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A Fistful Of Dollars
1964
By the time Sergio Leone made this film, Italians had already produced about 20 films ironically labelled spaghetti westerns. Leone approached the genre with great love and humor. Although the plot was admittedly borrowed from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), Leone managed to create a work of his own that would serve as a model .. Read more
| Starring | Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, John Wels, W. Lukschy |
|---|---|
| Director | Sergio Leone |
| Genres | Action/Adventure |
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A Fistful Of Dollars
By the time Sergio Leone made this film, Italians had already produced about 20 films ironically labelled spaghetti westerns. Leone approached the genre with great love and humor. Although the plot was admittedly borrowed from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), Leone managed to create a work of his own that would serve as a model for many films to come. Clint Eastwood plays a cynical gunfighter who comes to a small border town and offers his services to two rivaling gangs. Neither gang is aware of his double play, and each thinks it is using him, but the stranger will outwit them both. The picture was the first installment in a cycle commonly known as the Dollars trilogy. Later, United Artists, who distributed it in the U.S., coined another term for it: the Man With No Name trilogy. While not as impressive as its follow-ups For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), A Fistful of Dollars contains all of Leone's eventual trademarks: taciturn characters, precise framing, extreme close-ups, and the haunting music of Ennio Morricone. Not released in the U.S. until 1967 due to copyright problems, the film was decisive in both Clint Eastwood's career and the recognition of the Italian western.~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide
| Starring | Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, John Wels, W. Lukschy |
|---|---|
| Director | Sergio Leone |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 38 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Wild Westerns |
| Genres | Action/Adventure |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 07 Feb 2000 Production year: 1964 |
| Format | DVD |
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai classic Yojimbo, this was the first “spaghetti” western to find a worldwide audience. Director Sergio Leone's daringly brilliant use of extreme close-up and compensational depth, and his unflinching depiction of violence, gave the western a new lease of life. Clint Eastwood (whose career to this point had been in American TV, most notably in the western series Rawhide) became an international superstar for his portrayal of the Man with No Name, insisting that much of his dialogue was cut to increase the drifter's air of mystery. Gian Maria Volonte (billed here as John Wels) lends excellent support as the snarling Ramon and Ennio Morricone's minimalist score is a gem.
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A film with much to answer for: it began the craze for 'spaghetti Westerns', took its director to Hollywood, and made a TV cowboy into a world star. It turned the Western into a brutal baroque opera, a violent clash between individuals.
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Most helpful member's review
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8 out of 9 people found this review helpful
The meaning of Cool
Eastwood has to be one of the coolest heroes in this sixties icon of the screen. We know nothing about him except that he's the good guy. Dialogue is fine but the dubbed soundtrack is difficult to make out at times - and oddly enough this just adds to the sense of otherness the film provides. If you only watch one western - this could be it.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
First Course of Spaghetti
Although clearly a trial run for the greater movies which formed parts 2 and 3, this is still a revolutionary look at the Western. What had been a genre mainly about morals and soap opera-type plots, was transformed by this one film alone into a study in graphic violence and morality. No Western has been the same since.
The casting of the then-unknown Clint Eastwood was a stroke of genius, and while Clint was to develop his screen persona over the following movies, he is here already an extraordinary calm, slient centre and a powerful presence.
The music adds tremendous atmosphere, and the direction is intelligent and original.
Add to all this a good yarn, and you have the makings of a good film, as well as an important one.
The rest of the trilogy sees Leone gaining confidence and becoming more operatic and flamboyant, but this one still packs a punch.
If you like this - check out "Yojimbo" the original Japanese version which inspired this remake, and an even greater masterpiece. -
News and features
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Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
- 28 Jul 2009
Game: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Formats: PC, PS3, 360 Publisher: Ubisoft In our collective conscious the rolling ball of tumbleweed is inextricably linked with the cowboy genre, and yet it is such a misplaced cliché. While that aimlessly wandering flora suggests monotony and boredom, something very different is happening in the long silences that define spaghetti westerns. When Clint Eastwood’s trigger finger hovers, the air hangs thick with testosterone, tension, and the acrid... Read more
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A Fistful Of Dollars
By the time Sergio Leone made this film, Italians had already produced about 20 films ironically labelled spaghetti westerns. Leone approached the genre with great love and humor. Although the plot was admittedly borrowed from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo (1961), Leone managed to create a work of his ...
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