For A Few Dollars More (1965) – Film Review
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonté
Certificate: 15
By Sarah Morgan
‘The man with no name is back… The man in black is waiting!’
So read the tagline for the second film in director Sergio Leone’s Dollar trilogy, heralding in the process the return of Clint Eastwood to the franchise, and the introduction of Lee Van Cleef to the fold.
Of course, Clint does have a name in the movie – he’s known as Manco, a bounty hunter on the trail of ruthless gangster El Indio, whose henchmen have broken him out of jail. Manco joins forces with the mysterious Colonel Mortimer, who wants to get his hands on El Indio for personal reasons – after murdering Mortimer’s brother-in-law, the villain raped his sister, who then shot herself.
“Swagger and style”
El Indio has been haunted by the incident ever since, and smokes a mysterious drug to numb his memories. Nevertheless, he’s sober enough to organise a bank heist, a matter that may help seal his fate.
Gian Maria Volonte, who also appeared in A Fistful of Dollars, is the larger-than-life baddie, while Eastwood is his usual taciturn self in what is more of a supporting role this time around. It’s Van Cleef who takes centre stage as Mortimer, a tortured if dapper fellow with a personal arsenal of extraordinary weapons.
Playing Mortimer revitalised Van Cleef’s movie career, which was in freefall at the time, and led to him becoming a major Spaghetti Western star. He and Eastwood would, of course, return again, this time with Eli Wallach, for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the final film in the trilogy.
Once again Leone directs with swagger and style; his trademark close-ups are clearly visible, as are his tension-building scenes in which Ennio Morricone’s score comes to the fore, whipping viewers up into a frenzy before a pulsating moment of action occurs.
“So influential”
Morricone really was a genius; for all Leone’s skill, For a Few Dollars More (and others they collaborated on) wouldn’t be half as impressive without its music; if nothing else does, the tune played by El Indio’s pocket watch will haunt you for days afterwards.
Although made in 1964, the movie seems as modern as any blockbuster produced today, perhaps because it remains so influential among 21st-century directors.
And for those who want to know more about its production, the special features are a must. They include new interviews with the likes of film historian Fabio Melelli and Van Cleef’s biographer, Mike Malloy, and Alex Cox’s tour of the locations, as well as archive chats with genre expert Sir Christopher Frayling and Eastwood himself.
Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.
4K ULTRA-HD LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
- Perfect bound collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Glenn Kenny, Priscilla Page, Ariel Schudson and Amy Taylor
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
DISC 1 – FEATURE (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY):
- New 4K restoration from the original 2-perf Techniscope negative
- 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Newly restored original lossless English mono audio
- Optional newly remixed lossless English DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Audio commentary by film historian and Leone biographer Sir Christopher Frayling
- Audio commentary by film historian and critic Tim Lucas
- Original Italian credits and intermission break (separate from main feature)
- Trailers, TV spots and radio spots
DISC 2 – EXTRAS (BLU-RAY):
- A Violent Tale of Vengeance, a newly filmed interview with film historian and critic Fabio Melelli
- No One Shoots at the Colonel, a newly filmed interview with filmmaker and Lee Van Cleef biographer Mike Malloy
- Crafting the West, a newly filmed interview with Giuditta Simi, daughter of set/costume designer Carlo Simi
- Cuts and Rhythm, a newly filmed interview with editor Eugenio Alabiso
- Western Strings, a newly filmed interview with guitarist Bruno Battisti D’Amario
- Timeless Voice, a newly filmed interview with singer Edda Dell’Orso
- For a Few Notes More, a newly filmed interview with Morricone biographer Alessandro de Rosa
- For Ennio's Dollar Score, a new visual essay exploring the film’s iconic soundtrack by musician and disc collector Lovely Jon
- Career-spanning hour-long interview with Sergio Leone, never released in full before, filmed by Large Door Productions in 1983
- On Location in Almería and Granada, an archive featurette produced and presented by filmmaker Alex Cox
- The Frayling Archives and A New Standard, two archival interviews with Sir Christopher Frayling
- Back for More, an archival interview with Clint Eastwood
- Tre Voci, an archival featurette with Leone collaborators Mickey Knox, Sergio Donati and Alberto Grimaldi
- Restoration Italian Style, an archival featurette on the film’s remastering for DVD
- The Original American Release Version, an archival featurette
- Location Comparisons 1965–2004, an archival featurette
- Alternate credits sequences
- Four comprehensive image galleries
For a Few Dollars More is released on Limited Edition 4K UHD by Arrow
