1965 Classic, Often Overlooked, Named Best Spaghetti Western of All Time
The spaghetti Western was a unique subgenre of the Western made by Italian filmmakers and filmed throughout Europe during the 1960's and 70's.
While the argument for best director of all time is generally subjective for other genres, most everyone agree Sergio Leone delivered the most iconic spaghetti Westerns of all time with hits like Once Upon a Time in the West, Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
It was the film that stood between the last two, though, that caught the attention of Inverse as the greatest spaghetti Western of all time.
While most crown The Good, The Bad and The Ugly as the most iconic spaghetti Western, Inverse finds it to be a "bloated, self indulgent mess."
Instead, For a Few Dollars More earned the title of the greatest spaghetti Western of all time.
Why 'For a Few Dollars More'?
Inverse pointed to the soundtrack Ennio Morricone delivered for the film rather than the final film in the "Man With No Name" trilogy from Leone.
"Throughout the film, the audience is treated to a repeated refrain of musical chimes that the film's bad guy, El Indio, carries around with him," Inverse wrote. "The chimes in this locket are used as a calling card for El Indio, as the score to a revelatory flashback, and as a symbol of the secret softness that governs the Man in Black."
Morricone himself discussed this topic.
"The music that the watch makes transfers your thought to a different place because it is just a watch and of course every time the bandit winds on this watch this character, who is thinking about his life and all the difficult situations he has been in and has lived through, the rage, the violence, the fear, come out through this watch. The character itself comes out through the watch but in a different situation every time it appears," Morricone revealed.
What Is 'For a Few Dollars More'?
Immediately following the success of A Fistful of Dollars, Leone went to work on its sequel. Thanks to the success of the first film, the budget for the second allowed the director to land Western star Lee Van Cleef, who dominated the screen as bounty hunter and former army officer Colonel Douglas Mortimer.
"In the Wild West, a murderous outlaw known as El Indio and his gang are terrorizing and robbing the citizens of the region," the synopsis of the film reads. "With a bounty on El Indio's head, two bounty hunters, Monco and Col. Douglas Mortimer, come to collect the prize. Upon their first meeting, the two men view each other as rivals, but they eventually agree to become partners in their mutual pursuit of the vicious criminal."
The film received a 92% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences gave it a 94%.
Related: 1954 Classic, Which Broke the Mold, Named 'Greatest Western Movie of All Time'
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 14, 2026 at 6:46 AM.