A Fistful Of Dollars Reviews

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.

[Highly rated reviewer]

View from a coffin lid

From the opening James Bond like, almost Warholian title credits, to the mysterious stranger riding on the back of a little mule into the small Mexican town of San Miguel, Sergio Leone begins to signal his significant ‘shift in the saddle’ away from the big bold West of Shane and John Ford. First of a trilogy (For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, followed in 1965 and 1966, respectively), this Italian-German-Spanish co-production not only set a new standard for Spaghetti Westerns, but by changing the face of a genre, has ultimately influenced nearly every Western produced since from Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch to John Hillcoat’sThe Proposition.

By choosing to replace a surly samurai with an amoral gunslinger, Leone deftly adapted an epic tale of sixteenth century Japan, Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, into an innovative and uncompromising depiction of a modern mercenary.

In a film with noticeably more music than dialogue, Morricone’s brooding, emotionally resonant, musical score - with its almost operatic coordination of action and music - takes Fist Full of Dollar’s narrative stylistically several stages further than mere gritty realism. With his dialogue pared to such minimum memorable one liners as ‘my mule don’t like people laughing’, Eastwood’s ultra pragmatic, poncho wearing, cheroot smoking, self-interested ‘Joe’ comes to embody all the dark humour, abrasive force and raw power of this new brutal vision of an unromantic West – one seen glimpsed from beneath a coffin lid.

BRILLIANT

Clint Eastwood played the ultra-cool, amoral hero 'Man With No Name'..A cynical bounty hunter whose impassivity 'is' his main attraction (when he watches a father & child being tormented & does not intervene and when he realizes that he has punched a 'woman' in the face)..a ruthless gunfighter who leaves us impressed by his exceptionally swift draw ('When a man with a 45 meets a man with a rifle..you said the man with the pistol is a dead man..Let's see if that is true!')..A suspicious stranger dressed in poncho & flat brown sombrero with a short thin cigarillo - acted as a sort of pendant to those ice-cold green eyes - (when he throws back his woolen serape to reveal a rectangular piece of metal covering his chest..He also reveals that he has 5 bullets left in his gun).

Sergio Leone shared this rebellious desire to tumble the old values and present the audience with a new, more mystifying piece of comic tale..His 'Stranger' was a 'masque character'.. and his film deeply influenced the future of the Western in general and the Italian 'spaghetti' Western in particular.

Classic

This is an absolute classic. One of (if not the first) film directed by Sigeo Leone.

This film is the first part of the 'Fistful of Dollars Trilogy'.

The other two, just to let you know, are 'For a Few Dollars More' and, most famously, 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly'.

The film as a whole was a very good one, if westerns are your sort of thing. The thing I like about Leone's spagheti westerns (called because they are shot in Spain and spoken in Italian) are that the deaths seem more realistic compared to the traditional 'fall over', 'Oh 'e got me' type that many other westerns use.

The story line itself was very enjoyable, trying to trick two sets of gangs whilst trying to work for both of them and raising loads of cash for yourself. Brilliant. Good old bounty hunter stuff.

Acting wise: Superb. Although none of the actors would recieve an oscar for their performance, it was clean, and very spegheti western style.

I seriously advise watching this film, even if westerns aren't your thing. You never know, you might just like it!

Rootin' tootin' shootin'

First of the three spaghetti westerns starring Clint Eastwood.

Plenty of gun action, plenty of fooling the baddies; who, I might add were very gullible. However, tis is just tireless (unless you watch it too late & you're tired)action for anybody, even for the ones that say they don't like westerns.

I'd also like to say the background music just let the movie flow.

spaghetti brilliant

A classic spaghetti western, comprising the usual sprinklings – a terrific Western – Italian music fusion soundtrack, awful voice dubbing, beautiful scenery and a lively mix of good/bad characters.

Two gangs, located at opposite ends of a Mexican border town, quarrel over ownership and right slap bang in the middle is Joe (aka Clint Eastwood) who plays one family off with another for financial and not a little moralistic gain.

Great fight scenes, amazing gun shooting from Clint, lots of sun, lots of dust and plenty of shaven and unshaven goodies and baddies killing each other - not to be missed.

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.

Spaghetti Bolognaise

Classic early Eastwood remake of Yojimbo (see the Japanese film before you watch this one). Excellent film where Eastwood cuts a swathe through the greed and stupidity of the local gangs. Dubbing could be better though.

Oh and don't miss the theatrical trailer - hilarious.

If You like Eastwood

If like me you are a Clint Eastwood fan, this film with the rest in the set will bring back some happy memories.

What can I say that hasn't already been said? Remake of Akira Kurosawa classic samurai flick Yojimbo and has some of Clints most memorable moments/lines

Great fun