A Fistful of Dollars 4K 1964

A classic of world cinema? Absolutely, yes. One of the progenitors of spaghetti westerns from their discoverer Sergio Leone? Undeniably. But is the film really that good and so rightly laced with so many positive reviews? In my opinion, not really.

Here again, the phrase from the preface to Voltaire's play, 'All genres are good except the boring' comes to mind. By mentioning this phrase I don't mean to say that the Western genre is boring, oh no, it's a very, shall we say, antiquarian genre, atmospheric. But 'For a Fistful of Dollars' is not the most interesting movie I've seen. There's Leone's cinematic handwriting - sullen silent protagonist, minimum words, lots of close-ups, unhurried narration, minimum shooting and maximum savoring of all these components. All of these things combine to give you some of the makings of a yawn. This is made worse by the fact that Clint Eastwood had his share of charisma.

The world cinema, of course, is very lucky that someone once took notice of Eastwood and he was invited to play a part in a Western. I think he's not just right for the role, the writers should be grateful that Clint Eastwood exists and he's working on this film. His famous squint, his poncho, his tough-guy stubble, his cigars and his skimpy facial expressions are what the producers and director should have been saying, praying for Clint Eastwood in front of the picture of Saint Madonna.

But there's a downside. Joe's character is not confronted by someone truly worthy of that confrontation. The arrogant thugs look somehow unkosher compared to Joe. You have to start with someone.

Besides, even in spite of the film's age, some scenes are not to be taken seriously. The scene with the machine gun is as naive as possible and doesn't even want to pretend to be realistic. It's not a scene from a movie, but a stuntman's demonstration of falling out of the saddle. No blood, no bullet holes. When a machine gun is fired at the crowd. A machine gun. A big one, with serious recoil. Definitely a minus.

All in all, atmospherically the picture is not bad, valuable in its own way and offering to appreciate all the brutal sexuality and charm of Clint Eastwood. But I didn't manage to watch it in the same breath.