A Fistful of Dollars

Mise en Scene is a very important part of filmmaking, without it there isn’t a movie.  It is all the elements placed in front of the camera: setting, costumes, lighting, and figure gesture.  When watching a movie, often time’s motifs of mise en scene repeat themselves. This is because a director places everything in a specific spot for the viewer to see, and it has meaning. Sergio Leone was a masterful director, and brought new mise en scene techniques to a genre he helped pioneer, the Spaghetti Western. This genre emerged in the late 1960s in Italy, and was very different from the American Western. The mise en scene was different, but still included some elements from traditional Westerns.

            Perhaps the most groundbreaking Spaghetti Western was A Fistful of Dollars. It was released in 1964 to critical acclaim, and pioneered the genre to the world, to which there would be many more films made in the same way. The protagonist is Joe, “The Man with no Name,” (Clint Eastwood), arrives in a Mexican border town, which is a ghost town. Unknowing of what he is getting into, he is warned by a man that the town is full of trouble. However, he goes in on horseback, and is greeted by something that will occur often throughout the movie, gunshots.

            Sergio Leone created a brutal, more realistic Western with his camerawork.  Joe is unlike any Western movie “hero”. He emphasizes intense moments with extreme close ups, but before these moments scenic shots occur. These extreme close ups of the eyes of the characters show that Joe is no different than any of the so called “bad guys”. He is an anti-hero, only doing what he can to make money in the situation he came into.  The mise en scene is set up to show the realistic violence of the Western world.

            The last fifteen minutes or so in the movie is when it comes to a climatic ending. We see Joe alone in a mineshaft, shooting his revolver. This revolver is perhaps his most famous motif; as he always has it by his side. Unlike any other parts in the film, he was just beaten up, so he is in rough shape. Attached shadows cover his face and it is one of the only shots to appear like this. Most of the others are low key, high contrast lighting. This is because the sun is always prominent in most scenes, and provides much of the light. In Joes mouth is a cigar, which was also a motif that appears throughout the movie. Rarely is smoke seen coming from it; it is usually just in his mouth, in between his teeth. Joe remains in the mineshaft for around 4 minutes running time, where he is building a bullet proof vest, seemingly for his final showdown. All the shots are dark.

            In the next scene, the low key high contrast lighting returns. Silvanito (Jose Calvo) is being tortured by Ramon (Gian Volonte), hanging from the same pole that Joe grabbed onto to hop off his horse. The scene is brief, as Joe appears again in the mine, in the shadows talking to Piripero (Joseph Egger), the coffin builder. He gives Joe dynamite, something which appeared in the film earlier, used by Ramon. Silvanito is seen again, in the same hanging position. Ramon puts a cigar in Silvanito’s mouth, similar to those smoked by Joe. The men are all surrounding him, evenly spaced out, laughing as they watch Ramon torture him. Ramon uses his rifle to strike Silvanito. This is a motif, because Ramon is closely associated with the Winchester rifle throughout the film.

            In the same scene, the final minutes come to a start. A big bang is heard from afar, and all the characters look towards it. This is a wide scenic shot, which usually means something is about to occur, a set up. Close ups occur of Ramon and his brothers, something which happens throughout the movie quite often. All the characters know something is about to occur, and fear is in their eyes. A shot of Ramon’s perspective occurs, and smoke is in the air, and in comes Joe walking towards the center of the town. This is the same way he entered the town in the beginning of the movie. There are more close ups of all the “bad” guys, as they peer at Joe. Joe appears in the center of the next shot, and he is in closer range, standing still. He walks in closer to them all. The camera is shooting from a very low perspective, as we see only the boots and legs of Joe walking forward. Ramon’s feet are seen, a close up of his spurs occur. Ramon and his gang spread out with Ramon in the center. Extreme close ups of each member are seen. Ramon points his rifle at Joe, yet he is still seen from afar. Ramon shoots Joe, who falls to the ground. Close ups of each of the characters is shown. They for the first time are relieved, because seemingly Joe cannot be alive.  But Joe does stumble up, and another close up of Ramon occurs, and he seems to be in shock. Joe continues to trot towards Silvanito, taking shot after shot from the rifle of Ramon. It is revealed that Joe had a bulletproof vest on, and he takes it off in front of them all. Thus begins the final draw in the movie.

            All the characters stand stoically, and begin a stare down. This also is a motif in westerns. Characters are trying to determine when to draw their guns.  Joe is always alone in these situations. Whereas the men he is facing always have multiple men who also have a chance to draw their guns. A close up of Joes holster is seen, then a perspective shot of all the men. Then it cuts back to Joe’s gun, and the camera comes from the angle near the gun holster. Joe quickly kills all the men surrounding Ramon. A shot of his revolver is seen, looking right at the barrel of it. The final standoff between Joe and Ramon builds up. Joe uses his trusty pistol, and Ramon his rifle. Again the lower halves of the men are shown, usually from behind the back of Joe.  Quick shots occur showing both extreme close ups of each of their guns being loaded up. Then another extreme close up of their eyes is next, in the tense moment before the final shot. Joe reacts quickest, and his shot is seen fired from behind the back of him.  Ramon stumbles, and many perspective shots occur. It seems to be a handheld, because it is very shaky and even looks up to the sun above. This is drastically different camera work that has not occurred in the film prior to this. The camera comes back down to Ramon’s face, and cuts back to him falling over onto a fountain from his perspective. Joe begins to walk towards him, but a close up of a rifle from above is seen. Joe appears to know something is wrong and begins to look to his side, but Silvanito fires his rifle first, and kills the last brother of Ramon. Blood is more visible from this final scene than in any other part of the movie.

            The man who greeted Joe upon his arrival rings the bell of the town. Prior to this it was rung as a sign of death, but now it is for a joyous occasion. Joe gets his things from Silvanitos bar, and says goodbye. He gets onto his horse and rides out of town the opposite way he came in. The camera pans up and creates a landscape shot of the town.

            One may infer that Joe is the hero of this movie. He strolls into town, and fixes a problem of two families at war. The war caused the townspeople to stay inside at all times. But Joe is an anti-hero. Because he gets a lot of money out of exploiting the situation. It is the costume of Joe that makes him seem like a hero. He is dressed up as an American cowboy, and seemingly is there in town to get rid of all the chaos, which he does. Although Joe kills in cold blood, he never hurts anyone outside of the families. He also frees Ramons captive girlfriend, and returns her to her son and husband. But the viewer is never sure if Joe does this because he wants to help, or just because it benefits him. Deep down he may be a hero, but his ways have been distorted over the years.

            The camera work shows the brutality of the West. The victims are shot within the same frame.  The intensity of each character is shown with their eyes. This is something that is not seen in most movies. One can see the fear and intensity in each of the characters eyes. Often times Joe and Ramon have the same look on their faces. This may give apathy to Ramon for some viewers. Joe walked into a situation he knew nothing about, and took it into his own hands. Joe killed people to gain money.  Leone created a film that would birth many more Spaghetti Westerns. His plot was based on a Japanese movie, but certainly translated well. It is perhaps because he created a mise en scene that was not yet seen as he displayed it.

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