A Fistful of Dollars

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

1964 1h 39m IT

🙌

7.8

BANGER

★7.8TMDB · 4,912

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

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

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Cast

Clint Eastwood
Joe
Marianne Koch
Marisol
Gian Maria Volonté
Ramón Rojo
Wolfgang Lukschy
John Baxter
Sieghardt Rupp
Esteban Rojo
Joseph Egger
Piripero
Antonio Prieto
Don Benito Rojo / Don Miguel Rojo
José Calvo
Silvanito

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sergio Leone
Writers: Jaime Comas Gil, Adriano Bolzoni, Sergio Leone
Languages: Italian, Spanish
Countries: Germany, Italy, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $15M — a 72.5× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sergio Leone, shot by Federico G. Larraya. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alfonso Santacana shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sergio Leone directs. Federico G. Larraya behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Alfonso Santacana cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany, Italy, Spain. Dialogue in Italian, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $15M — a 72.5× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
362 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, Spanish.
5International production across 3 countries: Germany, Italy, Spain.
6Directed by Sergio Leone, shot by Federico G. Larraya. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Alfonso Santacana shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Clint Eastwood and Marianne Koch and Gian Maria Volonté carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "In his own way he is, perhaps, the most dangerous man who ever lived!".
11IMDB entry: tt0058461 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "gunslinger", "based on novel or book", "hostility", "greed".
13Released under 22 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Federico G. Larraya
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Alfonso Santacana
Makeup / hair: Sam Watkins
Stunt coordinator: Benito Stefanelli
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000
Box office: $14,500,000
Return: 7250% of budget
Original language: IT
Certification (US): R
IMDB: A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

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Community reviews

What people are saying

AshJohann2020-12-22
★ 8/10
Funny child acting, nonsense sense of distance, bad dubbing and weak dialogue bring down an otherwise magnificent film. A Western remake of Yojimbo, it's remarkable how such a simple story can lend itself to such a great experience. The atmosphere is built up masterfully - with stunning cinematography, striking close-ups, beautifully constructed mise-en-scene, a fantastic performance from Eastwood, Moricone's ever powerful music, and a lovely overabundance of laughing - all culminating in one of the best showdowns in cinematic history.
Venti_Pro2021-08-09
Even better than I remember. The story was more interesting than I remembered. The Man With No Name is more fun in this movie than I remembered. The side characters are more interesting than I remembered. My only complaints are that some of the acting and parts of the script could be better. This is really epic movie that I would not mind watching again!
r96sk2022-01-10
★ 9/10
A supremely entertaining western from 1964! I will say the dubbing nature of <em>'A Fistful of Dollars'</em> 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!