A Fistful of Dollars

Name: A Fistful of Dollars
Genre: Western
Released: 1964-09-12
Duration: 1 h 39 min
Rating: 7.9
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonté, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp

In his own way he is, perhaps, the most dangerous man who ever lived!

Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

Timing: 1:39 (99 min)

—
no scores

7.8/10
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7.9/10
252000

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Everything about the movie

Video 20

Photo 149

Actors and characters

Video for the film A Fistful of Dollars — A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964) | Shootout With the Guard | MGM

2:03

Photo 149

Release date

1964-09-12

Country

Germany, Spain, Italy

Production

United Artists, Constantin Film, Taurus Film, Jolly Film, Ocean Films

Genre

Western

Budget

$200 000

Box office

$3 504 161

Website

Director

Sergio Leone

Actors

Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volonté, Wolfgang Lukschy, Sieghardt Rupp, Joseph Egger, Antonio Prieto, José Calvo, Margarita Lozano, Daniel Martín
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Arrigo Colombo, Giorgio Papi

Camera operator

Federico G. Larraya

Composer

Ennio Morricone

Artist

Igino Lardani, Carlo Leva

Audition

Editing

Roberto Cinquini, Alfonso Santacana
Whole Team (66)

Short description

The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.

What's left behind the scenes

“A Fistful of Dollars” is a remake of “Yojimbo” (1961).
Clint Eastwood largely created the image of his character himself. For example, he bought black jeans, a hat, and cigars.
When the film premiered on the ABC channel in 1975, an additional scene was filmed to explain why the 'Man with No Name' traveled to San Miguel. Neither Eastwood nor Leone participated in the reshoots. In this scene, Harry Dean Stanton, playing a politician, orders Eastwood's character to go to San Miguel and rid the town of two gangs in exchange for a pardon. This scene is available on a special DVD edition of the film.
“A Fistful of Dollars” is the first joint project of Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone.
In American trailers, as well as in promotional materials, the film's title was listed as “A Fistful of Dollars”, however, in the film itself – “Fistful of Dollars”.
At school, Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone were in the same class.
"A Fistful of Dollars" is called the first spaghetti western, but about 25 similar films had already been made in Italy before the film was released. However, "A Fistful of Dollars" was the first film to receive international distribution.
The film's original title, "The Magnificent Stranger," was changed to "A Fistful of Dollars" just three days before the premiere. No one bothered to inform Clint Eastwood, who had no idea the film had been so well received by audiences until his agent told him three weeks later.
Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone were classmates in school.
"A Fistful of Dollars" was the first collaborative project between Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone.
Henry Fonda, Steve Reeves, Rory Calhoun, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Henry Silva, and Eric Fleming auditioned for the lead role.
Initially, Sergio Leone did not intend to invite Ennio Morricone to work on the film, as he was not impressed by any of the soundtracks Morricone had created for other films. However, even the initial sketches of the future compositions that sounded in the film forced Leone to change his mind and immediately conclude a contract with Morricone. Subsequently, Morricone would write music for all of Leone's subsequent films.
The film's release in the United States was delayed because the screenwriters of Akira Kurosawa's and Ryuzo Kikushima's *Yojimbo* (1961) filed a lawsuit against the creators of *A Fistful of Dollars* for copyright infringement. Kurosawa and Kikushima won the case and received 15 percent of the worldwide distribution of Sergio Leone's film, as well as exclusive distribution rights in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. According to Kurosawa, *A Fistful of Dollars* earned him more money than his own *Yojimbo* (1961).
According to Howard Hughes, author of "Once Upon a Wild Italian West," Sergio Leone personally found the tree that he felt was perfect for the gallows. The tree was then dug up and transported to the filming location.
Clint Eastwood's famous squint was caused by the bright sun and high-wattage lamps on set.
The original title of the film, “The Magnificent Stranger,” was changed to “A Fistful of Dollars” just three days before the premiere. No one bothered to inform Clint Eastwood about this, who had no idea that the film had been well-received by audiences until his agent told him three weeks later.
The name of “The Man with No Name” (Clint Eastwood) is Joe. His name can be heard in the scene of a conversation with the gravedigger, and in the final credits, Eastwood's character is listed as Joe.
The film's release in the US was delayed because the screenwriters of “Yojimbo” (The Bodyguard), Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima, sued the filmmakers for copyright infringement. Kurosawa and Kikushima won the case and received 15% of the film's worldwide gross and exclusive distribution rights in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. According to Kurosawa, “A Fistful of Dollars” earned him more money than his own “Yojimbo”.
The film's release in the US was delayed because the screenwriters of 'The Bodyguard', Akira Kurosawa and Ryūzō Kikusima, sued the filmmakers for copyright infringement. Kurosawa and Kikusima won the lawsuit and received 15% of the film's worldwide gross and exclusive distribution rights in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. According to Kurosawa, 'A Fistful of Dollars' earned him more money than his own 'The Bodyguard'.
Filming of the movie was completed in 1964, but the film was only released in the US in 1967.
"A Fistful of Dollars" is called the first spaghetti western, but about 25 similar films shot in Italy already existed before its release. However, "A Fistful of Dollars" became the first such film to receive an international release.
Initially, Sergio Leone did not intend to hire Ennio Morricone to work on the film, as he had not been impressed by any of the soundtracks Morricone had created for other movies. However, the initial sketches of the compositions that would appear in the film caused Leone to change his mind and immediately sign a contract with Morricone. Subsequently, Morricone would write the music for all of Leone's later films.
Clint Eastwood largely created his character's image on his own. For example, he purchased the black jeans, the hat, and the cigars himself.
Henry Fonda, Steve Reeves, Rory Calhoun, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Henry Silva, and Eric Fleming all auditioned for the lead role.
In American trailers and promotional materials, the film's title was listed as 'A Fistful of Dollars'; however, in the film itself, it is 'Fistful of Dollars'.
Clint Eastwood himself suggested the idea of the 'Man with No Name' smoking cigars. He bought regular cigars and then cut each one into three pieces.
According to Howard Hughes, author of "Once Upon a Time in the West", Sergio Leone personally found a tree that, in his opinion, was perfect for the gallows tree. The tree was dug up and transported to the set.
'A Fistful of Dollars' is a remake of 'The Bodyguard' (1961).
Since this was a joint Italian-German-Spanish production, there was a significant language barrier on set. Clint Eastwood communicated with Sergio Leone and the Italian crew through stuntman Benito Stefanelli, who served as the project's unofficial translator.
In the film's opening credits, the director's name was listed as 'Bob Roberts' instead of Sergio Leone. This was because, at the time, people in Italy did not go to see Italian films, but exclusively American ones. That is why Leone played a trick and adopted the pseudonym Bob Roberts.
In the opening credits of the film, the director's name was written as "Bob Roberts" instead of Sergio Leone. This was because people in Italy previously didn't go to Italian films, but only to American ones. Therefore, Leone cleverly took the pseudonym Bob Roberts.
Since this was a joint Italian-German-Spanish production, there was a significant language barrier on set. Clint Eastwood communicated with Sergio Leone and the Italian crew through stuntman Benito Stefanelli, who served as the unofficial translator on the project.
Clint Eastwood's famous squint originated from the bright sun and high lamps on set.
When the film premiered on the ABC channel in 1975, an additional scene was filmed for it, explaining why the 'Man with No Name' went to San Miguel. Neither Eastwood nor Leone participated in the reshoots. In this scene, Harry Dean Stanton, who played the politician, orders Eastwood's hero, in exchange for a pardon, to go to San Miguel and rid the city of two gangs. This scene is available on the film's special DVD edition.
The name of the "Man with No Name" (Clint Eastwood) is Joe. His name can be heard during the scene with the undertaker, and Eastwood's character is listed as Joe in the final credits.
Filming was completed in 1964, but the movie was not released in US theaters until 1967.
Clint Eastwood himself suggested the idea of the 'Man with No Name' smoking cigars. He bought ordinary cigars and then cut each of them into three pieces.