Sergio Leone (1) (1929–1989)

I've seen some of the Fistful of Dollars movies and they were fine. But this was a masterpiece, and the sort of inexplicable kind, where I find myself asking why I'm so completely engrossed despite the fact that it's moving at a crawl. One of its tricks is to leave a trail of unexplained questions at every turn of the plot, including a huge overarching mystery behind the presence of one of the three main outlaws. Which is resolved at the very end, without feeling at all random or shoehorned in.

These stories are pretty simple, but the desolate scenery and the understated performances make them classics. Eastwood is one of those actors who is just as good--perhaps better--when he doesn't speak.

A woman's new family is murdered, and various outlaws take an interest.

There are a number of great scenes - probably about half the movie - that stand up to the best bits of Leone's Clint Eastwood movies. A lot of the rest of it is dull, corny or misogynistic.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: D
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 3.1/4

Two bounty hunters are after the same bandit.

It's distinctly not as good as the other "Dollars" movies. It has the elements that make the other two into The Best Westerns Ever, but not used as well. If I'd only ever seen this one, it would blow me away. As it is, even after seeing it several times, it still manages to be a little disappointing.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: B
Pacing: C
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: B
Acting: B
Music: A

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 3.2/4

(Jan. 2014)