Year of Eastwood #51

...Et Pour Quelques Dollars de Plus (1965)

Starring: Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef
Directed by Sergio Leone

It’s clean up time. After topping 50 movies and TV programs, Year of Eastwood has just about wiped out the entire Clint library. The classics have been included (Dirty Harry), along with the Academy Award winners (Unforgiven), the forgotten (Breezy), and the clunkers (Pink Cadillac). That doesn’t leave too many options left for the final two entries of Year of Eastwood.

Earlier in this series, a slew of westerns were covered. Burnout was definitely a factor while watching ten of Clint’s westerns … and too be honest, two of the Spaghetti Westerns seemed like enough so I probably wasn’t missing much if I skipped For a Few Dollars More. Plus, I had to fit Paint Yer Wagon in there...

The classic - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - was truly a master of film making. The infliction of humor with the gripping story of greed in the Wild West - along with a musical score for the ages - ranks this film as one of the greatest westerns ever made.

The original film in the series, Fistful of Dollars, introduced American audiences to the Spaghetti Western genre. Gritty, bloody scenes tell this story of the lawless West where there’s nary a good guy in sight. So what did the second film in this trilogy have to offer…

Not much new here. Clint is a bounty hunter, riding around in search of his next payday. Van Cleef is a rival bounty hunter as they cross paths hunting down a pack of outlaws which will pay off in upwards of $40k. These days, $40k won’t even get Paris Hilton to show up at your nightclub.

Eventually, the rivals team up to take down the gang ... wanted dead or alive - which pretty much means dead. Turns out Van Cleef has more personal reasons for wanting to take down the head gringo, so once again Clint rides off with the entire bounty.

The most intriguing aspect when observing this trilogy as a whole is that the films are not really a trilogy at all. Sure Clint is the mysterious stranger, who may or may not in fact have a name. But it’s not even clear if he’s playing the same character between all films. In fact, a few actors appear in the films portraying different characters. The films don’t seem to align chronologically, as the third film apparently takes place before the first film. Or is it that the second film takes place after the third film? I'm confused.

The films play out more like fables from the Old West. The players may be interchangeable - riding along the dusty trails - but it doesn’t matter who they are. It’s more about the stories that made the West so appealing and dangerous. The wide open plains, the opportunity for wealth … the lawlessness, the greed, and the gunfights.

For a Few Dollars More stands alone as an entertaining film, but fails in comparison to the best of the series and still champion … the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. A recent study concluded that certain films, such as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, have been scientifically proven to increase brain activity. My own personal study indicates that Pink Cadillac in fact destroyed some brain cells. Brain cells that I might need as I get older. Thanks a lot Bernadette Peters.