A Fistful of Dollars

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A Fistful of Dollars

R

1964

1h 36m

Western

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98%

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56 Reviews

91%

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50,000+ Ratings

Wandering gunfighter Joe arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among sheriff John Baxter and the three Rojo brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, Joe is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the other.

Critics Consensus

With Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo as his template, Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars helped define a new era for the Western and usher in its most iconic star, Clint Eastwood.

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Simon Abrams

Village Voice

05/23/2018

Every genre-loving moviegoer should see at least once projected on a theater screen.

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Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

05/21/2018

4/4

The climatic bloodbath of A Fistful of Dollars still stings because the film's swaggering braggadocio deliberately fails to prepare us for it.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

04/13/2018

5/5

[Clint] Eastwood may not have been technically gifted, but he had plenty of star quality.

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

09/11/2024

4/5

The Italian western that launched a genre.

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

07/09/2024

5/5

Gian Maria Volonté lends excellent support as the snarling Ramon and Ennio Morricone's minimalist score is a gem.

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

05/16/2024

9/10

It seems all that it took was a spark to ignite the storied career, but it all truly begins with A Fistful of Dollars. We should all be thankful.

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Jerod S

@jeroduptown 1d

Eastwood is the quintessential cowboy - rugged but good. He plays some bad brothers against each other in this Mexican town.

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Benjamin W.

@Code70 May 10

Y’know, some movies just live up to their high reputation. This is one of them. The Dollars trilogy is known as one of the greatest in cinematic history. And if this is a trilogy that improves with each one like I’ve heard, I can’t believe how great 2 and 3 will be. This was just such an impressive Western, with an iconic Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name, incredible cinematography, a sweeping score, and just a classic western tale told excellently. It’s a defining work in the genre, and one of the most influential films out there.

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Circus E.

@COS.ENT85 Apr 11

LOVED IT! pacing a bit slow in spots, but its Clint! 9/10

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Tyler L

@Tyler131 Apr 6

This movie has great cinematography ,a great score and fantastic action scenes with great performances.

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Drew M.

@Stonehands211 Feb 18

The cinematography and score are undeniably great! Such a great first watch.

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Kevin P

@RT55971421 Feb 3

A great action-packed western that holds up very well with its gritty tone, stylistic visuals, and fast pace. The film feels ahead of its time with its sharp editing, wide shot landscapes, and brutal gunshots. Arguably the birth of the Spaghetti Western. The movie is very groundbreaking and ahead of its time for modern gritty action movies. It's the start of the western disillusionment subgenre that defined the 1960's and 1970's with an overwhelming sense of violence and lawlessness in the pursuit of profit. Clint Eastwood is awesome as the Man With No Name, aka "The Stranger". A cool and mysterious caped mercenary hired gun who silently observes before quickly making his move. The film has great editing, fast pacing, great cinematography, beautiful landscape shots, and an awesome soundtrack. The Man with No Name is ruthlessly efficient with his gunslinging, but also very clever and a man of few words. The climax is very exciting with great cinematography that's insanely influential,

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Sergio Leone

Director

Clint Eastwood

Joe

Marianne Koch

Marisol

Joseph Egger

Piripero

Wolfgang Lukschy

John Baxter

Gian Maria Volonté

Ramón Rojo

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Synopsis

Wandering gunfighter Joe arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among sheriff John Baxter and the three Rojo brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, Joe is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the other.

Director: Sergio Leone
Producer: Arrigo Colombo, Giorgio Papi
Screenwriter: Adriano Bolzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena, Jaime Comas Gil, Sergio Leone
Distributor: Tobis Filmkunst, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Ízaro Films S.A., Unidis
Production Co: Jolly Film, Ocean Films [es], Constantin Film
Rating: R
Genre: Western
Original Language: Italian
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 1964, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 22, 2012
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Mono