Straight Shooters

In the pantheon of tough guys, Clint Eastwood stands alone.

Related Content

• Thank these three Italian directors for slasher films, Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood
  October 10, 2011
• With J. Edgar, Eastwood goes deep into Oliver Stone territory
  November 10, 2011
• Ten movies you'll watch no matter how many times you've seen them before
  June 15, 2011
• Reader: Nobody, but nobody, puts ketchup on a hot dog
  October 21, 2011
• Top Ten Pay Phone Scenes in Movies
  March 4, 2011

More About

• Tim Cloran
• A Fistful of Dollars
• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
• Westerns
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Like this Story?

Sign up for the Events Newsletter: What's happening in town? From underground club nights to the biggest outdoor festivals, our top picks for the week's best events will always keep you in on the action.

Privacy Policy Cancel Continue

No other actor comes close when it comes to consistently portraying characters — from Dirty Harry to Walt Kowalski to the Man With No Name — who combine surly violence, dry humor, near invincibility and a twisted sense of right and wrong.

But none are as iconic as the poncho-wearing, cigarillo-smoking, gun-slinging loner who inhabits three spaghetti Westerns directed by Sergio Leone: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). Filmed in Italy (or Spain) and backed by a cast of voice-dubbed Italian extras, funky music and long, uncomfortable close-ups, all three are classics.

“The thing about spaghetti Westerns is that, when I was growing up, they called them ‘horse operas,’” says Tim Cloran, the manager of the Landmark Mayan. “In any story you tell that is epic, you run into all kinds of moral situations. And these go a little deeper than your typical adventure. The characters take an emotional journey.”

A journey that usually ends with a raspy one-liner and gun smoke.

The Man With No Name films, all of which have been remastered, are part of the Mayan’s revival series. “We started it last year with some Hitchcock films, and I thought this trilogy would be a great way to open up our summer season,” Cloran says. “It’s been a good while since people have seen them on the big screen, if they ever have at all.”

A Fistful of Dollars plays tonight at 7 and 9:45 p.m. at the Mayan, 110 Broadway, followed by the other two, at the same times, tomorrow and Thursday. For tickets and information, go to www.landmarktheatres.com.
May 31-June 2, 7 & 9:45 p.m., 2011