Clint Eastwood's legendary "Man With No Name" makes his powerful debut in this thrilling, action-packed "new breed of western" (Motion Picture Herald) from the acclaimed director of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and For a... more » Few Dollars More. Exploding with blistering shootouts, dynamic performances and atmospheric cinematography, it's an undisputed classic of the genre. A mysterious gunman (Eastwood) has just arrived in San Miguel, a grim, dusty border town where two rival bands of smugglers are terrorizing the impoverished citizens. A master of the "quick-draw,"the stranger soon receives offers of employment from each gang. But his loyalty cannot be bought; he accepts both jobs...and sets in motion a plan to destroy both groups of criminals, pitting one against the other in a series of brilliantly orchestrated setups, showdowns and deadly confrontations.« less
Rodney P. from BEAUMONT, TX Reviewed on 11/23/2018...
Spaghetti Western essential! This is the film that made Eastwood a international star. This film does everything right: violent, stylish and haunting music score courtesy of Morricone. If you only watch a few Westerns in your life then watch this one and it's two sequels!
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Movie Reviews
A Fistful of Dollars - A true genre classic!
K. Wyatt | St. Louis, MO United States | 03/14/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A Fistful of Dollars is truly one of the big classics in the western genre and one that began a newer, better style of western films. First in a string of Clint Eastwood's "spaghetti" westerns, it has a style and cinematic class all to itself. This is where Clint Eastwood began his style of western hero who doesn't say much, but gets his point across through his facial expressions and of course his actions, more specifically with his six shooter at his side. The premise:Clint Eastwood plays "the man with no name" other than the name given to him by one of the characters in the film, Joe. In what is now a classic style, he rides into town on a mule and witnesses the brutality of the town bullies. Without saying a word to them, they harass him and he calmly goes into one of the town bars, has some food and listens to what the bar owner has to tell him about the town's situation. He casually decides to stay and do something about the entire situation, walks out and takes out four of the bad guys. What follows from there is such an outstanding film that is fraught with a certain degree of humor as he deftly plays both sides against his middle and walks away with "A Fistful of Dollars."If you're a fan of the western genre and haven't seen this classic, I highly suggest you pick this DVD up. Some might be put off by the age of this movie, that is simply not the case though as this movie is timeless. Despite the fact that it was made in Spain, with many European actors and in a foreign language, it's just pure fun!The DVD:Given today's almighty DVD's where there is every sort of special/extra feature that a fan can imagine, this one is your meat and potato's kind. It has the movie, a great theatrical trailer and a booklet. It is nice and simple, with not too much to get wrapped around other than the outstanding movie within. The booklet is an extremely interesting read, giving some facts for the movie I wasn't aware of. {ssintrepid}"
"New Breed of Western......New Breed of Hero"
L. Shirley | fountain valley, ca United States | 09/24/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In the small dusty border town of San Miguel, two gangs of "criminals and smugglers" are both trying to take over the town and be the "bosses". Out of nowhere enters our hero, the very dangerous(but very cute) gunman with no name(Clint Eastwood). In this first of the trilogy directed by Sergio Leone
Clint decides to play the rival gangs against each other, first working for one then the other. Why? Because there's money to made here. In the process, there are deadly shootouts, Clint saves a family,gets his face bashed in (I hated that part) and well I wont give away the end.
This film was followed by "A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". All three a must see's for the Eastwood fan. This one was based on the Japaneese film "Yojimbo" and was also the basis for the more recent "Last Man Standing" starring Bruce Willis.
Billed as "A New Breed of Western" (more commonly called spaghetti westerns, although it was shot in Spain), it is a cinematic treat you wont want to miss. The actors performances are terrific and the scenery stunning.
The DVD(by MGM) is a must have. The picture is crisp, the colors are sharp and the widescreen excellent. The sound is Mono,(only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) but it still sounds good, the horses and guns are crisp and the dialouge is fine.(The film is nearly 40 years old )
Not a whole lot of extras, but for me This movie was the extra!
What the DVD has is the Original Theatrical Trailer, Scene Selection, and a very informative booklet that talks about the making of the film. It also has subtitles, English and French which could be helpful for hearing impaired viewers, and a standard film format on the other side for those who might prefer it to the widescreen.
If you have never seen it and you like westerns, you'll love it. If you have already seen it and know you love it, you will enjoy the DVD.
thanx-Laurie
more clint stuff:
Paint Your Wagon
Music for the Movies of Clint Eastwood
Eastwood on Eastwood [VHS]"
THE SAMURAI AND THE GUN
wdanthemanw | Geneva, Switzerland | 05/02/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Astonishing remake of Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, directed by italian director Sergio Leone, deserves to be in every movie lover's library. In Toshiro Mifune's role, Clint Eastwood gave a performance that established him as one of the greatest american star of the next forty years.With an international cast of german, italian, spanish and american actors, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS could have been only an ordinary B-movie of the early 60's. On the contrary, this movie has become the symbol of the revival of a dying Hollywood genre - the western - and will be followed by dozens of imitations until the definitive burial of the genre by Clint Eastwood with the masterpiece UNFORGIVEN.The villain, played by Gian-Maria Volontè, is so terrific that Sergio Leone will hire this wonderful italian actor to play the role of Indio, the bad guy of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, with the result we all know.I was a little bit anxious before playing the DVD ; the bad quality of the image of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE was still on my mind. But, don't worry - be happy, the copy was in almost perfect state and the transfer well done. Subtitles and a trailer as bonus features.A DVD for your library."
Best of the "man with no name" trilogy
Jaewoo Kim | Santa Monica, CA | 09/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I think people are missing the point of this film when they focus on the action sequence. The underlying theme of the entire movie is one of self sacrifice for what is right and just. It is wrong to conclude that main the character (clint eastwood) pits the two gangs against each other for the money. If that is the case, then why does he give it ALL away to Marisol, to whom he owes NO obligation or favors, at the risk of his own life? Fortunately for the viewers, Marisol does ask why. His answer is "..because...I used to know someone like you..and there was no one to help.." (probably referring to his own mother whom he was powerless to rescue from the raping bandits). That one line says EVERYTHING about his past, his motivation, and the theme of the movie. The director goes to great length to convince the viewer the "man with no name" has no morals. In fact, he seems downright evil and greedy, as he constantly says "I don't work for cheap" and seems to be ready for hire for any sordid duties asked of him for the right price. Only in the very brief and defining moment of the movie (when he rescues Marisol, her son, and her husband) we see him as he truly is. Unlike most westerns, the man does not waste words preaching righteousness, he lets his actions speak for themselves. It is the moral subtlety of this movie which makes it great."
A DVD worth many fistfuls of dollars
Jordan M. Poss | Georgia, United States | 06/10/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"(This review refers to the new 2-disc "collector's edition" released in 2007.)
A Fistful of Dollars kicked off a new era for the western, a tried and true--and, by 1964, almost exhausted--cinematic genre that needed a fresh start. Audiences had grown cynical and tired of the white-hat/black-hat simplicity of most western classics and, as with the waning war-film genre, were looking for something different.
Enter Sergio Leone and A Fistful of Dollars, a gritty "Italian western" shot in Spain on a shoestring budget and starring an up-and-coming--but still virtually unknown--television actor named Clint Eastwood. The movie was a huge international hit, launched Eastwood into stardom, and spawned two subsequent "Man With No Name" westerns and dozens of imitations.
MGM's new release of this classic "new western" is outstanding. In recent years, I've been pleased every time MGM has issued a new release of a classic from its library, as every new edition has improved vastly upon those previous.
Picture quality: Excellent anamorphic transfer, diligently tidied up and restored. Outstanding.
Sound quality: Includes the requisite original mono track and an excellent new surround-sound mix.
Special features: Very good. An informative commentary track by film historian Sir Christopher Frayling is accompanied by a second disc including several nice featurettes, none of which are boring and none of which are so long that they wear out their welcome. I watched most of them while getting ready in the morning.
If you've been waiting for a good edition of A Fistful of Dollars, this is it.