A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Stars	User	Rating
7	Grit	91 _97th
A Fistful of Dollars goes down as the fantastic start to the best series of westerns ever made. When Sergio Leone's excellent direction is coupled with the pure attitude of the appropiately named Wild West and the rugged and insanely cool Eastwood it's automatically the underpinnings of a winning formula. A Fistful of Dollars revitalised the seemingly ailing genre and couples some wonderful scenes with evidence of the style of filmmaking Sergio Leone was soon to become renown for. True classic.
7	BillyShears	85 _86th
One of my favourite remakes of Yojimbo. It's fun to see Leone slowly laying out the groundwork of his style. If this was made later during the decade that taut just over 90 minute run time would be tripled, everyone would have their own lengthy disgusting sweaty closeup to beautiful music. No one makes lips grosser than Italian westerns.
5	MartinTeller	89 _92nd
It's rare that a remake can stand side-by-side with the original. But Yojimbo and Fistful are practically equals, at least neither one is a substitute for the other. Leone takes the material and makes it his own, while still maintaining the framework of Kurosawa's film. Comparing the two isn't a game of determining which is superior, but rather "isn't it awesome that we have both?". Yes, yes it is. Terrific filmmaking by Leone, star-making role for Eastwood, and another superb Morricone score.
4	doctor7	85 _83rd
Quite good with some great shots. Clint Eastwood is fantastic. Quite obviously a remake of Yojimbo, even in it's cinematography, but it's setting is different enough to make it worthwhile. Really it all depends on if Eastwood could rival Mifune's performance and, quite frankly, even if you don't think he does he comes damn, damn close.
4	Pickpocket	8 _82nd
How come none of those horses died in that shootout?
4	overrated	80 _89th
You know, and I know, that there should have been a crossover sequel where Mifune and Eastwood have a staring contest until one of them explodes.
4	glumpy_99	95 _90th
Leone's first bona fide masterpiece is a simple retelling of YOJIMBO but embellished by a style that would become instantly iconic; warped perspective to make Eastwood look like a giant at times, casual brutality sweetened by understated gallows humour (DIRTY HARRY's origins can be found here), and use of newcomer Eastwood himself, who turns in a wonderfully restrained and subtle performance amid the cackling jackals of his supporting cast. All this, and bloody entertaining to boot!
3	Ronin167	85 _89th
You can see the beginnings of the wonderful style Leone would go on to use in his other films, but it's just not as developed here. That being said, this is still a wonderful film.
3	Mentaculus	90 _89th
A friend of mine in music once told me, “Never cover a song unless you think you can do just a little bit better somewhere,” and I think Leone knew he was doing something just a little bit different, in his own voice, and his own way. Clearly, Leone comes into his own with this Man Who Needs No Explanation. The joy in these films is seeing a Dude playing chess against a bunch of dudes playing Fruit Ninja - it’s a formula as old as time and just as satisfying no matter how many times you rewatch.
3	Luna6ix	89 _96th
Not quite as good as the final movie in the trilogy, but utterly fantastic, I mean really, really good. And the whole armor plate thing has become a sort of icon, and deservedly, because the finale in this movie is completely amazing.
3	ewp805	90 _94th
A Fistful of Dollars is the beginning of one of the most iconic trilogies ever and the beginning of the young Eastwood's scruffy badass with no name. Leone's directing is superb and we can see his signature style developing as he crafts one of the most defining films of the entire Western genre. Truly a wonderful retelling of Kurosawa's Yojimbo, with Clint's performance matching Mifune's stride-for-stride.
3	arkadia	81 _69th
Excellent indicator of great things to come.
3	burakc	60 _27th
i gave yojimbo 90 when i watched. But after watched this, i decided to give yojimbo 100
3	thehynes	70 _88th
Ramón, for crying out loud, SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD!
3	Jimmy Suede	78 _68th
So fun to see this in the theater. Very cool and stylish, and Clint of course is awesome, but the film's a little too cheesy to be great. It's easy to manipulate two sides against each other when they're all pea-brains.
2	Ytadel	7 _83rd
An entertaining western with a predictably badass Clint Eastwood and plenty of cool shootouts, although some of the dubbing is distractingly horrible. All in all I admire it but strongly prefer the original Yojimbo.
2	brandt64	75 _55th
Rather underwhelming when compared to Yojimbo as well as Leone's future films, but solid entertainment nevertheless and a building block in the spaghetti western genre.
2	Paxton	90 _97th
I don't think that's nice, you laughing. See my mule don't like people laughin. It gets the crazy idea you're laughin at him. Now if you apologize like I know you're going to, I might convince him you really didn't mean it.
2	YoSaff	70 _11th
Can't help finding it overrated, the story is overly complicated and it just seems to lack a good deal of the magic that comes later with Few Dollars More and TGTBATU. Worth watching as a matter of interest but not on its own merits, it hasn't aged well.
1	Magb	80 _61st
The small budget shows and it's not as good as Yojimbo, but the entertainment value and Clint more than redeem it.
1	whomperize	81 _82nd
This is a beautiful movie. I love the ending sequence. Truly part of the best American Westerns ever made.
1	Moribunny	85 _95th
A bare-bones plot ripped off from Kurosawa, sparse dialogue... but Leone, Eastwood and Morricone all do such astounding jobs that this western is just infinitely lovable.
1	Loki	70 _52nd
Fun little western with great style.
1	TheDenizen	80 _84th
Leone's remake of Yojimbo and the film that made Eastwood a star.
1	Alex Watkins	4 _70th
Humble beginnings for a legendary director. While it's self-evident how rapidly Leone's abilities progressed, so that even For a Few Dollars More seems like a leap forward, so much of what characterized his signature style was already in play here.
1	Nathan S	4 _74th
Despite being somewhat underdeveloped compared to his later westerns, this is still a punch in the gut from Leone. It's not a surprise, considering it's a shot-for-shot remake of what might be Kurosawa's most entertaining film, but the western setting adds a different flavor of badassery to the formula.
1	evrana	83 _81st
The crown jewel of plagiarism. Having watched Yojimbo just a week ago, every single "borrowed" detail was too apparent. That said, it would be a great idea to shoot the same film in different periods and different locations. The soundtrack is unreal, Morricone is a genius really. The movie stutters in some action scenes and is not as chiseled as The good, the bad and the ugly; but it is highly enjoyable. Eastwood came to this world to act in these movies I think.
1	vesupria	6 _61st
All said, this is a fairly high standard Western. It's entertaining, but after watching Yojimbo recently enough (which it's basically a remake of, albeit in Western style not Samurai) I cannot say that it stands up. Eastwood is good, and there's some really classic lines here. But the quality is fairly patchy and the mood doesnt always make an impact. The intensity seems to drop off at times. It really makes you appreciate the brilliance of Kurosawa and the depth of his directing if nothing else
1	prowler	77 _78th
could be 100 minutes of clint squinting and i'd still be jizzing over this movie. add leone and morricone and you've got a winning formula
1	westknife	85 _78th
"My mistake... four coffins."
1	Freder	50 _36th
Nowhere near as good as Yojimbo and not even close. Leone knows how to frame a shot and create iconic images, but he can't tell a story to save his soul! Despite my familiarity with the plot, this was at times impossible to follow. And there's a sick element here, too: YOJIMBO took a clinical and detached approach to its very necessary violence, whereas Leone crosses the line into a kind of prurient sadism that the audience is meant to enjoy. Give me Hawks, Wyler and John Wayne any day.
1	Matthias99	90 _66th
Spaghetti Western at its best.
1	Icarus	70 _41st
Enjoyed the montage-affected style, the wry comedy, and the fantastic music. Eastwood was great and I appreciated the way the film did more showing than telling. I could have done without the two massacres, this film being an early example that uses the maniacal killing of many helpless people to engender either sympathy or hatred for particular characters.
1	andayb	65 _68th
the plot is a little bit too simple, the side characters are a bit too flat, and "the bad" are too comically evil in this movie. Certainly not par with "good, bad, ugly", but Eastwood's impeccable charisma makes the movie into a classic.
1	purgatos	86 _84th
It's not quite as good as Yojimbo, but Eastwood is fantastic in the role and it's still very well executed.
1	Vandelay1	84 _94th
Nice Movie
1	muzak66	95 _96th
The man with no name easily one of the greats of all-time.
1	UniqueName	80 _62nd
If I'm not mistaken this is quite similar to Yojimbo, the villain in this film is a little obnoxious, and the dialogs were not quite as good as TGTBTU, but still one of the best Westerns out there.
1	janus	60 _31st
Leone manages a few great moments with the help of spot-on production design, Morricone's legendary music, and Eastwood's swagger. However, the story is very confusing. I had to check a Wikipedia summary of the plot more than once; important lines get lost in heavy accents and/or iffy audio, and a number of the assumptions one has to make to follow the story are a hell of a stretch, at least to me.
1	Bmunise	94 _68th
It may have a low budget, it may have had less character development than its patron film, it may be a scene-for-scene adaptation of Yojimbo, but that doesn't make this any less of a huge game-changer in Westerns.
1	QVT	80 _84th
The best of the trilogy. All about Eastwood.
1	stanthecaddy	97 _98th
An amazing flick. I'm not so interested in the comparisons to Yojimbo- good a flick as that is- because the atmosphere, the music, and Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" are arguably as important to this movie as the story is. Leone creates a template for a West more lawless and chaotic than any that I had seen before, and you truly get the sense that these characters live in a world without any lawful or moral boundaries. The amazing score of Ennio Morricone brings it all together.
1	Melvin Smif	75 _84th
A re-telling of Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" that loses nothing.
1	walkearth	75 _89th
Leone's camera creates the feeling we are watching an opera, rather than a film. Through the iconic close ups and by leaving the scenes run longer so the atmospheric music score plays its run-time, the viewer gets the feeling they are observing a timeless tale, a romanticised and mythological story. Eastwood's contained anger and resentment, his self-control and powerful screen presence are an unmatched treat. Then again one can't expect anything less - he's the quintessential man after all.
1	SirStuckey	80 _78th
A highly entertaining retelling of Yojimbo done the in the only other way it could work, as a Western. Eastwood plays the gun slinging tough but good guy without a name to perfection. The soundtrack fit great (as is the usual with the trilogy) and the setting is desolate and beautiful. Definitely worth a watch.
1	Bown	73 _31st
A lot of fun. My first glimpse of Eastwood as this type of character (rather than the more "grizzled veteran" type he plays in Unforgiven), and it was awesome.
1	wetwillies	70 _19th
So hard to watch with that dubbing, but the action's great and so is Clint.
1	mwgerb	70 _86th
It is weaker than the two sequels in terms of characters, plot, and Morricone's score. However, Eastwood provides the charisma that would form the core of the series, and the film still manages to deliver great direction, a great story, and a great climactic scene.
1	JakeFace	3 _81st
you will never be as cool as the nameless one. ever
1	billkerwin	75 _27th
An orgy of posturing machismo.
1	rewind	7 _75th
AFOD is not as good as TGTBTU and FAFDM, but it is a simpler Acronym than both.
1	hellboy76	95 _99th
The film that made Eastwood a star and one of Leone's greats.
1	CMonster	88 _87th
Maybe its cause my own eyesight is bad, but Leone makes me feel seen with all the close ups of people squinting. I love seeing myself represented by movie characters. Everybody also being sweaty and dirty adds to my personal immersion.
1	Yiannos	68 _65th
Overrated film set the stage for Eastwood as a screen icon and Leone as a master stylist, but aside from a few choice moments, it doesn't really live up to its lofty reputation, nor is it as good as Yojimbo.
1	Zipster	99 _96th
This low-budget happy accident managed to be the beginning of a progressively superior and iconic filmography by a master of deep-focus costume grit, and a large part of the groundwork laid for the redefinition of the Western, particularly by its ushering in of the genre's most iconic contemporary star as well as score composer.
1	le mami	50 _39th
For me, far worse than the other parts of the triology. Firstly, second act is unbelievably bad. Moreover, very easy story unites with bad actors and kills your movie-watching pleasure. Even flawless acting by Clint Eastwood can't decrease the damage. Anyway I'll rewatch it.

Average Percentile 68.29% from 5556 Ratings