A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Studio: MGM/20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release: January 18, 1967 (USA)
Blu Ray Release: August 2, 2011
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
I am going to be biased here. I love Clint Eastwood. To me, the man is one of my favorite actors living today (on top of being a great director as well). In my eyes, he has done very little wrong (Pink Cadillac, True Crime, and Blood Work may be the exception). Every guy wishes he could be Clint. While our fathers had John Wayne, we have our Clint Eastwood. I remember being just a young kid and seeing the opening of A Fistful of Dollars one night on TBS when I was getting ready for bed. I laughed at the silly and dated opening credits but my little innocent brain wasn't ready for the overpowering presence of the mighty Man With No Name as he rode into this dirty desolate town on his mule. I was hooked. That weekend I had my parents take me to the local video store to rent A Fistful of Dollars and its sequel For a Few Dollars More. While the other kids were renting Monster Squad or Garbage Pail Kids the Movie, I was getting my fix of Clint. Soon I moved on to Dirty Harry and so forth. But the start of my love for the former mayor of Carmel, CA began here which ironically was the film that launched his career.
For those who haven't seen the film (shame on you!) you should know that this western was the start of the three part trilogy of The Man With No Name series. Shot in Italy with no English speaking actors but Clint, the film had disaster written all over it. But with Sergio Leone at the helm and one tough sonofabitch in the lead, A Fistful of Dollars is entertaining and a ton of fun from the moment the film begins. Clint rides into town looking to make some quick cash. After he kills three men for insulting his mule, Clint finds out the town is divided by two rival families. Playing both sides, our anti-hero takes them for a ride as he plays them like fools until we get to the big showdown between Clint and one of the families dangerous leader, Ramon (Leone favorite Gian Maria Volonte).
What makes this film so great and iconic is not only do we get a young Clint showcasing his take-no-shit character, but we get some of the most beautiful shots of the western landscape (although it was really Italy). Plenty of great widescreen shots with characters entering in all sides of the frame, making great use of the beautiful 2:35 ratio. We are also blessed with the now famous score by Ennio Morricone that is almost a character of its own. Morricone's catchy score is still mimicked and paid homage in many films to this day.
The blu ray I will admit is a bit of a disappointment. While the film has never looked this good, it could have used some more work or at least had more time put into it. The color timing is what bothers me the most as the picture looks so cleaned up that they washed out some of the flesh tones of the film. I remember seeing characters' faces look sun burnt, dirty, and sweaty while those details now don't seem as prominent as they once were. In a few close up shots, the picture doesn't even seem as sharp as it does during long shots. The sound is mono but that's the way the film was original shown and while it doesn't leave much to be desired, it still works and dialog can be clearly heard. I will say the special features are loaded with some good stuff like an audio commentary with film historian Christopher Frayling, a few featurettes about Sergio Leone and one with Clint Eastwood discussing the making of the film. What I consider to be the best special feature: the long lost deleted scene that was shown only on network television. This scene was shot FOR T.V. as A Fistful of Dollars was too violent when shown on television in 1977 that some scenes were trimmed down or taken out, leaving the film too short to be shown on T.V. So a prologue explaining who The Man With No Name is and why he is traveling to the town was shot and directed by Monte Hellman and even starred Harry Dean Stanton as a marshal talking to Clint (they couldn't get Clint so his stand in replaces him, all being shot from his back). While this deleted scene is hilariously bad, its great to have finally seen this bit of footage that was thought to be lost.
A Fistful of Dollars is the film that changed the western genre by becoming more realistic; violent. This is what the west was more like. A Fistful of Dollars also created an anti-hero character that had never been seen before on film. This movie is a must own in any man's collection. If you don't like A Fistful of Dollars, hand in your man card now and go watch Sophie's Choice. For those that don't like westerns, this is the movie that could convert them.
Theatrical Release: January 18, 1967 (USA)
Blu Ray Release: August 2, 2011
Not Rated
Review by James Klein
I am going to be biased here. I love Clint Eastwood. To me, the man is one of my favorite actors living today (on top of being a great director as well). In my eyes, he has done very little wrong (Pink Cadillac, True Crime, and Blood Work may be the exception). Every guy wishes he could be Clint. While our fathers had John Wayne, we have our Clint Eastwood. I remember being just a young kid and seeing the opening of A Fistful of Dollars one night on TBS when I was getting ready for bed. I laughed at the silly and dated opening credits but my little innocent brain wasn't ready for the overpowering presence of the mighty Man With No Name as he rode into this dirty desolate town on his mule. I was hooked. That weekend I had my parents take me to the local video store to rent A Fistful of Dollars and its sequel For a Few Dollars More. While the other kids were renting Monster Squad or Garbage Pail Kids the Movie, I was getting my fix of Clint. Soon I moved on to Dirty Harry and so forth. But the start of my love for the former mayor of Carmel, CA began here which ironically was the film that launched his career.
For those who haven't seen the film (shame on you!) you should know that this western was the start of the three part trilogy of The Man With No Name series. Shot in Italy with no English speaking actors but Clint, the film had disaster written all over it. But with Sergio Leone at the helm and one tough sonofabitch in the lead, A Fistful of Dollars is entertaining and a ton of fun from the moment the film begins. Clint rides into town looking to make some quick cash. After he kills three men for insulting his mule, Clint finds out the town is divided by two rival families. Playing both sides, our anti-hero takes them for a ride as he plays them like fools until we get to the big showdown between Clint and one of the families dangerous leader, Ramon (Leone favorite Gian Maria Volonte).
What makes this film so great and iconic is not only do we get a young Clint showcasing his take-no-shit character, but we get some of the most beautiful shots of the western landscape (although it was really Italy). Plenty of great widescreen shots with characters entering in all sides of the frame, making great use of the beautiful 2:35 ratio. We are also blessed with the now famous score by Ennio Morricone that is almost a character of its own. Morricone's catchy score is still mimicked and paid homage in many films to this day.
The blu ray I will admit is a bit of a disappointment. While the film has never looked this good, it could have used some more work or at least had more time put into it. The color timing is what bothers me the most as the picture looks so cleaned up that they washed out some of the flesh tones of the film. I remember seeing characters' faces look sun burnt, dirty, and sweaty while those details now don't seem as prominent as they once were. In a few close up shots, the picture doesn't even seem as sharp as it does during long shots. The sound is mono but that's the way the film was original shown and while it doesn't leave much to be desired, it still works and dialog can be clearly heard. I will say the special features are loaded with some good stuff like an audio commentary with film historian Christopher Frayling, a few featurettes about Sergio Leone and one with Clint Eastwood discussing the making of the film. What I consider to be the best special feature: the long lost deleted scene that was shown only on network television. This scene was shot FOR T.V. as A Fistful of Dollars was too violent when shown on television in 1977 that some scenes were trimmed down or taken out, leaving the film too short to be shown on T.V. So a prologue explaining who The Man With No Name is and why he is traveling to the town was shot and directed by Monte Hellman and even starred Harry Dean Stanton as a marshal talking to Clint (they couldn't get Clint so his stand in replaces him, all being shot from his back). While this deleted scene is hilariously bad, its great to have finally seen this bit of footage that was thought to be lost.
A Fistful of Dollars is the film that changed the western genre by becoming more realistic; violent. This is what the west was more like. A Fistful of Dollars also created an anti-hero character that had never been seen before on film. This movie is a must own in any man's collection. If you don't like A Fistful of Dollars, hand in your man card now and go watch Sophie's Choice. For those that don't like westerns, this is the movie that could convert them.
Post a Comment