To think of the American western or traditional western, brings visions of the good guy the cowboy who saves the day and the rides away or the sheriff who protects the town and gets the lady. Those were the simpler scenes when it is easy to differentiate between the good and bad guys. The motives and morals were clear as was the setting, the mood or tone and format of the filming.
Those were movies that represented a different and simpler time in America and the movies romanticized those times. The Westward expansion of U. S. ivilization gave rise to a distinctive view of what a man should be and how he should relate to the world: a self-reliant outsider who defends himself and others with a gun, who prefers the wilderness to civilization, and who, if he must associate with others, prefers the company of men to that of women? (Redclay & Frieden, 2015). It was also during the 1960s that the view of the western began to change.
The cultural values of the time was reflected in the narrative theory or story quality, the formula of the film and the mythology. In these movies the heroes are violent, silent, sometimes exploitive, cruel, and dark. However, I do believe there is a hidden classical dimension to them. I will discuss and give an analysis of these elements in the Sergio Leone/Clint Eastwood film, A Fistful of Dollars. Context The 1960s were a time of change in the United States. Revolutionary and anarchistic movements in the country as a response to disapproval of the involvement in the Vietnam conflict began to take root. No longer content to trust in and believe in the government and its policies, people were taking to the streets in protest.
They were dissatisfied with the pursuit of success and the capitalist and materialistic culture. The American society became more jaded and more individualistic. American cinema was changing during this time as well and reflecting the mood of the world. Among the genres undergoing transition during this time, the Western was perhaps the greatest barometer? the genre long seen as most uniquely American, most assuredly linked to the national character and mythology, seemed to be evolving into a new, rougher beast? (McClain, 2010, p. 52).
This was no more evident than in the Sergio Leone westerns. These films were in stark contrast to the beauty and morality of the Ford Westerns of the 1950s. This new breed of Western was loud and brash with extreme amounts of violence and gore. ?The detachment in the Italian? s approach allowed them to portray a sometimes more truthful, more realistic and ultimately more brutal version of the Wild West? (Broughton, 2000). The transition from the stereotypical good cowboy or sheriff ingrained in the society changed into the professional gunfighter, the loner.
It was a rougher depiction of the western life with the depiction of the reluctant or anti-hero who was personified as bounty hunters, bandits and professional gunslingers. ?Whereas in Hollywood films the proper etiquette is to calm the situation, in Italian films the protagonist aims to provoke violence as much as possible? (Vahdani, 2010). Gone is the stoic hero with the unfaltering morals that emphasized honor and sacrifice. Narrative or Story Quality Along with the changes in the context, the narration changed as well in these films. The narrative fidelity itself, however, does match that of classical westerns.
The narration in these films does embody experiences of the time. The United States is embroiled in an unwanted war and the people were adopting a more individual whats in it for me? attitude and this is reflected in these movies as well. However, critics of the time were not happy with the change in the tone or narrative story of these new westerns.
A film critic for the New York Times during the time said of the film, Just about every Western clich? that went with the old formula of the cool and mysterious gunslinger who blows into an evil frontier town and takes on the wicked, greedy varmints, knocking them off one by one, is in this gregiously synthetic but engrossingly morbid, violent film, put together as an Italian-German-Spanish co-production and shot for the most part in Spain? (Crowther, 1967).
The movie A Fistful of Dollars had coherence and fidelity. The story of a loner who was selfishly looking to make money pitted two ? gangs? against each other while he played the middle. This is a personification of the United States at the time of the conflict. The country was involved in a conflict across the sea between two warring nations in the hopes of winning and gaining something of value for the country or the government.
The movie was a mirror into what Europeans and specifically Italian filmmakers such as Leone though of Americans, depicting them as selfish manipulators who only were interested in making money and our own selfish gains. However, he also recognized the audience? s wishes for a hero. ?Joe? may not have been the typical hero from past westerns. He did have decency for the innocents. He was out for himself at first in order to make money off the turmoil in the town, but he did have good qualities such as aiding in the release of Marisol and her family.
The New York Times critic also wrote, It is notable that the lanky gringo who rides into San Miguel and virtually depopulates the area before he rides out again is in no way devoted to justice or aiding the good against the bad? (Crowther, 1967). I disagree with this statement. ?Joe? did not depopulate the area itself. There is the implication that there are towns people other than the Baxters and Rojas, however, they keep to themselves and hide. The gringo only removed the evil factions of the town. Originally he plays them against each other and he stays in the middle pretending he is with the other, however, after seeing the soldier massacre his intentions change.
The entire storyline is for him to pit the two against each other into the ultimate showdown so that they can dispatch each other instead of hurting the innocents in the town. Often in the classical westerns the hero will meet his opposite. This person is a mirror of him in skills and he must be destroyed. This is the case in Tombstone, High Noon, Rio Grande and other films where you will see the hero has one individual who is proficient with his weapon and must be defeated. This person is much like the hero in many professional attributes except intention. This is no exception in A Fistful of Dollars.
Additionally, the setting is of importance to the narrative fidelity of the Western films. In this film, the setting is different from the age old setting of the old west. It is set in what is believed to be a small town on the border of Mexico. The look town itself speaks a great deal to the cohesiveness of the film. The streets themselves are empty which makes the town look like a ghost town without inhabitants. The emptiness of the setting itself symbolizes the emptiness of the town and the society as there is no love or joy, no humility or sacrifice and no law.
The leader of the Baxter clan identifies himself as sheriff, however, he is without morals himself as he enforces no civil actions or rule. The sets themselves are also portraying the mood for the film. The sets contribute immensely to this portrayal by being simple and white, like the pale face of the dead person who rides horse back into the town. It can also be said that this whiteness is a fa? ade concealing the dark side of a town destroyed and corrupted as the result of gang wars? (Vahdani, 2010). The direction of the shooting of the film also lead to cohesiveness in the story.
The director purposely shot from different angles to aid in telling the story. The music was purposely chosen and added drama to the film. ?Leone? s particularly stulish approach (extreme close ups, silent pauses, clever editing, unusual camera angles, held shots, inventive composition and framing along with great costumes and sets) was easily noticed? (Broughton, 2000). These factors not only added truthfulness to the setting and context of the film but gave it validity. Cultural Values As discussed previously, the culture in this country was changing in the sixties and some of the values changing as well.
However, true to the classical western depiction, everyone still wants the ? hero? to have moralist integrity. ?Joe? comes into town by himself after witnessing one of the Rojas men kick Marisol? s husband and child out of town. He hears that he will be able to make money in the town if he can employ his gun or if not that he will be killed. He is the selfish individual that Europeans see in Americans.
He is only in the town to serve himself, in the beginning. Many critics believe that he destroyed the town for his own ersonal gain and after killing all of the evil men, he left with the money he made. I, however, would like to point to the fact that he saved Marisol and her family and he also saved the bar keeper. When he left, the town was rid of the evil that was in charge and he left the gold. He has elements of the classic western hero, however, they are disguised until the end. In fact, in the case of Marisol, you actually see a glimpse of what has caused him to become a loner.
When Marisol asks him why he is helping her he responds, I knew someone like you. No one was there to help her? Leone, 1964). Joe? s response to Marisol, I believe, shows that he is very much like the average person and that in his past he was a simple man who did not have his gun skills. He had someone who needed the help of a hero and no one was there for her and she was lost. Thus, this is the reason for his selfish, individual lifestyle. I think this exchange illustrates that he is lost himself and it makes him relatable for the audience.
If this exchange is seen as, an admission of self-defeat, then helping Marisol allows him to overcome personal demons and violence as much as possible? Vahdani, 2010). Another cultural value illustrated in the film is the belief that Americans are greedy and materialistic. This is shown throughout the film when ? Joe? manipulates the two gangs into fighting within each other. He begins with the graveyard scene where he gives information for a price to the Baxters that they hope will allow them to implicate the Rojas in the murder and then he collects a fee from the Rojas by telling them that the Baxters have found survivors of the massacre and are meeting them at the cemetery.
In my opinion he was setting the two rival factions up to fight each other, however, the collecting of the fee was to make it legitimate. Each of the groups was suspicious of him, by collecting a fee which they expected than it made the information that he was giving them plausible. Nevertheless, by observing that one person has all the money at the end, viewers can infer that when a society is in trouble, those who can stand for themselves will survive? (Vahdani, 2010). This is a cultural and moral less that it is important to be able to be independent and be able to answer to oneself in order to survive.
If the viewer can achieve this in their own life than they can be the hero for someone else. Mythology The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a myth as, ? a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon? (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2015). In other words, a myth explains to people their origins or where they came from and represents that culture? s ideals, values and morals.
The Western is important in the American culture as it, ? elps us develop our identity as a people and understand where we come from? (Secchiaroli, 2015). The film Fistful of Dollars takes the ancient western myth and gives it an update the film reflects the culture of the time in which it was filmed. The ? hero? is a reluctant hero, however, he does have values in that he wants to help the innocents of the town. One of the myths of the western is the hero as savior and also the myth of outlaws vs. civilization. The hero rides into town and saves the town and its inhabitants from evil.
This is observed in this film. ?Joe? s a gunslinger there to seek his fortune, however, he does form a bond with the bar keeper and the coffin maker and wants to rid the town of the two evil factions. He devises a way to do this while making money for himself. This may be viewed as American ingenuity. Another myth through western films is that of the setting. The setting is generally in nature. In the Ford films the setting was Monument Valley. It was the backdrop for his films and leant itself to the portrayal of the old west. In his film although it is filmed in Spain, the myth of nature is still evident.
The first shootout is at the river between the Rojas and the cavalry. The second is in the cemetery between the Baxters and the Rojas. The use of nature enables the telling of the story. The men are one horses and are galloping through the desert on their way to a pivotal scene. The myth of conflicts being resolved through gun fighting is evident throughout the film just as classical westerns.
The hero himself uses a pistol as is seen throughout Westerns. It is expected for the hero to use a six shooter and to be quick on the draw. Joe? in fact has a dialogue with Ramon from the Rojas about the superiority of the weapon. ?(To Ramon) When the man with a 45 meets the man with a rifle, you said, the man with a pistol is a dead man. Let? s see if it? s true. Go ahead, load up and shoot? (Leone, 1964). The Man with No Name heroes were a departure from the heroes of previous westerns however, they still have classical dimension to them. The context, narrative, cultural values and mythology of the westerns that came before are reflected in these films.
The films themselves speak to the times in which the film is made. The hero himself is more independent and perhaps isolated from civilization which also reflected the feelings of the American people at the time. There were times when his hero was the anti-hero and displayed behaviors that were not classical, however, they served a purpose. In the end he saves the innocents or the townspeople from the evil. Just like many classical westerns after the bad guys are gone, he finds that he cannot stay in that town and rides off into the sunset.
