For a Few Dollars More (Blu-ray)

FILM REVIEW

Leone’s big budget follow-up to the massive hit, A Fistful of Dollars, is the more stylized and epically proportioned For a Few Dollars More. Eastwood returns as the Man With No Name (but actually referred to as “Monco,” a name that means one-armed, a condition caused by thievery) and this time he’s a bounty hunter after a maniac convict (Gian Maria Volonte returning as another baddie, El Indio) that’s also hunted by another infamous bounty hunter, Col. Douglas Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef).

The two forge an agreement to capture and kill El Indio and his gang together, Monco from the inside and Mortimer from the outside. But while El Indio may be crazy (he has a predilection for marijuana that, upon smoking, puts him in a sort of Reefer Madness mode) he is far from stupid. Indio and his gang are planning a daring robbery of the El Paso bank because, while in prison, Indio learned from a carpenter that a special cabinet in the bank camouflages the safe. And before you can load your pistol, Monco has deftly infiltrated Indio’s gang.

It’s immediately apparent that Sergio Leone was operating with a much larger budget this time around. He playfully takes his time setting up Lee Van Cleef’s character as well as Eastwood’s, not kicking the film into gear until a good 20-25 minutes in. But all the signature style evident in Fistful is all the more accentuated here. If there are any drawbacks, it’s Volonte, who at times, is a little too over the top than necessary, and sometimes Van Cleef seems a little stiff, especially in comparison to the cool and calculated Eastwood. However, one of the best damn scenes in the film is an amazingly cool exchange between Van Cleef and crazy ass Klaus Kinski, playing an angry hunchbacked member of Indio’s crew. Lighting a match from the back of Kinski’s hump, Van Cleef lights his cigar and smirks ruefully at the smoldering Kinski, who does his best not to unleash his pistol while his face twitches with rage. Meanwhile Leone gives us a close-up of everyone’s face at the bar during the exchange. Cinema greatness! And to top it off, Leone has to have some of the most interesting and strange looking people populating his film that you’d swear Fellini loaned him a band of extras.

DISC REVIEW

Presented in a 1.33:1 aspect ration, For a Few Dollars More benefits even more from the Blu-Ray transfer than Fistful, though, to be fair, the original print of this sequel far surpasses that of the first film. Again, the special features are right up any Leone fan or movie lover’s alley. However, resident noted film historian Christopher Frayling makes up the majority of the expertise again here, just like on the Fistful of Dollars disc. One could have hoped for a little more variety, but it’s a nice package, all the same.

The Christopher Frayling Archives: For a Few Dollars More
Frayling discusses the inflated budget ($600,000) for this venture, the original title (The Bounty Hunter), and shows various film poster prints in his collection.

Feature Commentary by Noted Film Historian Sir Christopher Frayling: A New Standard: Frayling on a Few Dollars More
This documentary feature again is comprised only of Frayling’s expertise, where he discusses Leone’s penchant for skewering religious iconography and the casting of Von Cleef (as, once again, Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin were first choices).

Back For More: Clint Eastwood Remembers For A Few Dollars More
More footage from a 2003 interview is highlighted here in reference to his involvement with For a Few Dollars More. Eastwood references how Leone really wanted to be David Lean and preferred his films to be of epic proportions, and running time was one of the few aspects Eastwood disagreed upon with Leone.

Tre Voci: For a Few Dollars More
As on the first disc, producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and actor Mickey Knox all share stories about Leone.

For A Few Dollars More – A Look at Alternate Scenes and Releases, Location Comparisons, 12 Radio Spots Original Theatrical Trailers
An examination of three different scenes and their alternate versions is interesting for extreme fans of the film, as well as location comparisons, radio spots and two original theatrical trailers.

FINAL THOUGHTS

As with its predecessor, this is beautiful package transfer. While the extra features are oddly similar on both discs, they are still informative and interesting. Beautiful cinematography, some excellent action sequences, a great presence with Eastwood, and that amazingly awesome Ennio Morricone score, more pronounced and enhanced in this film, make this must see cinema.

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Date Posted: 2011-09-06

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