A Fistful of Dollars
Short description
A stranger arrives in San Miguel, a small town near the Mexican border, and finds it divided between two rival families: the Baxters and the Rojos. Both sides profit from smuggling and neither can gain the upper hand, while the townspeople suffer the consequences. The newcomer, a sharpshooter who keeps his name to himself, sees an opportunity and offers his skills to both camps, playing them against each other for money. When a shipment of gold meant to buy weapons falls into the hands of the Rojos, he inserts himself into the conflict, but his double game carries risks once the truth comes out. The film is a loose reworking of Akira Kurosawa's samurai drama Yojimbo, relocated to the American-Mexican border.
Sergio Leone directed, his second feature after The Colossus of Rhodes and the first of the films he made in this western cycle. He wrote the screenplay with Víctor Andrés Catena and Jaime Comas Gil, and Arrigo Colombo and Giorgio Papi produced. Clint Eastwood plays the stranger, with Marianne Koch as Marisol, Gian Maria Volonté as Ramón Rojo, Wolfgang Lukschy as John Baxter, Sieghardt Rupp as Esteban Rojo and Joseph Egger as Piripero. The production gathered 44 credited cast and 66 credited crew members across companies in Germany, Spain and Italy.
On IMDb the film holds 7.9/10 from around 252,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.8/10 from a much smaller vote count. A critics' rating of 8.3/10 from 56 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film's release in the United States was delayed because the screenwriters of Akira Kurosawa's and Ryuzo Kikushima's *Yojimbo* (1961) filed a lawsuit against the creators of *A Fistful of Dollars* for copyright infringement. Kurosawa and Kikushima won the case and received 15 percent of the worldwide distribution of Sergio Leone's film, as well as exclusive distribution rights in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. According to Kurosawa, *A Fistful of Dollars* earned him more money than his own *Yojimbo* (1961).
- Henry Fonda, Steve Reeves, Rory Calhoun, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Henry Silva, and Eric Fleming auditioned for the lead role.
- In American trailers, as well as in promotional materials, the film's title was listed as “A Fistful of Dollars”, however, in the film itself – “Fistful of Dollars”.
- "A Fistful of Dollars" is called the first spaghetti western, but about 25 similar films had already been made in Italy before the film was released. However, "A Fistful of Dollars" was the first film to receive international distribution.
- Filming of the movie was completed in 1964, but the film was only released in the US in 1967.
- The film's release in the US was delayed because the screenwriters of “Yojimbo” (The Bodyguard), Akira Kurosawa and Ryuzo Kikushima, sued the filmmakers for copyright infringement. Kurosawa and Kikushima won the case and received 15% of the film's worldwide gross and exclusive distribution rights in Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. According to Kurosawa, “A Fistful of Dollars” earned him more money than his own “Yojimbo”.
- “A Fistful of Dollars” is a remake of “Yojimbo” (1961).
- Initially, Sergio Leone did not intend to invite Ennio Morricone to work on the film, as he was not impressed by any of the soundtracks Morricone had created for other films. However, even the initial sketches of the future compositions that sounded in the film forced Leone to change his mind and immediately conclude a contract with Morricone. Subsequently, Morricone would write music for all of Leone's subsequent films.
- “A Fistful of Dollars” is the first joint project of Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone.
- At school, Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone were in the same class.
- The original title of the film, “The Magnificent Stranger,” was changed to “A Fistful of Dollars” just three days before the premiere. No one bothered to inform Clint Eastwood about this, who had no idea that the film had been well-received by audiences until his agent told him three weeks later.
- The name of “The Man with No Name” (Clint Eastwood) is Joe. His name can be heard in the scene of a conversation with the gravedigger, and in the final credits, Eastwood's character is listed as Joe.
- According to Howard Hughes, author of "Once Upon a Time in the West", Sergio Leone personally found a tree that, in his opinion, was perfect for the gallows tree. The tree was dug up and transported to the set.
- Clint Eastwood largely created the image of his character himself. For example, he bought black jeans, a hat, and cigars.
- Since this was a joint Italian-German-Spanish production, there was a significant language barrier on set. Clint Eastwood communicated with Sergio Leone and the Italian crew through stuntman Benito Stefanelli, who served as the unofficial translator on the project.
- Clint Eastwood's famous squint originated from the bright sun and high lamps on set.
- In the opening credits of the film, the director's name was written as "Bob Roberts" instead of Sergio Leone. This was because people in Italy previously didn't go to Italian films, but only to American ones. Therefore, Leone cleverly took the pseudonym Bob Roberts.
- When the film premiered on the ABC channel in 1975, an additional scene was filmed for it, explaining why the 'Man with No Name' went to San Miguel. Neither Eastwood nor Leone participated in the reshoots. In this scene, Harry Dean Stanton, who played the politician, orders Eastwood's hero, in exchange for a pardon, to go to San Miguel and rid the city of two gangs. This scene is available on the film's special DVD edition.
- Clint Eastwood himself suggested the idea of the 'Man with No Name' smoking cigars. He bought regular cigars and then cut each one into three pieces.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
