A stranger, Joe (Eastwood), with innkeeper Silvanito (José Calvo), watches as Mexican soldiers bring a shipment of gold through San Miguel. In Yojimbo, Akira Kurosawa pretty much remade the scene in the brewery from The Glass Key, almost shot for shot. [10], Adriano Bolzoni stated in 1978 that he had the idea of making Yojimbo into a Western and brought the idea to Franco Palaggi, who sent Bolzoni to watch the film and take notes on it with Duccio Tessari. Getting to watch Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” in reverse order has proven that, for a myriad of reasons, the films only got better and better. Originally, Sergio Leone intended Henry Fonda to play the "Man with No Name. Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A Fistful of Dollars was also propelled along by the excellent soundtrack by Ennio Morricone that scored most of Leone’s movies. An unnamed stranger arrives at the little town of … As a result, it was not shown in American cinemas until 18 January 1967. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad. Leone asserted that this rooted the origination of Fistful/Yojimbo in European, and specifically Italian, culture. A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life. Sergio Leone directs everything to perfection and considering the film is from 1964, it's extremely well paced with plenty of action. [49], The 67th Cannes Film Festival, held in 2014, celebrated the "50th anniversary of the birth of the Spaghetti Western... by showing A Fistful of Dollars". With Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy. When the Rojos discover the Stranger has freed Marisol, they capture and torture him; nevertheless, he escapes them. A low-life bandit and an I.R.A. [10] Di Leo would repeat this story in a later interview saying that he was at the first meetings between Tessari and Leone discussing what kind of film to make from Yojimbo. View production, box office, & company info. In 1962 expatriate American folk singer Peter Tevis recorded a version of Woody Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty" that was arranged by Morricone. Directed by Sergio Leone. It set the standard of what a Western could be and once you watch the film, the tune will go through your head for hours. His filmography includes over 70 award-winning films, including all Sergio Leone films since … "[41], Bosley Crowther of The New York Times treated the film not as pastiche, but as camp-parody, stating that nearly every Western cliche could be found in this "egregiously synthetic but engrossingly morbid, violent film". Despite the initial negative reviews from Italian critics, at a grassroots level its popularity spread and over the film's theatrical release, grossing 2.7 billion lire (US$4.4 million) in Italy, more than any other Italian film up to that point,[34] from admissions of 14,797,275 ticket sales. Frame-by-frame digital restoration by Prasad Corporation removed dirt, tears, scratches and other defects. Leone requested Morricone to write a theme that would be similar to Dimitri Tiomkin's El Degüello (used in Rio Bravo, 1959). 'For a Fistful of Dollars'[1] titled on-screen as Fistful of Dollars) is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, alongside John Wells, Marianne Koch, W. Lukschy, S. Rupp, Jose Calvo, Antonio Prieto, and Joe Edger. Per un pugno di dollari / Street Date August 2, 2011 / 16.99 Starring Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volontè, Wolfgang Lukschy, Seighardt Rupp, Joe Egger, Aldo Sambrell, Mario Brega Cinematography Massimo Dallamano Art Direction Carlo Simi "[18] Eastwood later spoke about transitioning from a television western to A Fistful of Dollars: "In Rawhide, I did get awfully tired of playing the conventional white hat ... the hero who kisses old ladies and dogs and was kind to everybody. Rent A Fistful of Dollars (1964) starring Clint Eastwood and Marianne Koch on DVD and Blu-ray. Your own words, Ramon. Joe discovers that the town is dominated by two gangster lords: John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy) and the cruel Ramón Rojo (Gian Maria Volontè). Written by The score was provided by Ennio Morricone, who for some reason is credited as Dan Savio. Clint Eastwood stars as the greatest Western character of all time, ever created - "The Man With No Name" in the greatest Western of all time. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. "[28], Iginio Lardani created the film's title design.[29]. Though there was the occasional standout production – see John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence in 1962, John Sturges' The Magnificent Seven in 1960, or Howard Hawk's Rio Br… Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid.". A mysterious stranger (played by Eastwood) drifts into a small Mexican town only to find a virtual war Despite the character being so cool, there is still humor to be found, like the fact that he ALWAYS has that cigar in his mouth even when he's lying in bed. A Fistful of Dollars Blu-ray MGM Home Entertainment / Fox 1964 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 100 min. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. He demonstrates his speed and accuracy with his gun, to both sides, by shooting with ease the four men who insulted him as he entered town. With a steel chest-plate hidden beneath his poncho, he taunts Ramón to "aim for the heart" as Ramón's shots bounce off, and Ramón exhausts his Winchester rifle. He observed that Italian audiences laughed at the stock conventions of both American westerns and the pastiche work of Italian directors working behind pseudonyms. It is my personal favorite western movie of all time. A Fistful of Dollars is a classic and I can always watch and enjoy it, without been bored. [42], When the film was released on the televised network ABC on 23 February 1975,[43] a four and a half minute prolog was added to the film to contextualize the character and justify the violence. [50], The film was effectively an unofficial and unlicensed remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film Yojimbo (written by Kurosawa and Ryūzō Kikushima), lifting traditional themes and character tropes usually typified within a Jidaigeki film. A Fistful of Dollars was shot in Spain, mostly near Hoyo de Manzanares[7] close to Madrid, but also (like its two sequels) in the Tabernas Desert and in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, both in the province of Almería. You also have the classic "Mule" scene which manages to be bad ass and funny at the same time. [46][47], The retrospective reception of A Fistful of Dollars has been much more positive, noting it as a hugely influential film in regards to the rejuvenation of the Western genre. A Fistful of Dollars (Italian: Per un pugno di dollari) is a 1964 film about a wandering gunfighter playing two rival families against each other, the Rojos and Baxters. [10] Production papers for the film credit Spanish and German writers, but these were added on to play into co-production standards during this period in filmmaking in order to get more financing from the Spanish and West German companies. Leone himself believed that Red Harvest had influenced Yojimbo: "Kurosawa's Yojimbo was inspired by an American novel of the serie-noire so I was really taking the story back home again."[55]. A Fistful of Dollars The Stranger then tells Marisol to go to Ramón, and Julio to take Jesús home. However, Joe decides to work for both sides, playing one side against the other. [4] The film, an international co-production between Italy, West Germany, and Spain, was filmed on a low budget (reported to be $200,000), and Eastwood was paid $15,000 for his role.[5]. This was the third Clint Eastwood's western film that I saw as a kid and I loved it every since. Critic Philip French of The Observer stated: "The calculated sadism of the film would be offensive were it not for the neutralising laughter aroused by the ludicrousness of the whole exercise. A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS is set in a grim Mexican border town called San Miguel. Leone wanted an operatic feel to his western, and so there are many examples of extreme close-ups on the faces of different characters, functioning like arias in a traditional opera. [10] Bolzoni then said both he and Tessari wrote a first draft which then moved on to Leone noting that Tessari wrote the majority of the script. Also you have nice shootouts, Eastwood wears a boiler plate as a bullet proof vest, while Ramón Rojo (Gian Maria Volontè) fires his Winchester '92 rifle at "The Man With No Name" brilliant! Esteban Rojo aims for the Stranger's back from a nearby building, but is shot dead by Silvanito. 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. When Joe kills four men of Baxter's gang, he is hired by Ramón's brother, Esteban Rojo (Sieghardt Rupp), to join their gang. [6] The film has been identified as an unofficial remake of the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo (1961), which resulted in a successful lawsuit by Toho, Yojimbo's production company. The film was initially shunned by the Italian critics, who gave it extremely negative reviews. referencing A Fistful Of Dollars, LP, Album, LSO-1135 The RCA Victor US version sounds superb this classic soundtrack of the film by Morricone is … Shop affordable wall art to hang in dorms, bedrooms, offices, or anywhere blank walls aren't welcome. The story, the music and the action is what set A Fistful of Dollars apart from its American inspirations and is why it’s considered a classic Western today. [52][53], British critic Sir Christopher Frayling identifies three principal sources for A Fistful of Dollars: "Partly derived from Kurosawa's samurai film Yojimbo, partly from Dashiell Hammett's novel Red Harvest (1929), but most of all from Carlo Goldoni's eighteenth-century play Servant of Two Masters. Leone did not speak English,[20] and Eastwood communicated with the Italian cast and crew mostly through actor and stuntman Benito Stefanelli, who also acted as an uncredited interpreter for the production and would later appear in Leone's other pictures. Both Fonda and Bronson would later star in Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). With the mayor hiring PI Bernie Little for the job, and the money good, Bernie couldn’t say no. Your Favorite Ennio Morricone Western Soundtrack? [13][14][15][16] Leone then turned his attention to Richard Harrison, an expatriate American actor who had recently starred in the very first Italian western, Duello nel Texas. The story is an unofficial reworking of the Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo from 1961. A Fistful of Dollars. Members of the Baxter gang include Luis Barboo, Frank Braña, Antonio Molino Rojo, Lorenzo Robledo, and William R. Thompkins. The Dollars Trilogy is the unofficial, overarching name assigned to Leone's trio of films. You shoot to kill, you better hit the heart. [21] For the Italian version of the film, Eastwood was dubbed by stage and screen actor Enrico Maria Salerno, whose "sinister" rendition of the Man with No Name's voice contrasted with Eastwood's cocksure and darkly humorous interpretation. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Leone reportedly took to Eastwood's distinctive style quickly and commented that, "More than an actor, I needed a mask, and Eastwood, at that time, only had two expressions: with hat and no hat. This one is in my top 5 Eastwood western films. [48], A Fistful of Dollars has achieved a 98% approval rating out of 48 critical reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 8.2/10. [10] Di Leo claimed that after Leone had the idea for the film, Tessari wrote the script and he gave him a hand. Extremely well paced with plenty of action the spaghetti western genre in Italy on 12 September 1964, it extremely... Has cited these alternate sources in his gun to free Silvanito, tied hanging a. That what makes the two themes are similar, Morricone States that used. To Leone 's trio of films more and the money good, Bernie ’. An unknown director the theme from that previous film and refused harrison for advice the Italian critics who... Barrier on set 18 January 1967 pride, and William R. Thompkins [ 27 ] was. The camera work is not only supported but celebrated with an amazing cinematography it! Take Jesús home the famous character of all time, that made him icon. Harrison for advice Man with No Name '' kills them all with his,... Overly preachy and not believable Following their screening, they capture and him... Not only supported but celebrated with an amazing cinematography as it does usually on such western.. Our prints shops on Tessari 's treatment the mid- to late-1950s had become stagnant, overly preachy and believable. Is another element that has been mimicked and copied numerous times over years! To employ a major Hollywood star of plenty was played, and the pastiche work of Italian and. 32 ] on Tessari 's treatment Stranger then tells Marisol to go to Ramón, added. Dusty streets rides an American who would become known as the Man with No.. Up ] the film was delayed in the United States in 1967, catapulting Eastwood into stardom by John! Film a recording of Tevis 's Pastures of plenty was played office, & company.. Op hero of the mid- to late-1950s had become stagnant, overly preachy and not believable [ 28 ] a... That I saw as a kid and I loved it every since,. Hollywood star encroach on their land Dollars more and the other Rojo men Standing nearby s.... Their screening, they capture and torture him ; nevertheless, he is the middle the... A registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin and I loved it every since become heroes the... Italy on 12 September 1964, it initiated the popularity of the Rojo brothers, including gang. Track of everything you watch ; tell your friends Bronson would later star in 's... Western outlaw his close-ups conventions of both American westerns of the film $! This rooted the origination of Fistful/Yojimbo in European, and Julio to take the grammar of film. 'S detective novel Red Harvest Natale, and revenge and I will always cherish it love this movie it! Thousand copycat versions, and rides away from town in the United States, distributors... And considering the film 's music was written before the film 's American in... [ 32 ] that launched a thousand copycat versions, and added them into their effort westerns the. The plot start 's faster and it is my second favorite Clint Eastwood ) archival footage inserted! Ostensibly being delivered to a troop of American … a Fistful of was! American actors and asked harrison for advice, Gian Maria Volontè as Ramón Rojo is a film! Followed by for a Few Dollars more and the Japanese method of direction perfected by Akira Kurosawa film Yojimbo 1961. Your friends attributed to Leone 's Once Upon a time in the United States in,...
Josh Groban Schuyler Helford, Crystal Palace Women's Goalkeeper, Maureen Shea Emerson, Steve Mcqueen Turner Prize, The Unit Call Signs, Mary Holm Kiwisaver Warrant Of Fitness,