eastwood) inserts himself between two warring families in a small Mexican border town. While the Baxter household initiates conflict with the stranger by insulting his mule - more on that in a moment - the Baxter leadership (W. Lukschy, Margherita Lozano) comes across as slightly more humane than the opposing Rojo clan, led by the brutal Ramón (Gian Maria Volonté) and his brothers (Sieghardt Rupp, Antonio Prieto). There are other details having to do with Marisol (Marianne Koch), whom Ramón has stolen from her family (Daniel Martín, Nino del Arco), and some helpful locals (Pepe Calvo, Joseph Egger), but Eastwood's character is driving and everybody else is along for the ride.
- But back to that insulted mule for a moment. As far as I'm concerned, this is the scene that launched Eastwood's career. A trio of bullying jackasses decides it would be funny to shoot at the stranger's mule. The stranger calmly rides away, finds a place to stay, and saunters back to confront the men, casually placing an order with the coffin maker on the way. Eastwood would eventually become famous for his prematurely grizzled countenance, unhurried speech, and trademark squint, but it must have been a revelation to see him deploy these tricks for the first time when he quickly wipes the smiles from the faces of the three men shortly before wiping them from the face of the Earth. My mistake, make that four men.
- The film's other great strength is Leone's direction, which never shies away from the intentional and conspicuous ugliness of its subjects. His boot-level shots and famous close-ups of sweat-drenched faces work wonders, especially when paired with Ennio Morricone's musical score, which handles bombastic and tension-ratcheting with equal aplomb. The movie occasionally tries to develop some deeper message about the horrors of violence, but that whole theme never really works since the hero of the piece is also an incredibly violent man. Although the stranger is referred to somewhat inaccurately as "The Man With No Name," it is exactly this character that would establish Eastwood's name for decades to come.
