Rating: NNNN
a fistful of dollars (Sergio Leone, 1964) and for a few dollars more (Leone, 1966) bring almost four hours’ worth of Clint Eastwood and spaghetti-western action to the Paradise. Leone came to prominence in the 60s with a series of sombre westerns starring the laconic Eastwood as the anti-heroic “man with no name.” Eastwood was coming off a stint as a TV star (Rawhide), and it seemed like a lateral move for him to hook up with Leone. But together they redefined the genre, giving it sand-in-your-teeth grit and a protagonist who mesmerized both men and women. A Fistful Of Dollars, the better of these two films (a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo), sends Eastwood into a town torn apart by feuding families. The sequel, For A Few Dollars More, adds the suave but nasty Lee Van Cleef to the mix as Eastwood’s partner. NNNN (August 20 and 21, Paradise)
