A Fistful of Dollars

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A Fistful of Dollars

R

Released Jan 18, 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.

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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

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

May 23, 2018

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Chuck Bowen

Slant Magazine

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

Rated: 4/4

May 21, 2018

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

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

Rated: 5/5

Apr 13, 2018

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

The Italian western that launched a genre.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 11, 2024

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David Parkinson

Radio Times

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

Rated: 5/5

Jul 9, 2024

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Howard Waldstein

CBR

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.

Rated: 9/10

May 16, 2024

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Audience Member

Objectively, the movie is overrated. It's not the best western I have seen but you get the sense of authenticity because this was the"gem" of westerns back in it's prime. I don't mind that the movie is old for me(currently 2024) but that the plot and dialogues are basically unimpressive. I recommend for everyone to watch it though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/06/24

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Lord V

A great plot and characters but the violence was a little extreme for my taste.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/03/24

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Ed M

Fistful of Dollars is the introduction to the art of minimalist Western storytelling. Somewhere between Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood, their respective styles met and created a perfect jewel. Not the best by either of them, but you can see where their directing/acting travels began.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/31/24

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CodyZamboni Z

Exciting , fast paced, ground breaking Western, Iconic Eastwood role, Memorable music, Still shocking at the amount of brutal carnage unleashed, As Clint pits two warring families against each other. At first ,only for money, But Clint soon begins fighting for the freedom of a woman's family.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/06/24

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Syed R

I loved how the movie had a lot of moments with drama and suspense but I feel like it didn’t really catch my attention throughout the whole movie. The movie had a bunch of zoom ins and outs which definitely enhanced the feeling we felt while watching. But it also could’ve been more interesting and changed some parts up.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/17/24

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Pillow R

Complete and utter garbage. Super duper bad

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/13/24

Full Review

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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: Constantin Film, Ocean Films [es], Jolly 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

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