For a Few Dollars More (1967)

A different way of telling a story

It is so daring, it is so ambitious, it is so thrilling and weird and pointed and powerful. I never knew where it was going.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

"For a Few Dollars More" is a highly enjoyable spaghetti western film. Situations and the plot are designed specifically for the fans of this genre. It is the 2nd film of the Dollars trilogy, which is also known as The Man with No Name. The films in the trilogy have nothing to do with each other in the means of story, but after seeing the 2nd film, it starts to make sense to me why they are called a trilogy. Even though the stories are completely unrelated, these films are gathered more or less around a similar plot. Soundtracks are equally beautiful, the leading actor, Clint Eastwood, stars in all three films. Even the names of the first two films are completing each other. "For a Few Dollars More" is more serious and complex compared to the first film of the trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars. From the point of view of action and story, I find this one more satisfying. You can feel that, in "For a Few Dollars More," director Sergio Leone has more trust in himself because of the success of the first film. He is more focused and his distinctive directing style is more visible in this one. The leading actors Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef are completing each other. The villain El Indio, played by Gian Maria Volonte, seems to be the evilest character of the Western films I have ever seen. Besides the performances, soundtracks and the western atmosphere are the strongest points of the film. Even though there is well-structured story, you get the feeling that, things are happening based on the situations. It seems like the characters don't follow a plan, but react to incidents. This makes the film more complex and hard to anticipate.Lee Van Cleef, as Colonel Douglas Mortimer, is added to the second film as an experienced bounty hunter. This gives Sergio Leone a strong hand to play with, he is not limited in the means of characters. This liberty makes him create a better, a more independent story. Clint Eastwood, as Manco, is the other bounty hunter. His role is more or less the same as the first film. He wears the same clothes, talks the same, acts the same and even the way he smokes his tobacco is the same. He is a complete icon for western films. He shares the leading role with Lee Van Cleef, and this removes the responsibility from his shoulders to carry the film on his own. Sergio Leone uses Eastwood in the roles that are more suitable for him, which creates a more reliable character.Both Colonel Douglas Mortimer and Manco are highly talented gunmen, who make living out of the prize money issued for capturing or killing outlaws on the loose. We get to know Colonel Mortimer, Manco and the psychopath outlaw El Indio in the first scenes of the film. These scenes create a credibility for the future references. We are highly aware of what these men are capable of doing. After El Indio is taken out from the jail by his gang, a prize money of 10k USD is issued on his head. Mortimer and Manco decide to go after this guy, for different reasons, which are revealed in the end of the film. When they find out about each other, they decide to team up against El Indio and his gang.The film plays host for the iconic scenes where Mortimer and Manco shoot each other's hats, or the old man talking about the train company who wanted to buy his house to make a railway for the train and how he didn't sell it. "For a Few Dollars More" is a film where English-speaking guys are leading the roles made by Italian speaking people. Like the first film, this one is also a co-production of Italy, West Germany and Spain. Clint Eastwood's presence was critical for the second film, and it was not easy to convince him to star in it because he hasn't seen the first film and didn't know what to expect from it. So, the production company sent a copy of the film to him, which was Italian back then, and Eastwood gathered his friends and watched it. Based on his friends' positive feedbacks he accepted the role for a total sum of 50K USD which is 3 times more than his salary for the previous film. "For a Few Dollars More" has everything in it about western genre. It is action packed, highly enjoyable and satisfying. Because of the reasons I have counted above, "For a Few Dollars More" is one of the best films of its genre.

Not quite having the epic scope of "Good, Bad and Ugly" this is somewhat closer to a "typical spaghetti western". But that's hardly a bad thing. and it's one the best of it's kind! Of course with Leone's direction, Morricone's score and performances from Eastwood and Van Cleef one would expect greatness, and this film definitely delivers!

With the success of A Fistful Of Dollars you knew a sequel had to be made and Clint Eastwood left the small screen for good as Rawhide concluded its run and he was back in Europe for another pasta western with Sergio Leone. Making the trip with Eastwood was Lee Van Cleef and the two play a pair of bounty hunters after the outlaw Gian Maria Volante and his gang of cutthroats. The usual amount of bloody mayhem was dished out by Eastwood, Van Cleef and the gang itself.The treat in this film is watching Eastwood and Van Cleef taking each other's measure and circling around each other like a pair of jungle cats waiting to pounce on each other. It's one uneasy partnership.If you liked A Fistful Of Dollars you will most certainly like For A Few Dollars More. This one solidified Clint Eastwood as a box office draw. As for Van Cleef he got out of supporting ranks and played if not out and out bad guys, certainly rather sardonic good guys for the most part in the rest of his career.Another heaping helping of pasta.

All three films of the Dollars trilogy are undoubtedly classics, but For a Few Dollars More is better than A Fist Full of Dollars and not that far off The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The man with no name strikes again, and Clint Eastwood is the man with no gimmicks, the guy just doesn't need one, he oozes charisma and demands respect without even needing to open his mouth. Lee Van Cleef plays a great foil for the western legend, but his natural charm and efficiency has to give way for that of Eastwood's, you just knew from the beginning of their partnership who would walk away looking stronger, nobody outshines Eastwood, nobody. I like westerns for their vastness and attempts to venture into the unknown, spaghetti westerns are a particular favourite, Sergio Leone is capable of assembling a cast of relatively unknown foreigners to star alongside the two American leads and just make it work, make a classic out of it. The Dollars trilogy are proper old school, grown up films..., a time before the younger generations took control, cluttered with prima donas and kids who consider themselves to be hard, no-no you're not hard, not at all, Clint Eastwood's hard, the older generations were hard, and this trilogy of films is a shining example. I loved the sound of the gunfire echoing and reverberating across the landscape, loud and raw, you don't get that in film anymore..., I loved Ennio Morricone's haunting score, some of the best music in film I've ever heard, the closet thing to perfect you'll ever hear..., and I loved the slower more methodical pacing of the film, it doesn't go head first or a hundred miles an hour, it's slow at times almost to a crawl, it builds tension and adds to brilliance. El Indio the main antagonist of the film is revolting, a hideous, heartless man with no morals, I was impressed that a character was created such as this without making him over the top and overly animated, he like a lot of the film is slow, somewhat lazily, but he's truly disgusting nonetheless. For a Few Dollars More was released during a transitional time in Hollywood, gone was the golden era but the New Hollywood era hadn't quite reared its head just yet, therefore I don't quite know what era to class this film as, I'm going to go with neither, it doesn't have a category, it stands alone with its two other trilogy mates, making all three films that extra bit special, they staggered the line between two distinctive eras. For any budding film fan or film student, all three films in this spaghetti western trilogy are essential viewing.