Alright, let’s talk about that movie, you know, the one with the squinty-eyed fella, “A Fistful of Dollars”. People keep askin’ what kind of film they used, like it matters. Back in my day, we just watched the darn thing, didn’t care if it was made with chicken feathers or horse hair.
But fine, if you gotta know, they used somethin’ called film stock. Now, I ain’t no fancy city slicker, so I can’t tell you the exact name and number, but it was the regular kind they used back then, in the sixties. You know, before all this digital hoo-ha. This “A Fistful of Dollars,” that came out in 1964, see? That fella, Sergio Leone, he was the one yellin’ “Action!” and “Cut!”
This here movie, it’s about a fella, no name really, just kinda shows up in this dusty town. Some folks call him Joe, some call him other things, but he’s all about the money, a fistful of dollars, just like the name says. They say this movie, it wasn’t even an original idea! Some Japanese fella made a movie first, called “Yojimbo,” and the folks who made that one, they got real mad and sued. Can you believe it?
- They wanted to call it “Ray the Magnificent” at first, then “The Magnificent Stranger.”
- Sounded too fancy to me.
- “A Fistful of Dollars,” now that’s a name you can remember.
Anyways, this here Clint Eastwood, he wasn’t nobody special before this movie. He was just some actor, tryin’ to make a livin’. But this movie, it made him a star. He played this tough guy, didn’t talk much, just shot his gun and got the job done. And let me tell ya, that was somethin’ new. Before, all the heroes in movies were all goody-two-shoes, always smilin’ and doin’ the right thing. But this fella, he was different. He was kinda bad, but he was also kinda good. People liked that.
This movie, it changed things. It changed how they made westerns, made ’em more gritty, more real. And it changed how they made action heroes too. Before, heroes were all clean-cut and proper. After this, they could be rough around the edges, a little bit dirty. And it’s all because of “A Fistful of Dollars.” And that Clint Eastwood fella, he went on to make more movies, like “For a Few Dollars More” and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” They called ’em the “Dollars Trilogy.” All about money, you see.
They talk about “innovative camerawork,” whatever that means. And “gritty realism.” To me, it just looked like a dusty town and some fellas shootin’ at each other. But I guess that’s what made it special. It wasn’t all fake and fancy like them other movies. It felt real, you know? Like you were right there in that dusty town, smellin’ the gunpowder and hearin’ the bullets fly.
So, back to that film stock. Like I said, I don’t know the fancy name, but it was the stuff they used back then. It made the movie look kinda grainy, kinda rough. And that’s part of why it worked, you know? It wasn’t all shiny and perfect. It was raw, just like that squinty-eyed fella and the world he lived in. This film, “A Fistful of Dollars,” it showed that heroes didn’t have to be perfect, and movies didn’t have to be pretty to be good. Sometimes, a little bit of dirt and a whole lotta grit is all you need.
And that’s all I gotta say about that. They used whatever film they had back then, and it worked just fine. Don’t need to get all technical about it. Just watch the movie and enjoy the story. That’s what matters, ain’t it?
