I'm new to Leone. Recently watched Once Upon a Time in the West and was absolutely spellbound. That got me stoked to catch up on what I always hear celebrated as a classic, but good lord, Fistful of Dollars is tough to watch. It has its moments of humor and Clint Eastwood cool, but it has a paper-thin story and just way too much absurdity for me to suspend disbelief. There's very little tension or suspense, just ridiculous and repetitive montages of bloodless shootings with guys grabbing their backs and falling over. For the most part it's nicely shot, but the day-for-night scenes and poor dubbing just makes it all seem farcical. It's weirdly paced and drags in a way that the significantly longer Once Upon A Time... does not. In the latter, character and plot are slowly revealed in a way that keeps one invested. Here we have a nameless dude with a barely-hinted-at traumatic past carrying the narrative weight, and I just didn't care. The Morricone score is iconic and might account for the indelible imprint this film has made on the culture, but it just feels like this is a case where the reputation far exceeds the reality. I kept looking for a way to watch it at 1.5x speed but I guess that’s not an option on Amazon. I toughed it out till the end, hoping for redemption, but it just got stupider and stupider. Was this intended as a satire? It’s so over the top and illogical that’s the only reading that makes sense, but I think people do really take this seriously. I like silly genre films, but this one just feels tired and dated, no fun at all.