Clint Eastwood in his prime! And Gian Maria Volontè. And... wait there's no Lee Van Cleef in this one. It's someone else...
@Biterrrr recommended me I get back to this 'ol classic, so here we go.
By Sergio Leone directed, from the great era of Spaghetti Westerns, in which 'The Good, The Bad, The Ugly' trilogy is maybe the most known of all, this is the first of that trilogy... though was that what they called it? That was only the final movie no? When other American stars - like Lee Van Cleef - started getting involved in the spaghetti game. Clint was a real pioneer here.
The plot's not all that complex, but it is merciless, compared to a lot of other Westerns. There's no love story. There is the damsel in distress, but she already has her man. There is however the good guy who gets handed a bad-ass whopping, but gets back on his feet again and... well, you'll see.
It still is awesome. They capture the phase of death in an innovative way too, with the blinding sun, the shakes, the landscape closing in on you... you can almost feel yourself dying in that one shot. Nicely filmed.
Eastwood's glare is one of a kind too, although everyone has a good one here. And I appreciate the old guy in the saloon, and the grave digger - slightly crazy though he may be. The cast's not too large, but not non-existent either. Up until the final showdown it actually does feel like a living town, albeit a neglected and broken one.
The only thing not really up to standards is the dialog, and acting. Characters sound unnaturally gruff sometimes. The kid seems badly dubbed... is it all dubbed, I wonder? Not Clint Eastwood surely? The soundtrack overall though: fo shizzle.
This really is a dope-ass Western still. Not with all the finesse or budgetized backdrops newer ones may have, but the atmosphere almost epitomizes the genre. I love the era! Where people were cool, were violence ruled, where people were... simple. Human nature: it's savage indeed.
rated 4/5: fo shizzle
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