Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Fulvio Morsella (scenario) and
Sergio Leone (scenario) ...

Release Date:

10 May 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

The man with no name is back... The man in black is waiting! As if one wasn't enough . . . as if death needed a double!

Plot:

Two bounty hunters with completely different intentions team up to track down a Western outlaw.

Plot Keywords:

Bounty Hunter | Hotel | Apple Tree | Marksman | Betrayal

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Monco
Lee Van Cleef	...	Col. Douglas Mortimer
Gian Maria Volonté	...	El Indio (The Indian)
Mara Krupp	...	Mary - the innkeeper (as Mara Krup)
Luigi Pistilli	...	Groggy, Member of Indio's Gang
Klaus Kinski	...	Wild (the hunchback)
Joseph Egger	...	Old Prophet (as Josef Egger)
Panos Papadopulos	...	Sancho Perez, Member of Indio's Gang (as Panos Papadopoulos)
Benito Stefanelli	...	Luke
Roberto Camardiel	...	Tucumcari station clerk (as Robert Camardiel)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Cuccillo
Luis Rodríguez	...	Manuel, Member of Indio's Gang (as Luis Rodriguez)
Tomás Blanco	...	Tucumcari sheriff (as Tomas Blanco)
Lorenzo Robledo	...	Tomaso, Indio's Traitor
Sergio Mendizábal	...	Tucumcari bank manager (as Sergio Mendizabal)

Also Known As:

For a Few Dollars More (UK) (USA)
A Few Dollars More (Philippines: English title)
Due stranieri magnifici (Italy) (working title)
Für ein paar Dollar mehr (West Germany)
For Some Dollars More (International: English title)
La muerte tenía un precio (Spain)
Por unos cuantos dólares más (Spain)
Por unos pocos dólares más (Spain)

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

Italy | Spain | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1984) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1966) (cut) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Brazil:12 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Germany:16 (DVD rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Ireland:15 | Norway:15 (DVD rating) (2005) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (1989) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Almería Railway Station, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Arturo González Producciones Cinematográficas

Trivia:

Director Sergio Leone did not want to make a sequel to Per un pugno di dollari (1964), but it was such a huge hit that Jolly Film--the production company--refused to pay Leone what it owed him from that film unless he made a sequel to it.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Mortimer smokes a meerschaum pipe throughout the movie, which is historically accurate; however, the pipe stem is obviously Lucite, a late 20th century plastic. An 1860's pipe stem would be carved of ivory, antler, or bone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Train Conductor: Tickets. Tickets, please. Tickets. Tickets. Thank you. Tickets.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Groundhog Day (1993)

The Best of "The Dollars Trilogy" and quite possibly Leone's finest film.

"For a Few Dollars More" has become the template for which most Spaghetti Westerns derive.

As Leone went along, his films got more daring and complex, exploring new ideas and raising not only the bar for Spaghetti Westerns (which, contrary to popular belief, were around before "A Fistful of Dollars") but for Westerns in general. However, this exploration at times affected the quality of his films. Leone was a popcorn director - a visual stylist who always entertained first and maybe provoked a thought or two second. However, his films were never think pieces so when he tried to integrate depth into his films the results became uneven.

"For a Few Dollars More" is his best film because it catches Leone in his most transitional period. At once the film is more complex and stylized than "A Fistful..." and more tight and efficient than "The Good, the Bad and The Ugly" (which is almost on par with "For a Few..."). The revenge sub-plot involving Colonel Mortimer is more compelling than the similar one in Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" because Mortimer is more developed as a character than the Harmonica Player (which is not to insult the great Charles Bronson).

And hell, it has Lee Van Cleef as one of the biggest bad-asses of all time. The mere presence of Colonel Douglas Mortimer elevates the film to a new level. He steals the film from "Manco" completely. And Van Cleef's theft of the film is what makes it a cut above "A Fistful...". As a character, "The Man With No Name" (who in actuality has three: Joe, Manco and Blondie) isn't very interesting and there always needs to be a counterpoint to play off of him. That's why "A Fistful..." isn't nearly as good as this film or "The Good..." (which had the great Eli Wallach in one of the best scenery munching performances ever).

So in closing, "For a Few..." is a tight masterpiece of fluff Western entertainment. It's mean, violent and immoral, just the way any good Spaghetti Western should be.