Antonio Prieto, Benito Stefanelli, Bruno Carotenuto

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

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87% liked it

67,971 ratings

Critics

97% liked it

33 critics

R, 102 min.

Directed by: Sergio Leone

Release Date: September 12, 1964

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DVD Release Date: June 19, 2001

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Stats: 2,916 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,916)


  • November 14, 2009
    Stylish! Suspenseful! I get such a kick out of the idea of the Spaghetti Western. There was Italian, Spanish, and German money in this picture. It was produced and directed by Italians, adapted from Kurosawa's Yojimbo, and filmed mainly in Spain. The Italians were still cont...( read more)inuing the tradition of post-dubbing all the audio, that's all the sound effects too, which are as recognizable to a Leone picture as the extreme close-ups on faces. So the dialog was spoken in whatever languages the actors spoke and then dubbed by voice over artists or the principle actors when possible in whatever languages were necessary to release the movie in various countries. So, you have Clint Eastwood (who wasn't a star yet) as the only American actor. Koch and Lukschy were from Germany. Volonte was a classic actor from Italy. Rupp and Egger were from Austria. Prieto was originally from Chile. And Calvo and Lozano were Spanish. Sergio Leone could only speak Italian, so he had a translator with him on set at all times. The Italians were also evidently notorious for losing their records that show what dialog the actors actually spoke (because some improvisation would inevitably happen off the script) or the original audio recording of the scenes. Eastwood stated in one special feature that it was because he kept his own notes about the changes he made for each scene that he was able to authentically dub himself later for the American version.

    The first of The Man With No Name trilogy has a skillfully written story, well thanks to Yojimbo for that. It injects an exciting youthful energy into the Western. The Man With No Name, who actually is given the name Joe, pits two rotten families from this small Mexican town against each other. They've been warring for power for years. Joe befriends the saloon keeper and the undertaker. And basically it looks as if no one is alive in the town except for these two when he leaves at the end. However he does reunite a family and he looks so cool as he outsmarts both gangs, especially the Rojos led by the expert rifle man Ramon.
  • August 6, 2009
    For me this is the best of the 'Dollars' trilogy . Although a lot of people I know would disagree with me on this one choosing G,B,U over this but I still stand by my decision. Eastwood handles himself very well as the stranger, shaping a character strong enough to beg a sequel. ...( read more)Further plaudits go to title animation by Luigi Lardani, which sets the style of this film from the start. Also to music, somewhat redundant but effective in the western vein. . All the classic Leone ingredients were there - the atonal score, the graphic violence, the horrendous dubbing - and the film's Stateside success changed the face of a genre. For me, Leone only beat this with Once Upon A Time In The West, but fair to say he had a massive reputation then, here he is only a beginner but yet with this film he changed the Western genre and made it into a form of exploitation film known as 'Spaghetti Western' and therefore changed not only a genre, but film history.
  • July 18, 2009
    The first in the Dollars trilogy and the weakest of the three but only by a slight gap haha the fact that Van Cleef is not in it lets it down. Like the rest the soundtrack is superb and the characters and action, stunning. It just lacks that 100% punch, probably due to the fact i...( read more)ts the first, the story is abit lacking but still quality.
  • February 18, 2009
    The man with no name's burst in cinema.
    Dirty and violent, but operatic retellling of 'red harvest' set in a honorless west.
  • January 29, 2009
    hell yes clint
  • November 17, 2009
    NOT BAD AT ALL. I ALWAYS LIKE THE FASHION OF THESE MOVIES.
  • November 15, 2009
    leone's remake of yojimbo is possible one of the greatest remakes ever,if you can call it that... it was based on yojimbo but i personally consider it a remake.. simply put he takes what kurosawa did with yojimbo and expanded on it and brought it to the old west...plus adding the...( read more) leone style (camera angles, close -ups, long drawn out edge of your seat gun fights).....
  • November 10, 2009
    Insane... always has been. Hard to peal yourself away from this film. Tons of action, mostly comprised of impossible shots and rediculous escapes, but tons of fun.
  • November 5, 2009
    Clint Eastwood at his best
  • November 3, 2009
    I don't have to compare, but the original one "Yojmbo" has more organized scripts and tension-packed scenes than this movie. It's a great movie though.

Critic Reviews


June 22, 2006
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

From Clint Eastwood's iconic performance to Ennio Morricone's unforgettable (and much-parodied) musical score, A Fistful of Dollars (****) took the western down trails it had never explored. full review

View more A Fistful of Dollars (Per un Pugno di Dollari) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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  • Bruce Willis' film Last Man Standing was a remake of which Clint Eastwood spaghetti western?  Answer »
  • Name Clint Eastwood's first Italian western.  Answer »

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