21 Issues We Discovered from the ‘Fistful of {Dollars}’ Commentary

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Welcome to Commentary Commentary, the place we sit and hearken to filmmakers speak about their work, then share probably the most attention-grabbing components. On this version, Rob Hunter revisits the primary entry within the unofficial “Man With No Identify” trilogy, A Fistful of {Dollars}.

The “Man With No Identify” trilogy — three movies directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as an unnamed stranger who rides into and out of bother — started in 1964 with A Fistful of {Dollars}. The movie sees Eastwood’s character arrive in a small border city and instantly set about enjoying two feuding factions towards one another. It’s a well-recognized sufficient story, extra on that beneath, nevertheless it’s made into one thing iconic because it kicks off the spaghetti western as we all know and love them.

The brand new 4K UHD from KL Studio Classics is the gorgeous launch you’re hoping for with new coloration grading of a 4K restoration, and it contains two commentary tracks. One is from Tim Lucas, and the opposite — the one we’re listening to at this time — is from movie historian Sir Christopher Frayling, the writer of a Sergio Leone biography. Hold studying to see what I heard on the commentary monitor for A Fistful of {Dollars}.

A Fistful of {Dollars} (1964)

Commentator: Sir Christopher Frayling (movie historian)

1. The opening title credit had been designed by Luigi Lardani and primarily based partially on the favored James Bond title credit of the time. The shot at 1:13 is a reasonably direct reference with “the attention, the iris wanting down onto the horseman.”

2. Ennio Morricone’s rating stands out from the style’s regular music as evident proper from the beginning. The title monitor options gunshots, whip cracks, electrical guitar, and extra to create “a rock ‘n roll western.”

3. The capturing script opens with a map displaying the divide between Mexico and the southern United States in 1872. The lead character (Clint Eastwood) is called Ray… one thing that was correctly dropped to go away him the person with no identify, though the coffin maker does name him Joe within the third act.

4. There weren’t many timber on this a part of Spain (standing in for Mexico), so — per Eastwood — when Leone drove previous a farm with single tree by the facet of the highway, he stopped to amass it. “They stopped the automobile, obtained out, stated ‘we’re from the freeway division and your tree is a hazard to passing visitors.’” They took the tree, introduced it to their capturing location, and secured it into the bottom to hold a noose from it.

5. The person rides into city  at 7:05, and it’s a shift from the early location filming to an present “set” north of Madrid. It was in-built 1962 for a sequence of Zorro movies after which redressed for this movie. Leone would go on to reuse it in different movies, however whereas these later budgets would permit for extras to be roaming the streets, right here the low price range left no room for non-speaking filler.

6. A Fistful of {Dollars} is a co-production between Italy, Spain, and Germany. Whereas thought by some to be the primary Italian western, there had truly been twenty-five or in order that preceded it with the identical manufacturing setup. They had been “copy American” westerns, although, which means Leone’s movie was the primary to create this new fashion.

7. You understand this already, however the movie may be very immediately primarily based on Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961). Kurosawa had already acknowledged that his samurai movies had been in some methods a remodeling of conventional Hollywood westerns, however A Fistful of {Dollars} is a really, very clear remake of Yojimbo — “the difficulty was that no person had cleared the rights.” Kurosawa ultimately wrote to Leone after seeing the western and stated “I like your movie very a lot, it’s a really attention-grabbing movie, sadly it’s my movie not your movie.” They settled out of courtroom with the Japanese director happening to earn extra from this movie than from any of his personal releases.

8. The unique title was The Magnificent Stranger. The capturing script additionally specified the 2 competing clans as each being Mexican versus the place it stands now with a Mexican group opposed by whites.

9. Eastwood was paid $15,000 for the movie with a six-week Spanish “vacation” included. Different actors initially thought of for the position, together with Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Henry Fonda, and others, all requested for an excessive amount of cash.

10. Morricone was not the primary option to compose the movie as they needed Angelo Lavagnino (The Final Days of Pompeii, 1959), however Leone went to fulfill with Morricone anyway. He found the 2 had attended major college collectively, and after reminiscing they started to debate a attainable rating strategy. Morricone shared an association he had beforehand written of Woody Guthrie’s “Pastures of Loads” with electrical guitars, choir, and extra — and that turned the opening monitor.

11. A whopping 34% of Hollywood productions in 1950 had been westerns, however by 1963 that proportion had dropped to only 9%. Leone and Italian producers noticed their opening as European audiences who grown up beneath fascism had been nonetheless craving the “freedom” and huge open areas captured in westerns.

12. René Magritte was certainly one of Leone’s favourite artists.

13. Eastwood is mouthing an Italian cigar referred to as a Toscano “which is nearly unsmokable” regardless of being very anti-smoking himself. The filmmakers felt it was part of the character, although, so he conceded. He requested Leone if the cigar might be skipped on their subsequent movie, however Leone stated “in fact you’ll smoke the cigar, it’s enjoying the lead.”

14. Leone had needed to make use of the standard deguello theme from Rio Bravo (1959) and The Alamo (1960), however he found it wasn’t truly as outdated and conventional as he thought. It had truly been written within the 50s for the movies, so Morricone wrote his personal beginning at 33:03.

15. The cross-cutting between the cemetery shootout and Eastwood’s seek for the gold finds an additional layer in its aural syncopation. He faucets barrels within the basement at 45:21, and we lower to the identical variety of gun photographs within the cemetery. “It’s pure fashion, it’s obtained nothing to do with the true world.”

16. Leone’s English was restricted, and his course of Eastwood often amounted to standing in a cowboy hat whereas carrying a pair of toy weapons and saying “watch me, Clint!” and miming what he needed the actor to do.

17. The movie options quite a few nods in the direction of Christianity and Easter with the dinner gathering at 57:51 being a deliberate reference to Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Final Supper” portray.

18. William Thomkins was Eastwood’s double and performs a small position within the movie as one of many Baxter gang members.

19. “Trigger I knew somebody such as you as soon as, there was nobody there to assist,” is the one piece of ethical motivation given to Eastwood’s character. The unique capturing script shifted at this level to supply up a three-page flashback displaying an earlier incident within the man’s life.

20. The shot at 1:08:50 of a thug placing out his cigarette on Eastwood’s hand was trimmed from many UK prints again within the 60s for being too merciless.

21. The gunbelt and the pistol grips had been borrowed by Eastwood from the Rawhide (1959-1965) set, and he introduced them to the manufacturing for good luck.

Finest in Context-Free Commentary

“He’s an enormous man on somewhat mule.”

“He’s come from nowhere, he’s going nowhere, and he goes round capturing individuals.”

“You retain wanting Eastwood to be the goodie, however he by no means fairly behaves like that.”

“Everybody’s fairly dangerous, however some are worse than others.”

“Italian western heroes wish to strike their matches on any accessible floor, whether or not it’s his chin, the boot of a dangling man, or a bit of metallic.”

Remaining Ideas

You may’t go unsuitable riffing on a Kurosawa movie, and A Fistful of {Dollars} succeeds in delivering a classy story of violence and morality. Frayling’s commentary confirms his intensive information of Leone and the director’s work by particulars, anecdotes, and extra. Followers will need to give a hearken to each commentaries, although, because the historical past behind the movie, the filmmakers, and the style itself is a wealthy one.

Learn extra Commentary Commentary from the archives.

Associated Subjects: A Fistful of {Dollars}, Commentary Commentary

Rob Hunter has been writing for Movie Faculty Rejects since earlier than you had been born, which is bizarre seeing as he is so rattling younger. He is our Chief Movie Critic and Affiliate Editor and lists ‘Broadcast Information’ as his favourite movie of all time. Be at liberty to say hello for those who see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.