5/5 A Fistful of Dollars - A true genre classic!
  by K. Wyatt (St. Louis, MO United States)
A Fistful of Dollars is truly one of the big classics in the western genre and one that began a newer, better style of western films. First in a string of Clint Eastwood's "spaghetti" westerns, it has a style and cinematic class all to itself. This is where Clint Eastwood began his style of western hero who doesn't say much, but gets his point across through his facial expressions and of course his actions, more specifically with his six shooter at his side.

The premise:

Clint Eastwood plays "the man with no name" other than the name given to him by one of the characters in the film, Joe. In what is now a classic style, he rides into town on a mule and witnesses the brutality of the town bullies. Without saying a word to them, they harass him and he calmly goes into one of the town bars, has some food and listens to what the bar owner has to tell him about the town's situation. He casually decides to stay and do something about the entire situation, walks out and takes out four of the bad guys. What follows from there is such an outstanding film that is fraught with a certain degree of humor as he deftly plays both sides against his middle and walks away with "A Fistful of Dollars."

If you're a fan of the western genre and haven't seen this classic, I highly suggest you pick this DVD up. Some might be put off by the age of this movie, that is simply not the case though as this movie is timeless. Despite the fact that it was made in Spain, with many European actors and in a foreign language, it's just pure fun!

The DVD:

Given today's almighty DVD's where there is every sort of special/extra feature that a fan can imagine, this one is your meat and potato's kind. It has the movie, a great theatrical trailer and a booklet. It is nice and simple, with not too much to get wrapped around other than the outstanding movie within. The booklet is an extremely interesting read, giving some facts for the movie I wasn't aware of. {ssintrepid}

5/5 THE SAMURAI AND THE GUN
  by wdanthemanw (Geneva, Switzerland)
Astonishing remake of Akira Kurosawa's YOJIMBO, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, directed by italian director Sergio Leone, deserves to be in every movie lover's library. In Toshiro Mifune's role, Clint Eastwood gave a performance that established him as one of the greatest american star of the next forty years.

With an international cast of german, italian, spanish and american actors, FISTFUL OF DOLLARS could have been only an ordinary B-movie of the early 60's. On the contrary, this movie has become the symbol of the revival of a dying Hollywood genre - the western - and will be followed by dozens of imitations until the definitive burial of the genre by Clint Eastwood with the masterpiece UNFORGIVEN.

The villain, played by Gian-Maria Volontè, is so terrific that Sergio Leone will hire this wonderful italian actor to play the role of Indio, the bad guy of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, with the result we all know.

I was a little bit anxious before playing the DVD ; the bad quality of the image of FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE was still on my mind. But, don't worry - be happy, the copy was in almost perfect state and the transfer well done. Subtitles and a trailer as bonus features.

A DVD for your library.

5/5 Best of the "man with no name" trilogy
  by Jaewoo Kim (Santa Monica, CA)
I think people are missing the point of this film when they focus on the action sequence. The underlying theme of the entire movie is one of self sacrifice for what is right and just. It is wrong to conclude that main the character (clint eastwood) pits the two gangs against each other for the money. If that is the case, then why does he give it ALL away to Marisol, to whom he owes NO obligation or favors, at the risk of his own life? Fortunately for the viewers, Marisol does ask why. His answer is "..because...I used to know someone like you..and there was no one to help.." (probably referring to his own mother whom he was powerless to rescue from the raping bandits). That one line says EVERYTHING about his past, his motivation, and the theme of the movie. The director goes to great length to convince the viewer the "man with no name" has no morals. In fact, he seems downright evil and greedy, as he constantly says "I don't work for cheap" and seems to be ready for hire for any sordid duties asked of him for the right price. Only in the very brief and defining moment of the movie (when he rescues Marisol, her son, and her husband) we see him as he truly is. Unlike most westerns, the man does not waste words preaching righteousness, he lets his actions speak for themselves. It is the moral subtlety of this movie which makes it great.

4/5 "New Breed of Western......New Breed of Hero"
  by L. Shirley (fountain valley, ca United States)
In the small dusty border town of San Miguel, two gangs of "criminals and smugglers" are both trying to take over the town and be the "bosses". Out of nowhere enters our hero, the very dangerous(but very cute) gunman with no name(Clint Eastwood). In this first of the trilogy directed by Sergio Leone
Clint decides to play the rival gangs against each other, first working for one then the other. Why? Because there's money to made here. In the process, there are deadly shootouts, Clint saves a family,gets his face bashed in (I hated that part) and well I wont give away the end.
This film was followed by "A Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". All three a must see's for the Eastwood fan. This one was based on the Japaneese film "Yojimbo" and was also the basis for the more recent "Last Man Standing" starring Bruce Willis.
Billed as "A New Breed of Western" (more commonly called spaghetti westerns, although it was shot in Spain), it is a cinematic treat you wont want to miss. The actors performances are terrific and the scenery stunning.
The DVD(by MGM) is a must have. The picture is crisp, the colors are sharp and the widescreen excellent. The sound is Mono,(only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5) but it still sounds good, the horses and guns are crisp and the dialouge is fine.(The film is nearly 40 years old )
Not a whole lot of extras, but for me This movie was the extra!
What the DVD has is the Original Theatrical Trailer, Scene Selection, and a very informative booklet that talks about the making of the film. It also has subtitles, English and French which could be helpful for hearing impaired viewers, and a standard film format on the other side for those who might prefer it to the widescreen.
If you have never seen it and you like westerns, you'll love it. If you have already seen it and know you love it, you will enjoy the DVD.
thanx-Laurie

more clint stuff:
Paint Your Wagon

Music for the Movies of Clint Eastwood

Eastwood on Eastwood [VHS]

5/5 Our Introduction To Sergio Leone - Brilliant Film Maker
  by Mark (Toronto, Ontario)
It's over 40 years ago now, but I can vividly recall being a young boy and seeing the television ads / trailers for this "new" kind of western.

In the early 60's, westerns ruled the television airways - Bonanza / Gunsmoke / Cheyenne / Maverick and on and on the list goes.

But nothing prepared me for the impact that this western - and Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone - would have on me throughout my teen and adult years.

To this day, I'm in awe of Sergio Leone's ability to take something that's uniquely American - the western - and re-invent the "art form".

A Fistful of Dollars is certainly not unique in terms of the story line -in fact, it's a western adaptation of a famous Japanese film - a "stranger" rides into a town and is pitted against rival forces. Read any Louis L'Amour western novel, for example, and chances are that the protaganist of the book is exactly in the same / similar situation.

This film was a "preview" of things to come in For a Few Dollars More and the epic The Good, The Bad and The Ugly where Clint is the "good guy", but sometimes he's not so "good".

Watch any American western of the 50's or 60's and chances are that the good guy is always wearing a white hat and ONLY draws his gun when it's absolutely necessary and then ONLY to kill "bad" guys.

Clint's Man With No Name character. for example, is quick to kill 4 men at the beginning of this film just for shooting at the feet of his burro. It's unlikely you would have seen Ben Cartwright react the same way had he been in the same situation.

And then, of course, we have the beginning of a wonderful "marriage" between Leone and Ennio Morricone, whose soundtracts became as recognizable and as important as the film itself. This marriage only got better with the later Dollar films and the masterpiece - Once Upon A Time In The West.

There's a story - and it's probably true - that Clint was offered this film during the summer hiatus of Rawhide and initially was going to turn down the $[...] role.

However, his then-wife Maggie convinced him to do it saying that the worst that could happen is that they would enjoy a vacation in Italy and Spain, where the film was primarily shot.

You have to wonder if we'd even know or remember who Clint Eastwood was had he not taken this film, which eventually propelled him to international superstardom.

This is a very, very good film (the next one was better and the last of the dollar pics was the best) that I can watch 100 times and never get bored.

If you haven't seen it, you should if only to see how an American Icon - CLINT EASTWOOD got his start..!!