Today Is the Perfect Day to Watch Clint Eastwood’s ‘For a Few Dollars More’

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Sergio Leone’s 1964 film, A Fistful of Dollars, didn’t initially receive much attention or praise. However, despite being a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, it proved successful enough to warrant a follow-up. That follow-up was For a Few Dollars More, a particularly fitting title for a remarkably good sequel.

Released in 1965, For a Few Dollars More is a standout Western from early in Clint Eastwood’s career. When people talk about The Man With No Name Trilogy, the conversation often focuses on the first and last films, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This middle installment sometimes gets overlooked, but it’s a fantastic movie in its own right. Though it didn’t begin the series, nor did it have the epic scope of the final film, For a Few Dollars More is a dark and gripping story, notable for its complex plot and the strong performances from Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef.

‘For a Few Dollars More’ Is the Underrated and Overlooked Middle Chapter in the Trilogy


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In places where life was cheap, death sometimes became a commodity. This led to the rise of bounty hunters.

As a huge fan of these films, I always loved the opening title card – it really sets the stage for what’s to come. While A Fistful of Dollars introduced us to Clint Eastwood’s cool, calculating gunslinger playing two sides against each other, For a Few Dollars More really gets into the gritty world of bounty hunting in the Wild West. Like a lot of Spaghetti Westerns, it’s a story about revenge and what people consider justice, and it especially focuses on the villain. Gian Maria Volonté is fantastic as El Indio, the leader of a truly ruthless gang, and you quickly learn he’s a deeply troubled man with a painful history.

I really think For a Few Dollars More stands out in the Dollars Trilogy because of its villain – he’s so complex! Eastwood’s character and Van Cleef’s Colonel Mortimer are both after him, and it’s a much more layered pursuit than in the other two films. It really showed how great Leone was at building relationships between characters, something he’d perfect later in Once Upon a Time in the West, but you can see the beginnings of it here. The way Manco and Mortimer play Indio, constantly shifting between working with and against each other, trying to gain his trust before making their move… it’s just brilliant.

The movie largely focuses on Indio’s plan to rob The Bank of El Paso, and how Mortimer assists Manco in going undercover to gain Indio’s confidence. Throughout the story, flashbacks and a recurring music box suggest Indio is burdened by a troubled past. This is arguably the bleakest installment of the series, revealing Indio’s dependence on drugs to cope with a terrible act he committed against a young woman years ago. This secret is what ultimately links Indio and Mortimer, while Manco is simply trying to claim the reward for Indio’s capture.

With ‘For a Few Dollars More,’ Sergio Leone Hones His Unique Visual Style


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Clint Eastwood’s For a Few Dollars More is arguably his finest Western, largely due to its strong dynamic between Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. Unlike most of Eastwood’s films where he’s the clear focus, this one gives him a truly exceptional co-star. Their chemistry is fantastic, starting with a funny initial standoff – a playful gunfight aimed at hats that perfectly shows their contrasting styles and the film’s core themes – and continuing through every scene where they collaborate, ultimately enriching the story.

Leone’s filmmaking style in this movie builds on the techniques used in A Fistful of Dollars, but with more impact. He uses dramatic close-ups, stretches out moments of quiet tension before sudden violence, and captures the vastness of the Wild West. Adding to this is Ennio Morricone’s score, which is particularly important to the film’s story and the connection between the characters Indio and Mortimer, even compared to his other films.

A key symbol in the film is the music box carried by Indio, which represents a tragic event – his role in a woman’s suicide. The filmmakers cleverly blend the music box’s sound with the film’s score, sometimes making it seem like it’s part of the scene and other times adding it as a separate musical element. This woman was the sister of Mortimer, fueling a powerful quest for revenge. The music box becomes central to the final showdown between the two men, and Ennio Morricone’s score feels like another character in the story. The duel is visually stunning, captured in a single, sweeping shot that shows all three characters – Indio, Mortimer, and Manco – together.

‘For a Few Dollars More’ Has All the Great Hallmarks of a Classic Western Movie


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Now is a great time to watch For a Few Dollars More (streaming on MGM+), especially as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. Beyond that, the film is a good example of how sequels can be done well. While many modern movies aim to build massive, interconnected universes and set up huge follow-ups, For a Few Dollars More takes a different approach. It’s a sequel that doesn’t try to be bigger than the first film—instead, it focuses on telling a new, more gripping story.

For a Few Dollars More is a fantastic Western with a complex villain and two fascinating main characters who aren’t simply good or evil. It’s a thrilling story filled with bounty hunters, bank robberies, and betrayals – everything you’d expect from the genre. The film was a huge success in Italy, becoming the top-grossing movie by 1967, though it initially received mixed reviews. Today, it’s considered a classic and is often hailed as Clint Eastwood’s finest Western.

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2025-12-18 16:20