For a Few Dollars More (1965)

Italy/Spain/Germany 132m, Colour
Director: Sergio Leone; Cast:  Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonté, Mario Brega, Luigi Pistilli, Aldo Sambrell, Klaus Kinski

As the follow-up to A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Clint Eastwood reprises his poncho’d persona as “The Man with No Name” in the role of a bounty hunter who reluctantly is persuaded to join forces with another sharpshooter played by Lee Van Cleef. Together, they infiltrate a gang of murderous bank robbing villains in an attempt to collect a hefty reward. As with “Fistful”, For a Few Dollars More cleverly uses its dubbed dialogue sparingly, relying on photography, Morricone’s memorable score, and exaggerated sound effects to tell much of the story. Like all of Leone’s westerns, this film is full of charismatic characters with interesting faces which are captured close up and cut into the action in a style which has come to epitomize Leone’s direction and unique cinematography (Klaus Ming July 2011).