Dug into some classics for the holidays. Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy, which I had never fully seen.
A Fistful of Dollars - Small contained story and setting. Obviously much lower budget than the others (where are the other people that live in this town? Is it literally only the two gangs?). You really see where Tarantino gets his influence here. Some of the action borders on pure ridiculous and the amount of people shot for no reason is almost comical. Would probably play as more of a farce or parody today. But so iconic and such a departure from other movies of the time.
For a Few Dollars More - My favourite of the three. Perfect blend of the small story and Leone’s style. A little more budget took it to a good spot with more extras and settings. The campiness of the first is reigned in a little and it adds to the emersement of the movie.
The Good The Bad and The Ugly - A grander scope in story, digging more into the civil war and what was going on at the time. Honestly thought that took away a bit from the main interest when it could have focused more on just finding the treasure, but you can tell Leone wanted to say something about the uselessness of the war at the ground level with men dying for what seems no reason. Some incredible shots of battles and explosions etc. The final shootout scene still iconic and loved how the ending came together. But wish it was a bit more contained to those three characters rather than having the big Civil War subplot stuff.
A Few Dollars More is a perfect film IMO.
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