The first true spaghetti Western, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS follows a nameless drifter who plays two feuding families off each other to his own benefit. As members of each family are... more
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stardom. Before director Sergio Leone picked him out, Clint had played only a few bit parts in features plus his role as Rowdy Yates in the TV Western series Rawhide...
stardom. Before director Sergio Leone picked him out, Clint had played only a few bit parts in features plus his role as Rowdy Yates in the TV Western series Rawhide...
FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
The first true Spaghetti Western follows the exploits of a nameless drifter (Clint
... more
Eastwood) who wanders into a town torn apart by greed, corruption, and revenge. The clever, tough-talking gunslinger then plays the town's two feuding families off each other for his benefit. As members of each family are planted in the ground, the gold in his pockets gets heavier and heavier. This violent remake of Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO made Eastwood a star, and sparked two sequels--FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE and THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY--to form what is now referred to as the Man with No Name trilogy. All three films starred Eastwood, featured Ennio Morricone's distinctive musical compositions, and were directed--in a wonderfully gritty style--by Sergio Leone. Although the film was not released in the United States until 1967, it was produced and released internationally in 1964.n
stardom. Before director Sergio Leone picked him out, Clint had played only a few bit parts in features plus his role as Rowdy Yates in the TV Western series Rawhide. Leone cast him for his stillness and physical presence, famously remarking that when Michelangelo was asked what he had seen in a particular block of marble, he said Moses, but that what he, Leone, saw in Eastwood was just that, a block of marble. Leone also claimed that it was he who gave the character his trademark cigar and poncho, though Eastwood has said he brought his own wardrobe to Italy. Whoever takes credit, A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari in Italian) was an extraordinary success when launched in Italy in 1964. Eastwood had to wait longer for it to be a hit in the USA. The film was based on Kurosawa's 1961 samurai picture Yojimbo, but Leone had forgotten to clear the copyright. Eventually a deal was done, but A Fistful of Dollars was not released in the USA until 1967. It scored an equally resounding success, as did its sequels in the Dollar Trilogy, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The advertising campaign promoted Eastwood's character, laconic, amoral, dangerous, as The Man with No Name (though in the film he's clearly referred to as Joe), and audiences loved the film's refreshing new take on the Western genre. Gone are the pieties about making the streets safe for women and children (women are virtually absent from the Trilogy). Instead it's every man for himself. Striking too was a new emphasis on violence, with stylised, almost balletic gunfights and baroque touches such as Eastwood's armoured breastplate. The popularity of the Dollars films had a marked influence on the Hollywood Western, for example Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, but its most enduring legacy is Clint Eastwood himself, still in action at the age of 70. --Edward Buscombe
stardom. Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai picture Yojimbo, it scored a resounding success (in Italy in 1964 and the U.S. in 1967), as did its sequels, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The advertising campaign promoted Eastwood's character--laconic, amoral, dangerous--as the Man with No Name (though in the film he's clearly referred to as Joe), and audiences loved the movie's refreshing new take on the Western genre. Gone are the pieties about making the streets safe for women and children. Instead it's every man for himself. Striking, too, was a new emphasis on violence, with stylized, almost balletic gunfights and baroque touches such as Eastwood's armoured breastplate. The Dollars films had a marked influence on the Hollywood Western--for example, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch--but their most enduring legacy is Clint Eastwood himself. --Edward Buscombe
stardom. Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1961 samurai picture Yojimbo, it scored a resounding success (in Italy in 1964 and the U.S. in 1967), as did its sequels, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The advertising campaign promoted Eastwood's character--laconic, amoral, dangerous--as the Man with No Name (though in the film he's clearly referred to as Joe), and audiences loved the movie's refreshing new take on the Western genre. Gone are the pieties about making the streets safe for women and children. Instead it's every man for himself. Striking, too, was a new emphasis on violence, with stylized, almost balletic gunfights and baroque touches such as Eastwood's armoured breastplate. The Dollars films had a marked influence on the Hollywood Western--for example, Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch--but their most enduring legacy is Clint Eastwood himself. --Edward Buscombe
...it seemed he had invented a new genre in cinema. These low-budget westerns filmed in Europe featuring mainly European actors, with their propensity for theatrical violence were seen by the fans of the traditional western as a cheap tawdry imitation of a classic film genre.
BACKGROUND
Sergio Leone cut his teeth in cinema by making the so-called 'sword and sandal' epics in Italy in the late fifties and early 60's along with other future 'spaghetti' ... ...turn they were part of a long tradition of 'epic' films going back to the silent era such as Cabiria (1913) and Quo Vadis (1912). The style and attitude of the filmmaking involved in these films was to clearly influence the later Leone westerns. Leone was not the first person to make European Westerns, As far back as 1925 the French novelist Blaise Cendars had written a novel based on the California gold rush and the early pioneer John Sutter. The ...
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27.07.2000
(16.10.2003)
Fistful of fun Review ofA Fistful Of Dollars (Wide Screen)by
cityskyblue
Advantages: Good enjoyable film Disadvantages: ends too soon
...in mostly Spain as are a lot of the spaghetti westerns.
Has with most dvds that have films from the older films the dvd menu is pretty basic and admittedly not much of a selling point, but trust me you do not need gimmicks when the film is this good. Shown in widescreen along with my home cinema system it is just like watching at the cinema ( without the expensive refreshments).
Brief background.
Fistful of dollars was the first film within the ... ...man with no name. But a close friend suggested he try a little known actor called Clint Eastwood. Most of the production team gave themselves English and Americanised names so as to make it more appealing to an American audience. The main cast and crew. Director Sergio Leone - Changed his name to Bob Robertson for the American release and made all his crew do the same. Used a lot of his trade marks in this film such as the extreme close up and periods ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: great character, cult film Disadvantages: cheesy music
...say that I have been a Clint Eastwood fan for years and I love nothing better than relaxing in front of an old Western on TVs. Fistful of Dollars was "the big one" in Clint Eastwood's career. It put him on the map as a cult hero figure. Lots of action, good short to the point lines and a plot you can follow. He was able to give the audience a true grit-eating, swearing, smoking, bad guy shooting, tough guy - 'the Man with no Name'. He did everything ... ...he went on to play a similiar character in his other 'Spaghetti-westerns', of course and you can even see where 'Dirty Harry' came from. Anyway the famous trilogy Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and 'Half a Sixpence' were all..(sorry just couldn't resist that last one - could you really see Clint starring opposite Tommy Steele ????)..made Eastwood the huge box office star he still is to this day ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: The whole thing Disadvantages: nothing
...the best westerns ever made. A Fistful of Dollars sees Clint Eastwood take on the role as the man with no name for the first time. He rides into a town that has been torn apart by two warring families, the Baxter’s and the Rojo’s, instead of making a sharp exit he plays the two families against each other and attempts to get rich into the bargain.
Directed by Sergio Leone this movie is a classic and even makes you forget about the dubbing. ... ...the film, feeling the character was better not saying a great deal. I for one most certainly have to agree with him, Eastwood’s screen presence in this picture is awesome.
A Fistful of Dollars – A Classic Western that deserves to be watched time and time again.
Wemstalker. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Sergio leones stylish direction,atmospheric music and Eastwoods cool persona Disadvantages: Dialogue little bit raw in places
A fistfull of dollars was released way back in 1964 and at the time was unlike any western before it.It was shot in Italy and featured a tv actor Clint eastwood[RAWHIDE] in the lead role supported by a cast of italian actors led by Gia mario Volanta.The film was directed by then unknown Italian director Sergio leone.Not a lot was expected of the film and it opened to poor reviews with crictics calling it violent,immoral and a shoddy western.However ... ...that it was to launch a new style of western and cinema.This was where style and action with minimalist dialogue,would become the norm in many films.Upon its release it caused a sensation in Europe,for its style and pacing,Eastwoods cool antihero and became a surprise success.It was to be followed by two hugely successful followups in For a few dollars more [1965] and good bad ugly[1966].
The plot of Fistfull is heavily inspired by the japanese ...
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Actor(s): Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, John Wels, W. Lukschy
Director(s): Sergio Leone
Genre: Westerns
Classification: 15 years and over
Production Year: 1964
Running Time: 1 hour 38 minutes
Video Category: Feature Film
Plot: The first collaboration between Eastwood and Leone. The story of the man with no name, who tries to turn a gang feud to his own advantage.
Remake Of: Yojimbo ( 1961 Japan )
DVD Description
The first true spaghetti Western, A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS follows a nameless drifter who plays two feuding families off each other to his own benefit. As members of each family are planted in the ground, the gold in his pocket gets heavier and heavier. This violent remake of Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO made Eastwood a star.
Release details
DVD Region: Region 2 (Europe)
Studio(s): MGM ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date: 07/02/2000
No of Discs: 1
Catalogue No: 16169 DVD
Editor: Roberto Cinquini
Barcode: 5050070000283
Screenwriter: Sergio Leone, G. Schock, Duccio Tessari, Victor A. Catena
Cinematographer: Massimo Dallamano
Composer: Ennio Morricone
Producer: Giorgio Papi
Author: Sergio Leone
Writer: Sergio Leone
Languages
Main Language: English
Subtitle Language: English
Hearing Impaired Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Interactive Menu Screens, Chapter Search, Original Theatrical Trailer, 8 Page Film Guide, Digitally Remastered, Uncut Version
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 Wide Screen
Sound: Mono
Dubbing Sound: Mono English
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Listed on Ciao since : 09/07/2000
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