Retrospective Film Review

A Fistful of Dollars (1964) • 60 Years Later —Sergio Leone’s first spaghetti western masterpiece

A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

Some films we might call examples of “hinge” cinema. Such films open new doors for filmmakers and audiences and take commercial moviemaking in new directions. They may not be well made and might even undergo harsh criticism on their debut. Yet, they create a lasting sensation while making enough money to lead other producers and filmmakers to the same trough in the hope of repeating that success. Along the way, these films undo old cinematic traditions and create new ones.

The 1960s, a time of radical change in filmmaking, offers a festival of “hinge” cinema: The Pawnbroker (1964), Dr. Strangelove (1964), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and numerous others. (Of these, Bonnie and Clyde faced fierce criticism during its first run.) These films also had an advantage: they…