For a Few Dollars More (1965)

In Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western sequel to A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Clint Eastwood is once again the “man with no name” – although confusingly he’s also now called Manco. This is a more sophisticated attempt to do something similar to that first film, with several of the same actors appearing in different roles.

This time, there’s a rival bounty hunter played by Lee Van Cleef. My favourite scene involves the two men shooting each other’s hats in a macho display of one-upmanship. But then they team up to defeat a ruthless band of bank robbers (led by the unconvincing Gian Maria Volonté and also including a hunchback played by Klaus Kinski), and we eventually learn that they have very different motivations...

The music is again brilliantly scored by Ennio Morricone.

On the down side, there are some “comedy” moments that don’t work at all. These add a surreal weirdness to a story that is actually fairly brutal.

The commentary by film historian Christopher Frayling is insightful and well worth watching.

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Spaghetti western directed by Sergio Leone and with music by Ennio Morricone. Clint Eastwood, the “man with no name”, rolls into town and discovers two warring family factions. He cleverly plays them off against each other, initiating a cycle of escalating violence.

The film is entertaining and enjoyable, despite the major distraction of all the dialogue (including Clint’s) being dubbed on afterwards. It’s visually striking and surprisingly gory for the time. Eastwood is effortlessly stylish as the poncho-wearing gunslinger, even after being badly beaten up.