The legendary film, which set the movie circuit on fire in spaghetti western fashion, made the Sergio Leone sought after and one of the hottest names in the space, the Clint Eastwood star and gave him the lights to become one of the most important directors alive, but also him Eno Morricone the most important music composer of cinema, completes 60 years since its premiere. But it all started quite differently, as no one had believed in this “strange” and low-budget western, apart from Eastwood, the unknown actor at the time, whose pay was really “a handful of dollars”. However, if Clint had known at the time the ability of the film’s actors, he would have had to pay from his own pocket to get the legendary role of the “lone hero with no name”.

Signing with pseudonyms

The film is based on the filmYozimbo“, which was filmed three years before, in 1961, by the great Akira Kurosawa and is the first part of the “dollar trilogy”, will premiere in 1964, with only the then almost unknown Clint Eastwood in the credits, since all the other actors had chose to sign with pseudonyms! Sergio Leone as Bob Robertson, Ennio Morricone as Leo Nichols, cinematographer Massimo Dalamano as Jack Dalmas and co-star and already established European actor Gian Maria Volode as John Wells.

Renaissance

The extremely low-budget film, produced in Italy and Spain, will be the first in a series of Spaghetti Westerns, for more than ten years, a genre that Sergio Corbucci honored at the time, the great Sam Peckinpah and Don Siegel entered its spirit, Clint Eastwood himself and many years later, Quentin Tarantino. It was also the last attempt at reviving the beloved film genre, as the classic western had been virtually over since the late 60s.

Spaghetti

The opportunity to join forces with the three main contributors – Leone, Eastwood and Morricone – but also the will that the classic western had begun to become dangerously tired of the principles and values ​​of American ideals, brought the spaghetti western to the surface. The main features are the hero with the unknown and controversial past, the rampage of violence, the decadent atmosphere, the ambiguous characters, the distinctive music, the oblique shots, but also that they are basically shot by Italian directors, with technical honors and minor roles from Spaniards.

Clint’s Faith and Carambolas

Here, it is worth mentioning that Clint Eastwood, the only one who believed in the film, was not the first choice for the role of the “man with no name”, which he finally got after incredible failures. Leone had offered the role to James Coburn, who demanded an exorbitant fee, while the second choice was Charles Bronson, who had rejected the script as unacceptable. Even Richard Harris did not want to participate and suggested Eric Fleming, who eventually cast Clint Eastwood.

Unparalleled style

The tall and charming actor, who until then was playing roles in Western television series, grabbing the opportunity given to him by Leone, will be responsible for the inimitable style of the central hero. He bought the dark jeans at a shop on Hollywood Boulevard, found the hat in Santa Monica, wore the same unwashed poncho in all three movies (followed by Duel in El Paso and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). , while he enthusiastically adopted the Italian director’s idea of ​​having a cigar permanently in his mouth, even though he himself did not smoke.

Wild West

Sergio Leone, who made very few films, as he died prematurely at the age of 59, until 1964 had directed only two productions, the most famous being “The Colossus of Rhodes” with Rory Calhoun. Leone will take Kurosawa’s story and transfer it to the “Wild West” with austerity and without creating demands for parallel readings and hidden messages. A lone man, passing through a run-down and almost deserted village on the border with Mexico, will take advantage of the conflict between two factions of outlaws and, using their strife and greed as a resource, will exterminate them, bringing peace and tranquility to village, leaving it in an unknown direction. The iconic title, after all, says it all about the timeless madness of money.

Genius direction

And only from the first shots we understand that we are not dealing with the westerns we were used to seeing. A small child looking for his mother will be chased away by a gang bravo. He kicks it, shoots it around the legs and curses it. Already, Leone has ignited the viewer’s emotions, ignited their interest, while his original sarcasm will be maintained until the end. With sophisticated and highly stylized shots, framing in detail, but also in Eastwood’s face and unfolding his story with a special economy, he will win the bet and create a legend, an entire film genre.

The conductor

But before the first shots of Leone, there is something that will mark us forever. It is the unprecedented and amazing score of Ennio Morricone. A score he wrote before filming, at Leone’s request, since he wanted to direct while listening to the music. The unique Roman composer, for the first time, will introduce whistles, bells, Italian folk instruments, inspired wind instruments and shrill strings and compose them magically. Because if Leone’s spaghetti westerns were wonderful, Morricone’s music made them immortal.

Legendary movie

Sergio Leone, who rose to the top with the spaghetti western masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West, would leave early in 1989, but he had time to leave his mark on cinema forever. Ennio Morricone would go on to have a long and admirable career, becoming a leading film composer without any doubt, while Clint Eastwood, the only one still alive and still active behind and in front of the camera, would build a personal legend and an untold fortune thanks to the now classic film “For a Handful of Dollars”. A legendary film, which as the years go by, we believe with certainty that it would never have had this success if even one of its three main contributors was missing.