A Fistful of Dollars

1964, Sergio Leone, 99 min.

Selected and introduced by Devon E. Levins

The Man with No Name (Clint Eastwood) rides into the dusty Mexican village of San Miguel while it’s being ripped apart by a power struggle between two feuding families: the Rojo brothers (played by Antonio Prieto, Benny Reeves, and Sieghardt Rupp) and Sheriff John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy). The stranger out-shoots and outsmarts the rival clans, double-crossing them both and riding into the sunset with the spoils. This classic spaghetti western was the first collaboration between director Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone.

Cabaret Cinema: Soundtrack

You can probably name the best movie you’ve seen, but what about the best movie you’ve heard? It might be your favorite because of its sound effects, sound engineering, score, or another element of the audio experience. Watch—and hear—a series of films that caught the ear of notable New Yorkers.

Why did you select Fistful of Dollars for the Cabaret Cinema: Soundtrack series

“Fistful of Dollars, the first of Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, squarely sets the template for the spaghetti western and the 1960s and 1970s Italian cinema sound with the compositional, arranging, conducting, and experimental prowess of powerhouse Ennio Morricone and his secret weapon Alessandro Alessandroni (aka the whistler, guitarist, and leader of the I Cantori Moderni singers). Alessandroni is featured prominently on the recording as well as on hundreds of soundtracks to follow for nearly every important Italian composer of the next decade. Morricone at 88 continues to compose and perform internationally with over 500 credits to date, but we unfortunately lost Alessandroni just last March at the age of 92.” —Devon E. Levins

About the Introducer

Devon Goldberg (aka Devon E. Levins) is the producer and host of Morricone Island, a weekly radio program on WFMU 91.1 FM (and previously on East Village Radio) dedicated to “music written for the moving image.” Since starting the show in 2007, Goldberg has interviewed the likes of Lalo Schifrin, Alessandro Alessandroni, Angelo Badalamenti, and Danny Elfman. Goldberg is also a composer, producer, and founding member of NYC-based Morricone Youth (formed in 1999) which, among other things, performs live scores to silent films and midnight movies. Goldberg has been an avid record collector, DJ, and bandleader since the 1980s. He received his B.A. from University of California San Diego and J.D. from California Western.