DVD Reviews

A Fistful of Dollars - Blu-ray Review

By Jeff Swindoll Oct 18, 2011, 14:37 GMT

Oscar(R)-Winner Clint Eastwood blends a quiet steadiness with a palpable ferocity as the iconic gunslinger "The Man With No Name" in Sergio Leone\'s gritty "spaghetti Western." When a steely blue-eyed mercenary arrives in a dusty border town where two rival bands of smugglers terrorize the impoverished citizens, he pits the gangs against each other in one of the most exhilarating frontier adventure films in cinema history. ...more

A nameless stranger rides into town and gets the family DVD warring against the family Blu-ray.  I think his name might be Akira Kurosawa but he might not have a name at all.  What used to only be available exclusively is now out everywhere. 

A stranger (Clint Eastwood) rides into a Mexican village.  The town is ruled by two families.  On one side you have Sheriff John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy), his wife Donna Consuelo (Margarita Lozano), and their son Antonio (Bruno Carnotenuto). 

On the other side is the Rojo brothers Don Miguel (Antonio Prieto), Estaban (Sieghardt Rupp), and Ramon (Gian Maria Volonte).  The stranger learns the history of the two families from barkeep Silvanito (Jose Calvo) and the stranger imagines a way to enrich himself by playing the families against one another. 

Contrary to popular belief, they do call Eastwood’s character by a name, but the spaghetti western would make Eastwood a household name as the squinting, cigar chomping anti-hero who would appear in a trilogy of Italian westerns.   

It would also make the name Sergio Leone one to watch for as well.  The Italian director would take his love of the western and usher in a new genre of a typically American genre being made by foreign hands (and most times much cheaper production costs).  If you’re going to borrow from somebody make sure you do it from the best and Leone homages heavily from Akira Kurosawa (who didn’t appreciate it much if I remember correctly). 

The result is a compelling, star-making western.  This disc was exclusively part of a set that had the “Man with No Name” trilogy, for a time was a Target exclusive, but this release counteracts that exclusivity with a general release. 

A Fistful of Dollars is presented in a 1080p high definition transfer (2.35:1).  Special features include a commentary from author/historian Sir Christopher Frayling, the 18 minute high-def “Archives” where he shows off his collection of memorabilia from the film, (the rest is in standard definition, unless noted) the 23 minute “New Kind of Hero” has him detailing the making of, the 8 minute “A Few Weeks in Spain” has Eastwood remembering the film, the 8 minute “Tre Voci” offers producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and actor Mickey Knox’s memories, the 6 minute “Not Ready for Primetime” has director Monte Hellman discussing his television prologue made to make up running time for footage taken out of the film for its TV showing, the 7 minute “Prologue” starring Harry Dean Stanton, a 5 minute location comparison, radio spots, and a 2 minute double bill trailer and the 2 minute high-def original theatrical trailer. 

The combination of Eastwood and Leone is a consummation devoutly to be wished.  This is the film that began it all and would generate a further two films, cumulating in a certified classic.  This disc also offers a fantastic transfer and a plethora of extra features (that come from the old DVD releases however). 

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