86/100

Following on from our three weekends of watching our chosen war films, my father and I decided to embark upon a western journey for the build up to Christmas. We decided to start on one of the all time classics ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ which I have never actually seen before. It’s safe to say it didn’t disappoint. I was fearful of Clint Eastwood’s acting being too wooden and all based on long stares and menacing chewing but I was nicely surprised. In his sequence crawling on the floor, badly wounded, I was very impressed than I thought I would be. The plot also wasn’t boringly straight forward like many of that period and kept me invested all the way through. The effects of explosions and fires were so very stunning too for so long ago with a certain effect of fire on moving bodies a sterling effort in particular. Lastly, it’s greatest strength was undoubtedly the purely immense score by the late Ennio Morricone. He really gives these films a quality and a nostalgic feel which elevates them even higher in the annals of cinematic history. Bravo to all involved and with a shortish runtime of one and a half hours, ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ makes for a snappy, enjoyable adventure in the Wild West.