The persona of Clint Eastwood's MAN WITH NO NAME, and to a lesser extent his other well known character, Inspector Harry Callahan (aka "Dirty Harry") is passionate. They loathe mendacious and sadistic evil (The MAN WITH NO NAME character kills off bullies tormenting his mule when he is introduced, and Inspector Callahan's neme…
The persona of Clint Eastwood's MAN WITH NO NAME, and to a lesser extent his other well known character, Inspector Harry Callahan (aka "Dirty Harry") is passionate. They loathe mendacious and sadistic evil (The MAN WITH NO NAME character kills off bullies tormenting his mule when he is introduced, and Inspector Callahan's nemesis is an overemotional homicidal punk), brutal thugs (The MAN WITH NO NAME kills psychotic killers in For A Few Dollars More, incentivized by their numerous bounties) and human waste (In his last appearance the MAN WITH NO NAME displays pity and mercy for numerous soldiers caught up in the waste of the American Civil War; before the final climatic gunfight of the film he comforts a dying Confederate artilleryman - and Inspector Callahan is shown to reject cold-blooded murder and vigilantism in the arguably better sequel to DIRTY HARRY: MAGNUM FORCE).
Nor was this persona new or introduced by Sergio Leone.
Although as on objective European first introduced to the American male by the G.I.s who occupied his country after World War Two it was certainly influenced by what he saw as the "tough" American archetype. It is a persona more reflected by D.H. Lawrence's observation of the American male - shaped by exploring and conquering the American frontier: "The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted."
Stoic is how I would describe the Eastwood persona. More Marcus Aurelius than Augustus Germanicus - better known as Caligula.
Prior to Sergio Leone there was Budd Boetticher doing the same thing with Randolph Scott's Ben Brigade in RIDE LONESOME and John Ford also doing the same thing with John Wayne's Ethan Edwards. Although Edwards was prone to showing actual emotion on occasion. The point is none of these men started out this way: they were shaped into what they were by experience. Experience on the frontier, loss of family, war, and constant exposure to violence.
Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey in the DEATH WISH films starts out as a pacifist. He's traumatized by his experience in The Korean War. He loves his wife. He loves his daughter. He appreciates the rewards of life. After he loses these things he does not become a cold-blooded murderer but instead a man seeking justice who has reached the breaking point.
Mel Gibson's Max Rockatansky also starts out as a free-wheeling, fun-loving, devoted husband and father even though the civilization he lives in is crumbling all around him. It is events beyond his control which eventually drive Max mad. By the end of the film MAD MAX Mel Gibson's character also has that "deadpan" look. As he does in the sequels, THE ROAD WARRIOR, and BEYOND THUNDERDOME - although by the end of the last movie his humanity is beginning to return.
There's more to these characters which audiences root for than them being simply psychopaths. All of these characters - Mad Max, Paul Kersey, Harry Callahan, Ethan Edwards, Ben Brigade, and even the Man With No Name are much more complex than what the author of this piece - or the late Ray Liotta - give them credit for. There are many others which predate the Man With No Name also from Alan Ladd's Shane to Gary Cooper's Will Kane. There are also many other Non-Western examples from the 1960s as well - from the aforementioned James Bond as portrayed by Sean Connery - to Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt.
Admittedly this persona was not considered heroic in the early 20th century, and these characters have also been labeled as "anti-heroes," but the point is there is a world of difference between a Western bounty hunter living on the American frontier and Norman Bates!
I disagree.
The persona of Clint Eastwood's MAN WITH NO NAME, and to a lesser extent his other well known character, Inspector Harry Callahan (aka "Dirty Harry") is passionate. They loathe mendacious and sadistic evil (The MAN WITH NO NAME character kills off bullies tormenting his mule when he is introduced, and Inspector Callahan's nemesis is an overemotional homicidal punk), brutal thugs (The MAN WITH NO NAME kills psychotic killers in For A Few Dollars More, incentivized by their numerous bounties) and human waste (In his last appearance the MAN WITH NO NAME displays pity and mercy for numerous soldiers caught up in the waste of the American Civil War; before the final climatic gunfight of the film he comforts a dying Confederate artilleryman - and Inspector Callahan is shown to reject cold-blooded murder and vigilantism in the arguably better sequel to DIRTY HARRY: MAGNUM FORCE).
Nor was this persona new or introduced by Sergio Leone.
Although as on objective European first introduced to the American male by the G.I.s who occupied his country after World War Two it was certainly influenced by what he saw as the "tough" American archetype. It is a persona more reflected by D.H. Lawrence's observation of the American male - shaped by exploring and conquering the American frontier: "The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted."
Stoic is how I would describe the Eastwood persona. More Marcus Aurelius than Augustus Germanicus - better known as Caligula.
Prior to Sergio Leone there was Budd Boetticher doing the same thing with Randolph Scott's Ben Brigade in RIDE LONESOME and John Ford also doing the same thing with John Wayne's Ethan Edwards. Although Edwards was prone to showing actual emotion on occasion. The point is none of these men started out this way: they were shaped into what they were by experience. Experience on the frontier, loss of family, war, and constant exposure to violence.
Charles Bronson's Paul Kersey in the DEATH WISH films starts out as a pacifist. He's traumatized by his experience in The Korean War. He loves his wife. He loves his daughter. He appreciates the rewards of life. After he loses these things he does not become a cold-blooded murderer but instead a man seeking justice who has reached the breaking point.
Mel Gibson's Max Rockatansky also starts out as a free-wheeling, fun-loving, devoted husband and father even though the civilization he lives in is crumbling all around him. It is events beyond his control which eventually drive Max mad. By the end of the film MAD MAX Mel Gibson's character also has that "deadpan" look. As he does in the sequels, THE ROAD WARRIOR, and BEYOND THUNDERDOME - although by the end of the last movie his humanity is beginning to return.
There's more to these characters which audiences root for than them being simply psychopaths. All of these characters - Mad Max, Paul Kersey, Harry Callahan, Ethan Edwards, Ben Brigade, and even the Man With No Name are much more complex than what the author of this piece - or the late Ray Liotta - give them credit for. There are many others which predate the Man With No Name also from Alan Ladd's Shane to Gary Cooper's Will Kane. There are also many other Non-Western examples from the 1960s as well - from the aforementioned James Bond as portrayed by Sean Connery - to Steve McQueen as Frank Bullitt.
Admittedly this persona was not considered heroic in the early 20th century, and these characters have also been labeled as "anti-heroes," but the point is there is a world of difference between a Western bounty hunter living on the American frontier and Norman Bates!