Writer, producer and director Gene Quintano is best known as the author of scripts for comedies of Police Academy film series. His true passion, however, appeared to be the genre of western, more specifically films made in style of legendary Italian director Sergio Leone. Quintano’s screenwriting debut was homage to spaghetti westerns, 1981 film Comin’ at Ya!, which is sometimes credited for inspiring a short-lived trend of 3D films in early 1980s. Another, more direct homage to Leone’s work can be found in Dollar for the Dead, 1998 film Quintano wrote and directed for cable network TNT.
The plot is set few years after Civil War when the unnamed gunslinger (played by Emilio Estevez) wanders around West. Nobody knows his name, but his deadly skill with revolvers is quite apparent and, as such, he is asked by Confederate veteran Dooley (played by William Forsythe) to provide assistance in obtaining large amount of gold hidden by defeated Confederates in order to serve for new rise of the South. The protagonist agrees to join Dooley’s quest, but, before he and Dooley are able to locate the treasure they would have to deal with bloodthirsty pro-Union militia, Mexican federales and hordes of other characters that would force the protagonist to use his guns.
Any serious cinephile would see that Quintano in Dollar for the Dead tried extremely hard to pay as much homage to Sergio Leone as possible. Emilio Estevez uses the same clothes, mannerisms and even the voice and speech patterns Clint Eastwood used while playing the protagonist of Leone’s famed Man with No Name trilogy. Quintano tried to mimic Leone’s directing style and even used the same locations in Spain Leone had used for his films three decades earlier. However, despite being very short, Dollar for the Dead reveals that Quintano isn’t Leone and all of the inevitable comparisons with the work of grand master will be at Quintano’s expense. Quintano loses inspiration somewhere around the half of running time and instead of Leone he starts mimicking quite different directing style of John Woo. This would cause confusion and displeasure among Leone’s hardcore fans and the weak attempt of composer George S. Clinton to compete with Ennio Morricone’s masterpieces is going to make impression even worse. Moralising ending, very different from those in Leone’s films, would complete disappointment for anyone who expected another spaghetti western classic. Decent cast improves general impression, although not enough to make Dollars for the Dead into anything more than merely watchable.
RATING: 4/10 (+)
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