A Fistful of Dynamite

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A Fistful of Dynamite

PG

1971

2h 19m

Western

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Popcornmeter

92%

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26 Reviews

83%

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10,000+ Ratings

At the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1913, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners, who are freed by the blast, Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.

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Critics Consensus

Duck, You Sucker is a saucy helping of spaghetti western, with James Coburn and Rod Steiger's chemistry igniting the screen and Sergio Leone's bravura style on full display.

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Budd Wilkins

Slant Magazine

03/18/2024

Sergio Leone’s acerbic revolutionary epic A Fistful of Dynamite posits the notion that, when the bullets start flying, rather than turn rashly heroic, it’s best to keep your head down.

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Vincent Canby

New York Times

09/04/2007

2.5/5

The idiosyncrasies are there, all right, but they have never seemed less interesting.

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Time Out

01/26/2006

The most wry of the political spaghettis, and wholly wonderful.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

05/04/2024

Ultimately [Sergio] Leone’s epic of the Mexican revolution is a portrait in disillusion grounded in ambiguity and contradictions and the most eccentric and touching friendships in Leone’s cinema.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

08/31/2021

3/4

As with most Leone works, A Fistful of Dynamite (which also made the rounds under the monikers Duck, You Sucker and Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution) is full of sly humor and startling camerawork.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

08/29/2020

6/10

The film is overlooked, missing big name stars, and released with numerous different titles since its premiere, but it's still a memorable entry in Leone's Western pantheon.

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Manuel P

@RT29331666 Apr 24

I don't understand how Leone is not in the pantheon of the greatest film makers of all time. The attention to detail, the historic accurtacy... there is even class conciousness in his stories. I've seen his films many times and they still surprise me.

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Beto C.

@Beto_Carvalho Mar 30

In any story, you need to empathize with a character, even when they are evil, in order to care for the outcome. Neither Juan Miranda nor John Mallory are people worth caring about. Additionally, the story is full of holes and half told tales. The first film by Sergio Leone that is unwatchable.

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Nicholas t

@nicktalbert2025 Sep 20

Bad western movie ever

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C S

@RT23254707 Aug 22

Once Upon a time... the Revolution, the films actual title, is part of Leone's Once Upon a time film series. Mistakenly called a Spaghetti Western actually part of another sub-genre altogether, the Zapata Western. It is an excellent film and easily one of the best ever made. A must watch even if only for the beauty of a Leone film, the Morricone score, or its ridiculous.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 20

Success in 2 hours and 19 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Jay W

@RT52162311 Jun 15

Yes, "Duck, You Sucker!" or "Fistful of Dynamite" is Sergio Leone worst western. I know that isn't saying much considering that the “Mt. Rushmore of Best Western Directors” feature Sergio Leone and John Ford as guaranteed heads. So, despite this having some good action set pieces, suspense and fun characters, it still ends up as a disappointment compared to the director's other stellar work. The movie is overly long, and it isn't even close to Leone's longest film, it just feels that way due to its poor pacing. The movie has 4 separate climaxes, and it could have chosen any of them to be the end. Leone's great at making unlikely alliances, but here, Coburn and Steiger do not work well off each other. They could have parted ways several times, but the script keeps bringing them back together. If you are a big western fan, there is still fun action to be had here. But it falls short of Leone's better works.

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Synopsis

At the beginning of the Mexican Revolution in 1913, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners, who are freed by the blast, Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.

Director: Sergio Leone
Producer: Fulvio Morsella
Screenwriter: Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Donati, Sergio Leone
Production Co: Euro International Film (EIA) S.p.A.
Rating: PG
Genre: Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 1, 2016
Runtime: 2h 19m