Fortunately, in the ninth year of the twenty first century I seem to be a man of my word. A few weeks back I made some New Years Resolutions. And it seems that I am already making good on some of them. Or at least one of them. In accordance with Resolution #1, I have recently watched A Fistful Of Dollars which was made in 1964.
What? You've never seen it Piper? (ALLOW FOR PROLONGED GASPS)
I have not.
Seriously? You haven't? (MORE GASPS OF THE PROLONGED KIND)
Like I said, I haven't.
And you call yourself a lover of cinema?
Look, get off my back already.
The truth is I've never been much of a 'Westerns' kind of guy. Not really sure why, I just haven't. I'm sure that we all have a few skeletons in our closets as it relates to must-see classics. But what I've found is that in finally watching them, they rarely live up to the years of hype. The "I can't believe you haven't seen it" and "you must run home and watch it this instant" and "your life isn't complete without it" and "it's the most wonderful movie ever." All this praise usually leads to a letdown of the monumental kind. And then I remain silent with my criticism and walk around in a shroud of shame convinced there's something wrong with me.
This is not the case with A Fistful Of Dollars. It's a fantastic movie for all the reasons stated: great action, great scenes, Clint is a baddass, etc. But more than any of that, what really got me was composition. Frame after frame of art. The still of the moving picture. It was magnificent. And it made me realize how this craft is lost in most movies today. Too many fast cuts and shaky cameras. In an effort to appear more real or more different, we have lost the art of making movies. Please join me in celebrating these wonderful compositions.
What? You've never seen it Piper? (ALLOW FOR PROLONGED GASPS)
I have not.
Seriously? You haven't? (MORE GASPS OF THE PROLONGED KIND)
Like I said, I haven't.
And you call yourself a lover of cinema?
Look, get off my back already.
The truth is I've never been much of a 'Westerns' kind of guy. Not really sure why, I just haven't. I'm sure that we all have a few skeletons in our closets as it relates to must-see classics. But what I've found is that in finally watching them, they rarely live up to the years of hype. The "I can't believe you haven't seen it" and "you must run home and watch it this instant" and "your life isn't complete without it" and "it's the most wonderful movie ever." All this praise usually leads to a letdown of the monumental kind. And then I remain silent with my criticism and walk around in a shroud of shame convinced there's something wrong with me.
This is not the case with A Fistful Of Dollars. It's a fantastic movie for all the reasons stated: great action, great scenes, Clint is a baddass, etc. But more than any of that, what really got me was composition. Frame after frame of art. The still of the moving picture. It was magnificent. And it made me realize how this craft is lost in most movies today. Too many fast cuts and shaky cameras. In an effort to appear more real or more different, we have lost the art of making movies. Please join me in celebrating these wonderful compositions.
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