Dollars Trilogy
Dollars Trilogy, also known as the Man with No Name Trilogy or the Blood Money Trilogy, is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Western films directed by Sergio Leone. The films are titled A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Their English versions were distributed by United Artists, while the Italian ones were distributed by Unidis and PEA.
The series has become known for establishing the Spaghetti Western genre, and inspiring the creation of many more Spaghetti Western films. The three films are consistently listed among the best rated Western films in history.
Although not Leone's intention, the three films came to be considered a trilogy following the exploits of the same so-called "Man with No Name". The "Man with No Name" concept was invented by the American distributor United Artists, looking for a strong angle to sell the films as a trilogy. Eastwood's character does indeed have a name and a different one in each film: "Joe", "Manco" and "Blondie", respectively.
Films
''[A Fistful of Dollars]'' (''Per un pugno di dollari'', 1964)
The first film has the Man with No Name arriving, for unexplained reasons, in the Mexico–United States border town of San Miguel, base of two rival smuggling families, the Rojos and the Baxters, that the Man with No Name decides to play against each other by collecting prizes for giving informations, capturing prisoners and killing men, while also helping a woman held captive by the ruthless Ramòn Rojo, her husband and their son to escape. He ends being discovered by the Rojos, being tortured, and escaping. The Rojos massacre the unarmed Baxters while searching for him, who hides away from the town helped by Piripero. He returns as the Rojos prepare to hang the local innkeeper Silvanito, cold-bloodedly kills Don Miguel Rojo, uses his last bullet to free Silvanito and engages and kills Ramòn in a gunslinging duel. After the last remaining Rojo brother, Esteban, is killed by Silvanito while trying to snipe from a window, the Man with No Name, knowing that both governments will investigate, departs from the now-peaceful town.''[For a Few Dollars More]'' (''Per qualche dollaro in più'', 1965)
The second film introduces the Man with No Name as a bounty hunter killing bandits for money, as well as Colonel Douglas Mortimer, a more elder bounty hunter hunting for the same criminals. Both searching for the psychopathic Mexican bandit known as "El Indio", who just escaped from jail, they initially rival each other, but then understand that, in order to kill him, they must work together. Manco infiltrates El Indio's gang, while Mortimer acts from the outside. Manco discovers El Indio's elaborate plot to rob the Bank of El Paso, and is forced to take part in it. Later, El Indio transfers his gang to Agua Caliente, Mexico, where the two steal the money to take it back to the Bank. El Indio discovers their plot, but lets them escape as part of an operation to murder all but one of his associates. In the end, Manco discovers that Mortimer's hunt for El Indio is far more personal than his one, and lets him kill the bandit personally in a duel. Mortimer lets Manco keep all the money, and, now in peace with his past, rides away.''[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly]'' (''Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo'', 1966)
In the third film, set during the American Civil War, Mexican bandit Tuco Ramírez and the Man with No Name work together to collect the bounties on the former's head and freeing him as he is to be hanged. Mercenary "Angel Eyes" is meanwhile searching for Jackson, a man who has stolen 200,000 dollars from the Confederate Army, and who is now known as "Bill Carson", while also murdering the two fellow soldiers who helped him. After dissolving their "society", Blondie is being tortured by a vengeful Tuco, when they find a Confederate carriage, with the dying Carson on board. Trying to buy their help, he tells Tuco the name of the cemetery in which the gold is hidden, and Blondie the name on the grave in which it is buried, only to die in front of Blondie as Tuco has gone searching for water. The two start a long journey to the location, being arrested by Union Army soldiers and brought to a prison camp in which Angel Eyes is posing as a Sergeant. He spots Tuco posing as Carson, and tortures him into revealing the name of the cemetery. The three then race to the location of the gold, parting ways and exchanging alliances various times. In the process, Blondie successfully tricks Tuco into revealing the name of the cemetery. They all arrive at their destination, where Blondie writes the name written on the tomb on a rock and the three engage in a Mexican standoff, resulting in the death of Angel Eyes and in Blondie taking his half of the money and leaving Tuco bonded in front of his. Blondie rides in the distance as an enraged Tuco curses him extremely loudly.Development
A Fistful of Dollars is an unofficial remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film Yojimbo starring Toshiro Mifune, which resulted in a successful lawsuit by Toho.The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is considered a prequel, since it depicts Eastwood's character gradually acquiring the clothing he wears throughout the first two films and because it takes place during the American Civil War, whereas the other two films feature comparatively more modern firearms and other props. For example, Lee Van Cleef's character in For a Few Dollars More appears to be a Confederate veteran who has come down in the world, and a graveyard scene in A Fistful of Dollars features a gravestone dated 1873.
Cast
The only actors to appear in all three films besides Eastwood are Mario Brega, Aldo Sambrell, Benito Stefanelli and Lorenzo Robledo. Four other actors each appear twice in the trilogy, playing different characters: Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volonté, Luigi Pistilli, and Joseph Egger. Despite this, only Eastwood seemingly portrays the same character through the three films.Music
Composer Ennio Morricone provided original music score for all three films, although in A Fistful of Dollars he was credited as "Dan Savio."Principal cast
Crew
Reception
Critical reception
Box office performance
Accolades
Home media
The films had various VHS releases in Italy and in other countries, even boxed together with Leone's other Spaghetti Western films.The 1999 DVD, plus the 2010 and 2014 Blu-ray box set releases by MGM, make specific reference to the set of films as "The Man with No Name Trilogy".