A Fistful Of Dollars (Leone, 1964) - 8.5/10
Eat your heart out, Yojimbo! Sergio Leone crafts a superior remake, redefines the entire western genre, and creates the action hero all with one swift, 100 minute long little slice of cinema. Unlike his work that would follow, Leone isn't trying to say anything here or make any grand commentary - he is simply content to remake Kurosawa's film, set in the west, with a mysterious gunslinger leading the charge. Oh, and he may just have turned a few genre conventions on their heads, and totally revolutionized what a "western" could be along the way. There is no sentimentality to be found here, no clear-cut black and white, no John Wayne riding off into the sunset. The film is raw and brutal, morally grey, and littered with dark humour. Clint Eastwood is the epitome of cool, and deserves a lot of credit for the way the character turned out, by insisting to cut lots of his dialogue out, and using much of his own gear to craft the famous look and style of "The Man With No Name". Leone's style isn't as fully evolved and bombastic as it would eventually become, but it's still instantly recognizable and totally unforgettable, just like this film. Highly recommended!
