ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Antonius Block Clint Eastwood was not director Sergio Leone's first choice for the 'Man with No Name' role, but he's excellent, and a huge part of why this film is successful. He has the look of a rattlesnake in Leone's tight shots, exudes confidence and is tough, and yet he's also wryly playful. His best lines occur early on, when he calls out four men for trying to intimidate him by shooting at his mule when he rode into town. He says, "I don't think it's nice, you laughin'. You see, my mule don't like people laughing. He gets the crazy idea you're laughin' at him. Now if you apologize, like I know you're going to, I might convince him that you really didn't mean it." It's easy to see why this film and the rest of the Spaghetti Western films which shortly followed established Eastwood as a star. His poncho and thin black cigars are also iconic.Leone's direction is also strong. He creates a gritty, dark mood in this film, combines those tight shots on his actors with wide panoramas, and makes great use Ennio Morricone's music. The film was shot in Spain and has some gorgeous shots early on, but I would have loved to have seen more of them. The dialogue was clearly dubbed in afterwards, and except for Eastwood, is sometimes hard to understand. José Calvo is good as the innkeeper who befriends Eastwood, but John Wells (Gian Maria Volontè) as the main villain is just average. I was not happy that Leone had pirated Kurosawa's film Yojimbo (1961) to make this one, but tried to keep it out of my mind. It's an entertaining movie, the birth of a great collaboration between Eastwood and Leone, and seems to have been influential to the entire genre, and for all that it's worth watching.

Pjtaylor-96-138044 The first in the trilogy is a little rough around the edges, especially in the dubbing department - thanks to the fact that no on-set sound was captured, so all the English audio had to be looped in for the US release almost three years after its original Italian theatrical run. There's no doubt 'A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)' is an amazing and stylish spaghetti western that stands out as a staple of the wider genre, though. There are times when the plot drags a little and it isn't told as neatly as it could be, but no other director can eek so much tension from people just staring at one another, and the final shootout is one of the best of its kind. When the score kicks in during the long moments before a quick-draw showdown, it's hard not to smile. 7/10

tjay-43379 You really appreciate the original Kurosawa production after watching this. This is a poor production compared to Kurosawa's Yojimbo. The acting is just sub-par and amateurish. I like Eastwood as an actor but I don't know what it is but he is just misplaced in this production. He performance is just, well, sub-par. Comparing him to Mifune in Yojimbo would be an insult. You just come to further appreciate what a truly brilliant actor Mifune was after watching this. There is just no comparison in Fist Full of Dollars and the original Yojimbo production.

slightlymad22 Having finished viewing Mel Gibson's Filmography in order, I'm now working my way through the legend that is Clint Eastwood's Filmography starting with A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)Plot In A Paragraph: A stranger (Clint Eastwood) rides into a town torn by war between two factions, the Baxters and the Rojo's. He schemes to play the two sides off each other, getting rich in the bargain.It's impossible to talk about Leone's spaghetti westerns without heading Ennino Morricone's superb score, so I'll start by saying he sets the tone with what is to come right from the opening credits. It's fantastic and he can be simple or inventive either way it's first class.In 1964 Clint was an established TV star, thanks to his role as Rowdy Yates on TV's Rawhide, a role he had played for 5 years and 7 seasons, so to say Clint was already at home playing a cowboy would be an understatement. Needless to say, we are a long way from Rawhide here. Considering what a risk (shooting a low budget Western in Italy and Spain, with a director nobody had heard of, with only one directing credit to his name, who didn't even speak English) this was at the time for Eastwood, he looks great in his now iconic outfit and very confident, We see Clint honing his trademark expressions!! The snarl, the squint and the famous grin!! We also see a rare occasion. Clint take a great deal of punishment in this movie, maybe the most vicious punishment he receives in his entire career.Grossing $14 million A Fistful Of Dollars was the sixth highest grossing movie and 1964. A Massive success given its $200,000 budget.