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After doing some research I could only find Fistful of Dollars at Virgin and Hmv. You can get the special edition elsewhere but my review is about the widescreen version. The prices are RRP - £18.00 Virgin - £15.99 Hmv - £6.99 delivered.
DVD DETAILS
Play Scene selection Us theactrical trailer - This was the trailer that was used in 1967 for the American market three years after its 1964 release in Europe. Language - English and Italian available. Subtitles - English and English hard of hearing
Filmed on location 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 spaghetti western
family of films to be aimed at the american market. At first Sergio Leone wanted either Henry Fonda or Charles bronson to play the lead role of 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 of long silence and then bursts of violence, never glamorised violence in his films. Was also the screenwriter and author.
Producers
Arrigio colombo - Not much information available about this man, worked mainly on european released films. But changed his name to Harry Colombo for the spaghetti westerns .
Giorgio Papi - Changed his name to George Papi not many films known other than perhaps Othello.
Composer/music - Ennio Morricone Changed his name to Dan Savio. Was in my opinion not given the credit he deserves in the spaghetti westerns, the soundtrack in these films are what makes these films. They are memorable and most fans will know them. He was also a classmate of Sergio Leone.
The cast.
Clint Eastwood - Up until the making this film was more known for his role in rawhide rather than his film appearances, but these films definitley put him on the map.
Marianne Koch - Made most of her films within europe tried to DO some americam films but with not much success.
Gian Maria Volonte - Was enough of a success in this film to warrant another role as a bad guy in For A Few Dollars More.
This film was the first film to introduce the anti hero, I say anti because there is little difference between the bad guys and the good guys. For which I believe Clint Eastwood pulls off better than anyone. And although United Artist studios promoted this film as clint being the man with no name, in the european versions he is known as Joe.
The story.
The man with no name arrives in a small town called San Miguel which is run by two families the Rojos and the Baxters. The Baxters are run by John Baxter who is also the sherriff and his wife Consuela but you soon realise
The story line of this film is as follows, the man with no name arrives in the small town of San Miguel in new mexico, and realises that he can make money in this town which is split between two families.
The first family is the Baxters run by John Baxter and his wife Consuela. John Baxter is also the sheriff, but in this town he is not much use as a sheriff. But the real boss is his wife.
The second family is the Rojos run by three brothers, fisrt there is Don Miguel who is credited with being in charge, there is Esteban who is all talk and a bigger coward. Then finally there is Ramon the man everyone is scared of (accept the man with no name). As good as the man with no name is with the pistol is with the rifle.
The man with no name decides to play them both against each other and one by one he kills them all and makes money. You also get to see the compassionate side when he helps a family escape from the Rojos and even gives them money.
My opinon.
I would like to say there is a moral to this story but that is not what this film is about, this film will entertain you start to finish, the lines from the man with no name are all memorable . My favourite is :-
Man with no name to coffin maker " get three coffins ready." goes off shoots some people and returns and say "sorry my mistake better make that four"
Sergio was a very talented director and always got the best out of those around him. He does not glamorise the violence in this but at the same time you wont see blood, so if you do not like blood do not worry. Although this as a rating of 15 I think you could safely let a 10 year old watch this without worrying too much. I love this film and I would put this at number three in the best spaghetti westerns list. You do not have to be a fan of Clint Eastwood to like this but you will most likely need to be a western fan.
Finally would I buy this again yes without a shadow of a doubt . Just wishing all the mothers out a happy mothers day
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Production Year: 1965 - Westerns - Director: Sergio Leone - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Klaus Kinski, Mario Brega, Gian Maria Volonte, Mara Krup, Luigi Pistilli
It still amazes me that because of Eastwood the Man With No Name trilogy is always the ones that come up when spaghetti Westerns are mentioned. As good as they are there are many many better than them :o)
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This is the movie that launched the spaghetti Western and catapulted Clint Eastwood to ... more
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 seriesRawhide....
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![A Fistful Of Dollars [1964] [DVD] [1967]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78545652.jpg "A Fistful Of Dollars [1964] [DVD] [1967]")
Mar 15th, 2007
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