A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Director: Sergio Leone (as Bob Robertson)

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch

A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

For a film considered a classic, I must be honest I did not enjoy this. ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ was Clint Eastwood’s breakthrough performance and propelled him to super stardom. I can understand that to a certain extent, since he was the film’s protagonist. I just didn’t like his character, or the way he acted, for that matter.

Much too little is known about Joe (Eastwood). We don’t know his back story or what his intentions are or were before he decided to help the girl in peril. When she asked him why he was helping her, he replied “I knew someone like you once, but there was no-one to help”. You would think they’d let us in on more detail, but they don’t. This was not enough reason for me, as he had very little to no information about the woman herself.

I suppose the film was good in its day, but I found it a bit boring with a lot of credibility issues.