Unforgiven Fistful of Dollars
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The direction and production of A Fistful of Dollars by Sergio Leone created a new style of western at first derogatorily labeled the “spaghetti western”. The film was labeled a “spaghetti western” due to its largely Italian backing and production. However, various elements of the film’s style reworked the mythos of the typical Hollywood western of the time, including a laconic hero with dubious morals, the use of music in place of dialogue to carry a scene, gritty, realistic close-ups, and graphically brutal violence. The tale of a gunfighter who overcomes two warring families in a Mexican town solely in pursuit of economic gain, A Fistful of Dollars was cheaply produced ($200,000), starred an American TV actor (Clint Eastwood), and was generally panned by critics (Nudge 1). Audiences and legions of future filmmakers who incorporated its style into their own disagreed. As John Nudge (3) explains of the film’s unique style and its impact on fans and filmmakers alike:This violent, cynical and visually stunning film introduced The Man With No Name, the anti-heroic gunslinger for whom money is the only motivation and the villains are merely obstacles to be removed. Many later films followed this formula of the lone gunman in pursuit of money to the exclusion of all else. Leon’s unique style, artistic camera angles, extension of time and raw, explosive violence presented a skewed view of the West, making his film different fro
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so that the light catches the grimace on his lips and the look or murderous contempt in his left eye. That is all we need. No matter what happens now, we know the gauntlet has been thrown down and Munny will not shirk from the challenge.
Another stylistic aspect similar in both films is the graphic violence. In A Fistful of Dollars there are more brutal acts of violence than most critics of the period could bear, with blood and gore in ample supply. In Unforgiven the beatings administered by Little Bill, the slashing of a whore’s face, and a number of whippings and deaths adopt this stylistic touch. The graphic violence is meant to portray man’s inhumanity to man, but also it serves to remind us that the west was pretty much a place of unlawfulness and violence not romantic singing cowboys and glamorous saloon hall girls. The impact of such violence also serves to soften the tender moments of these films, such as the rapport between Joe and the woman he leaves behind in favor of money and the way Munny offers a shot man a drink of water by promising not to shoot his partners who must get it for him. Yet there is a cynicism that pervades both films that is typical of the anti-hero trend of characters and films produced dur
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Approximate Word count = 1983
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)
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