Returning to the Spaghetti Western and the films of Sergio Leone, this episode focuses on the middle entry in the Man With No Name trilogy, For a Few Dollars More. Bringing back Clint Eastwood’s iconic gunslinger and adding Lee Van Cleef’s mysterious counterpoint, it’s the most underrated of the series, and a whole hell of a lot of fun. In talking about this film, we also get into Dad’s specific disinterest in the stylistic cheapery of these films, as discussed in such previous episodes. They’re just not his thing! As it turns out, they are kind of my thing, and we discuss the reasons why this might be. Topics of conversation include such Spaghetti Western hallmarks as bad ADR and unusual sound effects, the film’s ‘procedural bounty hunter’ story, the possibility that the central characters in this film are inhuman aspects of the West, or perhaps just death-worshipping lunatics, the greatness of Van Cleef, and the decadent mania of the villain El Indio. There’s a part where I stumble about trying to articulate whether these are the definitive cinematic bounty hunters and their place in history, leading up to Dog the Bounty Hunter. Dad shuts me down.
There’s a bit of conversation at the end about the new Alien: Covenant, and its ambitions to be a deep space Frankenstein story about the end of God. I found it very interesting. In the next episode, we’ll be talking about our first Sam Peckinpah film, Ride the High Country, starring Randolph Scott and Joel McRea. You can reach us online at westernswithdad.com and email us any thoughts you’ve had or questions you’d like us to answer in the next episode at westernswithdad@gmail.com. And why not leave us reviews and ratings on iTunes, which helps improve our visibility! Thanks a lot!
For a Few Dollars More was directed by Sergio Leone and stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef.
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