Manhunter is just meh, which I really wasn't expecting. In fact, the whole time I watched it I kept thinking I could switch and be watching To Live and Die in L.A. And there are way too many cuts of the movie for no apparent reason.
For a Few Dollars More. Possibly the best of all three Dollars films, and possibly the best Western ever made. Here Leone gets his rhythm down and eases into the style he is known for. Perfect balance between entertainment and art, between action and drama. The grand operatic sweep of his later films is hinted at, but FAFDM retains the almost serial like atmosphere of A Fistful of Dollars, which still keeps us coming back for more. A vast improvement on the first film and completely flawless. Everything is amped up here; the performances, the style, the cinematography, the sets, dialogue...and dear god the score! There are moments that will send chills down your spine (Hearing that organ for the first time in the church duel blew me away. Still does.) and tons of quirky little boings, springs, and whistles.
And you'll never look at a pocket watch the same way again.
Sadly, though the video presentations are much better now after a new master being struck from the Techniscope original, the original elements are not in the best of shape. The best available materials MGM had a few years ago was a degraded print that even went pink in one shot.
4 balls of infinity out of 4.
God, I could watch it again for the 500th time.