A Fistful of Dollars

How often do you watch a movie where at some point you just say to yourself "holy s, this is a great movie". This happened to me recently while watching "A Fistful of Dollars". I know, I know.... like country music and rap, we all say we don't like westerns. Unlike those musical genres (my half-sincere apologies to fans) a western need not be void of quality and depth.

In case you aren't familiar with this movie, it is technically the first of a trilogy of westerns made by famed director Sergio Leone. We are are more familiar with the third movie in that trilogy - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - but the first two movies in the set are almost as highly regarded. While "Ugly" is one of my all-time favorites I have to say that "Dollars" was not far behind.

The movie start in classic Leone style. There are almost no words spoken for the first several minutes of the movie. Leone seemingly drops us right into the middle of the plot and the movie starts with a bang. And then there is Clint. Like Nicholson's laugh or Pacino's... well, demeanor.... it seems that Clint's sneer has become almost cliche. But in this movie we are reminded of just how brilliant and descriptive his glare can be. And when he did speak, there was meaning - not a wasted word anywhere in the movie. Some of his comments were downright funny.

Even though the movie starts with a bang there is a palpable build of momentum throughout the movie. The plot was clever and even though you could see the final conflict coming from the beginning of the movie it was still very rewarding when it came. One unique note about this movie and the series in general: Clint's character (nameless in all three but they may very well be the same character) straddles the line between good and evil, often from scene to scene.

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Leone é mito demais! Morricone mestre das trilhas sonoras

What a lovely score by Ennio Morricone

A supremely entertaining western from 1964!

I will say the dubbing nature of 'A Fistful of Dollars' is a little distracting early on, but by the time the opening portion concluded I was incredibly interested in what was happening onscreen. The pacing is excellent, thanks to some very fine cinematography, great action sequences and a top notch score.

Clint Westwood debuts as a leading movie star and is terrific throughout, portraying the wonderfully named J̶o̶e̶ "the Man with No Name". It's little surprise these are the films that truly made him. Away from Eastwood, I really enjoyed the trio that played the Rojo brothers - Gian Maria Volonté (aka Johnny Wels), Sieghardt Rupp and Antonio Prieto. They're just as important as the main man and play the roles superbly.

Bring on the sequels!

If you're interested in the western genre in general, this movie is fantastic. What is there to add to what has already been stated about this movie? The Dollars trilogy is a fantastic narrative medium.

very awesome score action and breathtaking cinematography and final scene very iconic had some pacing issues for being and R rated film it is brutal and not recommended for under 16 years of age

This was such a fun and badass film. Great characterizations and conflicts. I love that the barman tells him to leave town any chance he gets but immediately wants to join in when he knows there’s adventure ahead. This film is full of amazing shots. The POV of Ramon dying just became one of my favorite ever. I’m new to Leone but I really love his panoramic shots. It was fun realizing it’s based on the same novel as Yoijimbo. That was a good film but I just really like the strong direction from Leone. The only part I liked more about Yojimbo is the crazy shop owner in the middle of the town. He was funny as hell.

One of the must-see spaghetti Westerns. A classic

Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood team up for the first time and the partnership quickly bears fruit in this classic, scene-shaping western. While the plot is lifted almost verbatim from Akira Kurosawa's epic Yojimbo, the real devil is in the details as Leone challenges dozens of overplayed western tropes and instantly changes the genre's personality from a preachy, predictable windbag to a dirty, selfish, no-nonsense killer.

Eastwood is outstanding in his first outing as the Man With No Name, (curiously addressed as "Joe" in this chapter) bringing so much depth, certainty and silent substance to the role that it's tough to believe he hadn't been playing it for years. Although it's no comparison to the next two films in the trilogy, which really picks up when Lee Van Cleef enters the fray as Eastwood's dust-cloaked playmate, as warm-ups go it's second to none. At roughly half the length of its siblings, it's also much more digestible and straightforward. Whether that's a positive or a negative is entirely up to the viewer.

Clint Eastwood is great, he does a lot with just his facial expressions. The score is fantastic really sets the mood. I really liked the editing and all the close ups.