Per un pugno di dollari (1964)

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

A. Bonzzoni (story) &
Víctor Andrés Catena (story) ...

Release Date:

18 January 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

This short cigar belongs to a man with no name. This long gun belongs to a man with no name. This poncho belongs to a man with no name. He's going to trigger a whole new style in adventure.

Plot:

A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Mexican | Animal Cruelty | Revolver | Good Versus Evil | Warrior

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Clint Eastwood	...	Joe
Marianne Koch	...	Marisol
Gian Maria Volonté	...	Ramón Rojo (as Johnny Wells)
Wolfgang Lukschy	...	John Baxter (as W. Lukschy)
Sieghardt Rupp	...	Esteban Rojo (as S. Rupp)
Joseph Egger	...	Piripero (as Joe Edger)
Antonio Prieto	...	Don Miguel Benito Rojo
José Calvo	...	Silvanito (as Jose Calvo)
Margarita Lozano	...	Consuelo Baxter (as Margherita Lozano)
Daniel Martín	...	Julián
Benito Stefanelli	...	Rubio (as Benny Reeves)
Mario Brega	...	Chico (as Richard Stuyvesant)
Bruno Carotenuto	...	Antonio Baxter (as Carol Brown)
Aldo Sambrell	...	Rojo gang member (as Aldo Sambreli)

Also Known As:

A Fistful of Dollars (UK) (USA)
Für eine Handvoll Dollar (West Germany)
Il magnifico straniero (Italy) (working title)
Nur einer bleibt zurück (West Germany) (working title)
Por un puñado de dólares (Spain)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

Italy | Spain | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1967) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) (cut) (1977) | Singapore:PG | Brazil:14 | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:MA (re-rating) (2004) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (re-rating) (1981) | USA:M (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating) (1993) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (original rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Constantin Film Produktion

Trivia:

According to "Once Upon a Time in the Italian West" by Howard Hughes, Leone spotted a tree, while on location, that he thought would be perfect for the hanging tree at the beginning of the film, so the tree was dug up and relocated.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Mules have long ears, no hair at the base of the tail and low withers. Joe's mount has short ears, hair on the whole tail and normal withers. i.e., it's not a mule but a horse.

Quotes:

Baxter gunman #1: [to Joe] Well, I suppose you could try getting a job as a scarecrow.
Baxter Gunman 2: No, the crows are liable to scare him maybe.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Spaghetti West (2005) (V)

Good Western

A Fistful of Dollars(1964) is a stylish western that begin the era of the Italian Western as well as being responsible for the rise to stardom for then TV actor, Clint Eastwood. He was not the first choice to play the main character but got the role due to the fact there no one left to offer the role to. Two people who were offered the role of the man with no name were Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda(four years later Charles Bronson takes the lead role in Once Upon a Time in the West after Clint Eastwood was the first choice for the part). A Fistful of Dollars was inspired and remade from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo(1961). Many crew members from A Fistful of Dollars ended up directing themselves like for instance, Fernando Di Leo, Duccio Tessari, and Massimo Dallamano. Sergio gives a colorful and crude portrayal of The Wild West around the Texas-Mexico border. Both A Fistful of Dollars and Yojimbo are based on an obscure Italian play called "the man with two masters". This was also the film that introduced the cinema world to film musician, Ennio Morricone. Although not as good as later films, A Fistful of Dollars is still a terrific Western