The next feature they share in common is family, they both value families because they are rare to come across in the west and they do not survive long. Spaghetti western films all show that it is tough for a family to survive in America, the families either get picked on by other men and women. Their children are killed along with the fathers. The women are forced into whore houses. Families are hard to come by and hard to keep alive.
In “A Fistful of Dollars”, “the man with no name” risks his life for a family who he does not even know very well. He gives them money, saves the mother from the Rojo’s and gives them a warning to leave town and start a new life somewhere else.
In “Unforgiven”, William Munny was originally a feared cowboy in the west; he then gave up that life to settle down with his wife who put him on the right track away from killing and drinking to a family with children. William Munny gave up being a hired killer to raise a family and care for them. When he goes away again to earn some money, he still does not resort to his old ways and remains faithful to his wife as well as his children.
A further similarity is the music related to them. In “A Fistful of Dollars”, “the man with no name” has a certain piece of music only for him when he is going to kill people or get into danger. The usage of this song indicates to the audience that something important is going to happen.
The iconography of the two characters is comparable as well; they both wear the stereotypical features of a cowboy in the west. They both carry a gun; wear a Stetson and a poncho. The iconographies in Spaghetti Western are important because they indicate to the audience what kind of film it is. In both of these films, the particular props used in them which are typical of western films are given different meanings. The hat is changed around from being a symbol of respect and heroism to symbolising mystery and concealment. The sheriff’s badge is normally used in westerns to represent authority but now this authority is corrupt and ignored as a result.
The most important similarity is the costumes, what a hero wears in a film is important and relative to what he is going to do. The appearance of our hero’s, reflect their personality and character.
“The man with no name” is always wearing a poncho to hide his physique and emphasize the mystery of him. The mise-en-scene of a frame gives the audience information about him and the world he has to live in. So as to enhance the mystery of him, he wears clothes to hide himself in shadow and refrain from showing us his true physique. The poncho he wears hides what his body looks like and also hides his gun from view, if the enemy cannot see a weapon or what he actually looks like then they become intimidated by the stranger. The “man with no name’s” poncho actually makes him look tall, broad and imposing. The audience also gets curious to know what he is like because he is constantly hiding from them. The hat which he is always wearing is tilted to hide his face in shadows and again increases the mystery and secrecy of our lone hero.
In “Unforgiven”; William Munny starts off dressed in the filthy dirty coverall of a pig farmer but when he goes out on his excursion he darns the same type of clothes as “the man with no name”, to hide his weapons, physique and features. This increases his air of mystery around him.
Another similarity between the two heroes’ is their dialogue. Both men do not like talking because it shows emotion; they both remain silent for the majority of both films.
The lack of dialogue from “the man with no name” hides his past encounters and how he feels. He only talks when necessary and never when it is not needed. This emphasises his strength, intelligence and highlights the fact that he is a man of action.
William Munny does not like talking much to people because he regrets his past and his sins. He does not want to relive them because he is afraid of turning back to them again. At one point in the film however, he opens up completely and confesses his feelings to Ned in a dramatic dialogue around a campfire.
In both films, the man with no name and William Munny see talking as a weakness so they try to live a life with very little talk. They only speak when necessary and try not to put emotion into their voice.
The final similarity is the profession, they are both assassin’s, the man with no name is a bounty hunter, does not intervene with a situation for a good deed but for money only. Money is what is required for the man with no name to take part in a fight or plan. If he is not going to get anything out of the scenario then he is not going to participate in it.
William Munny also used to follow, and still does, the same rule. If money or any personal gain is not included then he does not do it. He only leaves his children and travels across the country to earn some money to live off of, he is desperate for money. He does not travel all that way to shoot a few cowboys and come home because he feels like it but to earn money.
In this respect, they are both bounty hunters and will never follow any other rules.
Although the films each have many similarities in their leading characters, they also have many differences.
The first of these is the obvious one, the age difference. The man with no name is the same person as William Munny but a lot younger. William Munny sounds tired and looks old; the man with no name however looks more youthful.
The next distinction is the reputation, William Munny is famed throughout America for being one of the worst assassins there was. His evil deeds have gained him a huge reputation and his stories are told to children (the Schofield kid) by their parents. That s the reason why he lives in a remote location with his children, once his wife had sorted him out he wanted to protect his children from his past and prevent them from finding out about it.
On the other hand, the man with no name is not known at all. The mystery about him is one of the main features of the film. Nobody knows who he is, where he has been, his name, his family. There are no stories of him to be told to younger children. He is a mystery there fore he has no reputation. The only exception is his reputation with the gun.
The final difference is the way they are introduced; the man with no name enters the film as a wanderer from off of the desert. There is nothing known what he can do and where he comes from, even his name remains a mystery. The audience looks at this character and the mystery of him enthrals him. A major impression is made, from his clothes and posture he is a tough and hard man which is experienced in life and means business. The camera positions all try to hide his physique, his face and they all look up; they are low angle shots. The effect of them all looking up at him with his face filling the screen is awe, the audience look up to him and he looks big, tough and imposing.
When we first meet William Munny however, he is lying face down in a pig pen with the pigs trampling all over him. The camera position is looking down on him and this give the impression of a weak and old man; the complete opposite of what we were expecting from the scrolling prologue at the beginning. The prologue tells us that the man was a mass murderer and pure evil, our first view of him is unexpected and sudden. The audience is built up and waiting with baited breath to see our hero and instead we see a weak pig farmer getting bullied by his own pigs! The mise en scene of the frame shows mud everywhere, pigs walking past him and our feared and dangerous assassin lying face down in pig’s muck being dragged around the pen by pigs.
The man with no name’s has little or no personality, seeing as very little is known about him, we do not know very much about what he is like. He cares for nothing but himself, however he does value family. It is not known why he goes out of his way for families apart from the fact that he risks his life to remove a particular family from danger. He is very imposing and very uptight. He conceals all emotions and feelings from other people. The main trait of his personality is elusiveness, he tries his very best to remain hidden from people until necessary, he avoids speaking to people because it shows weakness.
William Munny’s personality is similar to the man with no name, he values families and their lives, and he also cares for friends and seeks vengeance when someone harms his friends. William Munny does not try to remain hidden as much as does not keep his feelings to himself, he shares them with Ned (his partner). In the scene around the campfire, he opens up to Ned and tells him how he has felt guilty about killing various people. Another difference is that he does not remain elusive to people but shows himself and is not afraid of who he was.
“The man with no name” shares a relationship in “A Fistful of Dollars” with an old man, in this particular relationship; he is not open and talkative but trusting. This mysterious man is also relying on the old man to feed him and keep him hidden from the Rojo’s. If the old man was to turn him in then he would be killed for his crimes against them. The man with no name is weakened from being beaten up and his hand has been broken, he can no longer shoot accurately with one hand and needs practice with the other hand. He is completely trusting in the old man who shows his determination; it is also functional.
William Munny shares a close relationship with the Schofield kid, not quite as close as the relationship with Ned but still it is a relationship. William Munny has seen right through the Schofield kid’s lies and wants to show him that killing people and drinking are not good things. The Schofield kid has grown up wanting to be like William Munny however William Munny does not want him to continue like him. At the end of the film, William Munny tells him to go home while he goes and deals with little bill. This is protection from what William Munny will do and he wants to put the Schofield kid on the right track.
Both relationships bear enormous amount of trust in them, between the hero’s and their companions. Both heroes’ are also protecting their companions from themselves. However the differences are one is between old hero and young companion while the other is young hero and old companion. They both explore questions of right versus wrong and loyalty.
This is shown by the Schofield Kid’s relationship with William Munny; Mr Munny is always concerned about the Schofield Kid, correcting him when he is wrong and stopping him and Ned from fighting all the time.
In the man with no name’s relationship, the mysterious stranger is completely trusting in the old man even though his protection is at stake.
William Munny’s relationship is more realistic than “the man with no name’s” because in those days, old men were seen as doddering and useless, they were ignored by the youth. The man with no name deliberately creates this relationship with the old man and is roves useful. In those days you would not see anything of the sort.
William Munny’s relationship with the Schofield kid however is more plausible because the Schofield kid explains in the beginning of the film that he has heard lots of stories about William Munny and in his childhood he idolised him. The relationship is more like a teacher, student. The Schofield kid wants to be like William Munny and wants William Munny to show him the tricks of the trade however Mr Munny views the Schofield kid as one of his own children and wants to protect him from this life of which he led.
