Rétrospective
Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy
When Rome-born director Sergio Leone made A Fistful of Dollars, he managed to do two seemingly opposite things. The film was an unofficial remake of Kuro - sawa’s successful samurai picture Yojimbo, so it was accused of copying and plagiarism, yet it was also so novel that it also launched a completely new genre: the spaghetti western.
The Italian director’s works were more operatic, intense, and gritty than traditional American westerns, focusing on anti-heroes rather than clearcut good-versus-evil stories. His mastery of widescreen mise-en-scène, inspired partly by Kurosawa’s meticulous visuals, and his collaboration with composer Ennio Morricone elevated familiar stories to new heights, often using music to enhance the stories about characters who speak little.
Clint Eastwood’s protagonist – later marketed as ‘the Man with No Name’ in the U.S. – actually represents three distinct characters across the trilogy comprised of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Each film stands alone but watching them in chro - nological order reveals Leone’s increasingly bold and risk-taking direction.
Of all the features made in the heyday of 20th century Italian and even European cinema, it is perhaps Leone’s Dollars Trilogy that most clearly warrants a big-screen – and big-sound! – viewing, to better immerse the viewer in a world in which nothing is simply black-and-white.
Sergio Leone
Cinémathèque @Théâtre des Capucins
9 Pl. du Théâtre, L-2613 Ville-Haute Luxembourg
Programme
Lu 03 | 11 à 20h30 : A Fistful of Dollars
Per un pugno di dollari Italie-Espagne-Allemagne 1964 | Sergio Leone | vostFR | 99' | digital | Cast : Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Josef Egger, Wolfgang Lukschy, Gian Maria Volontè ► Restored by Cineteca di Bologna
Ve 07 | 11 à 20h30 : Yojimbo (The direct inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars)
Yojinbo Japon 1961 | Akira Kurosawa | vostFR | 110' | digital | Cast : Toshiro Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yoko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Kato | 12+ ► Best Costume Design nominee, Oscars 1962 ; Best Actor (Mifune), Venice Film Festival 1961 ► 4K Restoration
Di 09 | 11 à 19h30 : For a Few Dollars More
Per qualche dollaro in più Italie-Espagne-Allemagne 1965 | Sergio Leone | vostFR | 132' | digital | Cast : Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp, Klaus Kinski, Luigi Pistilli ► Restored by Cineteca di Bologna
Di 23 | 11 à 10h00 : The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo Italie-Espagne-Allemagne 1966 | Sergio Leone | vostFR | 179' | digital | Cast : Clint Eastwood, Elli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli ► 4K Restoration







