Per qualche dollaro in più, a iconic spaghetti western

With this seminal masterpiece, the iconic spaghetti western, maestro Sergio Leone elevated the western to the status of pure cinematic art, cleverly building on his genre-redefining Per un pugno di dollari released a year earlier in 1964, which is why many consider it a sequel to it.

Clint Eastwood returns in unrivalled form as the mysterious "Man with No Name", now joining forces with stalwart lawman Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef) in a cat-and-mouse game with the despicable outlaw El Indio (Gian Maria Volontè).

Leone's innovative techniques - stratospheric wide shots conveying sweeping spaciousness, Ennio Morricone's legendary score, hyper-stylised violence - are at their best here, culminating in that balcony shootout for posterity.

Eastwood is, quite simply, cinema royalty: his poignant anti-hero is a man of few words whose piercing blue gaze says it all. Van Cleef and Volontè live up to their silky menace.

Cinematographer Francisco Mariné brings the barren landscapes into hypnotic focus, transporting the audience to a bygone era of six-guns and outlaws like no other director has dared.

At once genre deconstruction and rollercoaster thrill ride, Per qualche dollaro in più is unparalleled: the WesternFORM elevated to the pinnacle of cinematic art.