--- title: "For a Few Dollars More" year: 1965 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/for-a-few-dollars-more" fi1m_id: "for-a-few-dollars-more" imdb_id: "tt0059578" tmdb_id: 938 wikidata_id: "Q153677" fi1m_score: 85 critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 6 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:33.703569+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # For a Few Dollars More (1965) Directed by Sergio Leone · 2h 12m · MPA R · Western ## Identity For a Few Dollars More - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/for-a-few-dollars-more - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** for-a-few-dollars-more - **IMDb ID:** tt0059578 - **TMDB ID:** 938 - **Wikidata ID:** Q153677 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059578/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/938, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q153677 **Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 78 from 6 reviews *In a sentence:* Two bounty hunters shoot each other’s hats with the seriousness other men reserve for buying a house > Sergio Leone’s Western is funny, menacing and worth its leisurely pace, chiefly for Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. The loose story is a real limitation; the contest between its leads keeps us watching. ## Synopsis Clint Eastwood plays Manco and Lee Van Cleef plays Colonel Douglas Mortimer, two bounty hunters pursuing the bandit El Indio (Gian Maria Volonté). Neither hunter has the pursuit to himself, and each must assess a rival with an interest in the same quarry. Sergio Leone’s Western follows the hunters as they measure themselves against each other and their target. Klaus Kinski appears as Juan Wild, while Luigi Pistilli and Luis Rodríguez play members of Indio’s gang. Their encounters involve displays of marksmanship as well as efforts to judge what the other man might do next. ## Review Sergio Leone’s *For a Few Dollars More* is a fine Western with a story that occasionally takes too long to get on with itself. The attraction is the time it spends on men deciding how much trouble another man might be. Clint Eastwood’s Manco and Lee Van Cleef’s Colonel Douglas Mortimer are bounty hunters pursuing El Indio, played by Gian Maria Volonté. Their rivalry makes that pursuit considerably more interesting than a simple hunt for a bandit. Van Cleef supplies the resistance Eastwood needs: someone whose authority does not depend on being impressed by him. We cannot take Manco’s superiority for granted, and that uncertainty keeps the exchanges lively even when neither man seems inclined to hurry. Eastwood’s reserve is funny because Van Cleef can answer it without fuss. Both performances invite us to enjoy the calculation behind the calm, though Van Cleef gives us more to wonder about. The film benefits every time it lets the pair occupy our attention together. The hat-shooting standoff makes a fair account of Leone’s priorities. A display of marksmanship becomes an absurdly elaborate way of refusing to back down, and he gives the joke time to grow. We laughed at how long these men were prepared to keep shooting hats just to avoid admitting defeat. Their vanity is as enjoyable as their accuracy. Stretching such business out could easily make it tiresome, but here the duration makes the rivalry funny. Massimo Dallamano’s widescreen framing gives these confrontations room, while the close-ups make the faces worth examining for signs of doubt. The sweat and roughness matter: polished heroes would look wrong in these images. Carlo Simi’s costume design helps the figures remain distinct amid all that competitive posing. Editors Giorgio Serrallonga and Eugenio Alabiso make the waiting readable, allowing us to weigh the men against each other rather than merely anticipate a gunshot. The cutting is most effective when a small detail can hold our attention without another piece of plot arriving. Ennio Morricone’s elaborate score is a good match for confrontations that have little interest in plausible behaviour. Its extravagance makes the prolonged threats feel important enough to justify the delay, and Leone is right to give it so much room. Volonté’s El Indio supplies a more openly threatening presence than either hunter, a welcome change after so much practised composure. Klaus Kinski, as Juan Wild, adds another face that commands attention before we have sorted out its importance. The supporting cast keeps the succession of encounters from becoming anonymous. The weakness is the joining-up. Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone’s screenplay gives individual confrontations more weight than the movement between them, so the next encounter can seem more important than why anyone is having it. At 132 minutes, the film has stretches where patience gets less of a return. We would happily lose some of that connecting material, though not the pauses that let a contest become ridiculous or dangerous. Anyone waiting for the pursuit to acquire a brisk, steady rhythm is likely to grow restless. As a Western, it gets unusual mileage from letting dangerous men look faintly ridiculous. The hunters’ readiness to compete over something as petty as a hat makes their company more enjoyable, without giving us much reason to consider them decent. We recommend it for the humour as much as the menace, with some tolerance required for the wandering story. Allow it the evening, but do not expect anyone to get straight to the point. *Fi1m score 85, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to Sergio Leone’s Western, with praise clustering around his handling of confrontations, close-up detail and larger-than-life characters. The pairing of Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef gives the bounty-hunting story a rivalry that keeps its loyalties uncertain. The reviews particularly value the prolonged shoot-outs and playful exchanges, while the Western imagery, distinctive supporting faces and Ennio Morricone’s elaborate score add to the film’s appeal. Plot matters less to these admirers than the pleasure of individual scenes. Reservations concern both the storytelling and the violence, though the spread is wide rather than mildly divided. Empire admires the scenes while finding that they do not form a tightly plotted story; Variety praises the action but considers the film somewhat overlong. The New York Times is the clear dissenter, treating the elaborate shooting and killing as an indulgence of bloodlust rather than a source of enjoyment. ## Straight answers **Is For a Few Dollars More worth watching?** *For a Few Dollars More* is worth watching for anyone who enjoys a Western that lets its gunmen posture at length, and we scored it 85. Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef's rivalry is funny and menacing, and Ennio Morricone's score earns the long pauses. The story wanders between confrontations, so allow it the full evening. **How long is For a Few Dollars More, and what is it rated?** *For a Few Dollars More* runs 2h 12m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a western film. **Where can I watch For a Few Dollars More in the US?** *For a Few Dollars More* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Pluto TV and Apple TV in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. It leaves The Roku Channel on 1 October. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is For a Few Dollars More, and is it suitable for children?** *For a Few Dollars More* carries a UK 15 certificate and is a Western about bounty hunters and a bandit, so gunfire and killing are its business rather than incidental. The review finds it more menacing than gory, with much of the tension in men staring each other down, but it is not for children. Older teenagers should manage it. **How does For a Few Dollars More compare to Yojimbo?** *For a Few Dollars More* is the looser and more leisurely of the two, while [*Yojimbo*](https://film.one/film/yojimbo) is the tighter and more sharply staged. Both rely on a calculating outsider whose dry humour makes the violence more alarming. Choose Leone's film for the Eastwood and Van Cleef rivalry and Morricone's extravagance; choose Kurosawa's for clearer action and Toshirō Mifune's performance. **What should I watch after For a Few Dollars More?** After *For a Few Dollars More*, try [*Yojimbo*](https://film.one/film/yojimbo) (1961, Fi1m 88): Another calculating outsider whose dry humour makes the violence more alarming. Then [*The Mission*](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986) (1986, Fi1m 64): Morricone’s music accompanies another violent reckoning with loyalty and conscience; and [*The Proposition*](https://film.one/film/the-proposition) (2005, Fi1m 79): An Australian Western with patient menace and violence that refuses to flatter. ### Reviews we read (7) - **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (5/5): The second instalment of Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy is arguably the best and most influential of the three. While the pursuit of bandit Gian Maria Volonté by bounty hunters Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef forms the core of the action, it's the attention to everyday detail and the symbols of a passing era that give this operatic classic its distinctive aura. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ao9kge/for-a-few-dollars-more/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a gloriously greasy, sweaty, hairy, bloody and violent Western that is delicious. He singles out its larger-than-life, melodramatic situations and drawn-out shoot-outs for praise over conventional plotting. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/for-a-few-dollars-more-1967) - **The AV Club**, Mike D'Angelo (85/100, inferred): The review praises the film for giving Eastwood a worthy rival in Van Cleef, creating genuine tension and uncertainty about who is the hero. It singles out the extended hat-shooting standoff as a highlight of Leone's playful yet masterful direction. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/for-a-few-dollars-more-1798227467) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a string of individually outstanding scenes rather than a tightly plotted story, but praises its wealth of marvellous Western imagery, grotesque-comic business, Ennio Morricone’s baroque score, iconic stars and unforgettable supporting faces. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dollars-per-qualche-dollari-piu-review/) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (75/100, inferred): The review deems it a hard-hitting western and topnotch action entry from the Italo stable. It praises Leone’s bigger-than-life style combining upfront action and closeup details, along with literate dialogue, while noting the film is somewhat overlong. [Read](https://variety.com/1965/film/reviews/for-a-few-dollars-more-2-1117791012/) - **The New York Times** (40/100, inferred): The review presents the film as a synthetic Italian-Spanish Western that indulges bloodlust through fancy flourishes of shooting and killing. It notes the cool-cat image of Eastwood repeated from the prior film but highlights the conglomerate stimuli of dread, danger, and vivid violence. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1967/07/04/archives/screen-for-few-dollars-more-openstranslux-west-shows-new-eastwood.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole: The often-overlooked middle film in Leone’s Dollars trilogy is hailed as a taut, nasty thriller where the director finds his singular voice. It singles out the atmospheric Scope framing, psychosexual elements, and bleak vision of revenge and bounty hunting for praise. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/for-a-few-dollars-more-4k-uhd-review-sergio-leone/) ## Details - **Director:** Sergio Leone - **Director:** Sergio Leone - **Screenplay:** Sergio Leone, Luciano Vincenzoni - **Story:** Sergio Leone, Fulvio Morsella - **Cinematography:** Massimo Dallamano - **Editor:** Eugenio Alabiso, Giorgio Serrallonga - **Music:** Ennio Morricone - **Costume design:** Carlo Simi - **Producer:** Arturo González, Alberto Grimaldi - **Cast:** Clint Eastwood as Manco; Lee Van Cleef as Col. Douglas Mortimer; Gian Maria Volonté as El Indio; Mara Krupp as Mary; Luigi Pistilli as Groggy, Member of Indio's Gang; Klaus Kinski as Juan Wild - The Hunchback; Luis Rodríguez as Manuel, Member of Indio's Gang; Benito Stefanelli as Luke 'Hughie' - **Runtime:** 2h 12m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 10 May 1967 - **Genres:** Western - **Budget:** $600,000 - **Box office:** $15 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNt9NcLteoU ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: streaming - The Roku Channel: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Tubi: free, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Amazon Prime Video: free - Pluto TV: free - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Apple TV: add-on, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IT, JP, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Yojimbo* (1961), Fi1m 88: Another calculating outsider whose dry humour makes the violence more alarming. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/yojimbo.md) - *Vera Cruz* (1954): Two mercenaries test each other’s charm, patience and capacity for betrayal. - *The Big Gundown* (1966): More Lee Van Cleef, with a pursuit that complicates easy judgements. - *The Mission* (1986), Fi1m 64: Morricone’s music accompanies another violent reckoning with loyalty and conscience. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-mission-1986.md) - *The Proposition* (2005), Fi1m 79: An Australian Western with patient menace and violence that refuses to flatter. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-proposition.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/for-a-few-dollars-more