A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

98% Tomatometer 55 Reviews 91% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

Wandering gunfighter Joe arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among sheriff John Baxter and the three Rojo brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, Joe is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the other. Read More Read Less

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A Fistful of Dollars

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Critics Consensus

With Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo as his template, Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars helped define a new era for the Western and usher in its most iconic star, Clint Eastwood.

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Critics Reviews

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A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Simon Abrams Village Voice Every genre-loving moviegoer should see at least once projected on a theater screen. May 23, 2018 Full Review A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Chuck Bowen Slant Magazine The climatic bloodbath of A Fistful of Dollars still stings because the film's swaggering braggadocio deliberately fails to prepare us for it. Rated: 4/4 May 21, 2018 Full Review A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Tara Brady Irish Times [Clint] Eastwood may not have been technically gifted, but he had plenty of star quality. Rated: 5/5 Apr 13, 2018 Full Review A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (4) David Parkinson Radio Times Gian Maria Volonté lends excellent support as the snarling Ramon and Ennio Morricone's minimalist score is a gem. Rated: 5/5 Jul 9, 2024 Full Review A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (5) Howard Waldstein CBR It seems all that it took was a spark to ignite the storied career, but it all truly begins with A Fistful of Dollars. We should all be thankful. Rated: 9/10 May 16, 2024 Full Review A Fistful of Dollars | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Peter Canavese Celluloid Dreams Iconic Sergio Leone western (with Clint Eastwood really understanding the power of stillness and restraint to convey status) in an amazing Extensive Special Edition 4K upgrade from Kino Lorber Studio Classics. Rated: 3.5/4 Jun 27, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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nick s A Fistful of Dollars, aka Everybody Dies, is a classic western shoot em up with a surprisingly high body count.Some of the stunts needed a bit of a polish and there was a notable absence of body wounds in the early exchanges of gunfire. Our hero was bordering on immortal, having the ability to shoot up a room faster than anyone could draw their piece. He was helped by the fact that the antagonists had little self preservation. The main story was fairly one dimensional... a vehicle for the action. However, the stylized cinematography, great score and realistic acting elevated this movie to something quite entertaining. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/30/24 Full Review Audience Member Couldn’t even finish this. Boring. Story line isn’t well thought out. Horrible voice syncing. Tarantino is insane for liking these movies Rated 0.5/5 Stars • Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/29/24 Full Review Zainab S I really liked A Fistful of Dollars since it was very exciting. I liked the plot and the many different camera shots. Some of the scenes were also very intense and made me anxious. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/28/24 Full Review Gray G A Fistful Of Dollars is different from any movies I’d ever watched before as I usually don’t watch westerns. I think it’s worth a watch because, though there might be some plot holes, some of the conflicts weren’t well-explained, and the beginning is sort of lackluster, the movie’s tense and “cool” dialogue and atmosphere makes up for it. With its use of a range of different camera angles and focuses, as well as its repeating whistling soundtrack, A Fistful Of Dollars is a charming classic. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/24 Full Review Alex S Classic spaghetti western drags in the middle hour. But Clint Eastwood’s anonymous antihero & intense duels provide for a satisfying conclusion. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/23/24 Full Review I C A Fistful of Dollars is a great film. I don't typically enjoy Westerns, but it had an intriguing plot line-which was a little confusing at first-that kept me invested in the story. One of my favorite scenes is when Ramon is shot and the audience sees the subjective point of view through a distorted angle. His death is very different than the other deaths in the movie as he is the main antagonist and I appreciate the way that the director highlights the differences. The use of different non-diegetic sounds to let the audience know that they should be apprehensive-before a gunfight-or attentive-before the antagonist appears-really enhances the film's allure. I would definitely watch this again and look out for other specific moves that the director makes. Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/23/24 Full Review Read all reviews

A Fistful of Dollars

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Cast & Crew

Sergio Leone Director Clint Eastwood Joe Marianne Koch Marisol Joseph Egger Piripero Wolfgang Lukschy John Baxter Gian Maria Volonté Ramón Rojo
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A Fistful of Dollars

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Synopsis Wandering gunfighter Joe arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among sheriff John Baxter and the three Rojo brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, Joe is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the other.

Director
Sergio Leone

Producer
Arrigo Colombo, Giorgio Papi

Screenwriter
Adriano Bolzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena, Jaime Comas Gil, Sergio Leone

Distributor
Tobis Filmkunst, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp., United Artists, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Ízaro Films S.A., Unidis

Production Co
Constantin Film, Ocean Films [es], Jolly Film

Rating
R

Genre
Western

Original Language
Italian

Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 18, 1964, Wide

Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 22, 2012

Runtime
1h 36m

Sound Mix
Mono
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