For a Few Dollars More (1965)

Two bounty hunters go after the same target in the second film in Leone's Dollars Trilogy. Clint is the first of them, doing what he did before with an equal amount of unhurried, casual style. Lee Van Cleef is the other, dressed almost entirely in black attire and having a particular fondness for rifles.
Without a Kurosawa script to plunder the film plods along like a lame mule while it splits time across three different approaches to a single event. Leone enjoyed long-drawn narratives but it's fair to say the plotting was in need of refinement. Nevertheless, the well-drawn characters and cinematography are strong enough to keep viewer-interest until the threads come together. Plus, Morricone’s amazing score helps keep everything on track when Leone can't.

3½ long shots out of 5

A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

An unsanctioned remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo (1961) gave Sergio Leone the story he needed to craft one of the finest westerns I've ever seen.
Budgetary constraints were the second factor. Open vistas and extreme close-ups were used to hide the failings of the film stock, which worked in the film's favour, emerging as some of its most defining attributes.
No one looks as bad-ass as Clint does in a poncho. He plays the anti-hero with stubble so stubbly it could polish a diamond. Like the yojimbo character he strolls into town and casually sets up camp between two warring factions. He says very little but manages to be utterly engaging.

4½ short cigars out of 5