Dead for a Dollar

Almost five decades after his directorial debut, Walter Hill—a master of no-frills action cinema—returns once more to the Wild West. Dedicated to his mentor Budd Boetticher—with whom he shares a fondness for moral ambiguity and unpretentious filmmaking—this late-career work is more than just a nostalgic retrospective; it is proof that spectacular effects aren't necessary as long as one knows how to tell a story properly—that is, as long as one has mastered the craft. Accordingly, Waltz—once again traversing the prairie as a bounty hunter—plays his character as a calm, deliberate counterpoint to Dr. King Schultz. It is a film that no longer needs to prove anything to anyone, and for that very reason, it restores a sense of classic dignity to the genre.
(Florian Widegger)