It’s 1964. The Golden Age of Hollywood is over, and New Hollywood is about to begin, an era known for anti-heroes, changing morality, and less traditional plots. At the same time, the spaghetti western emerges, ushered in with A Fistful of Dollars, starring Clint Eastwood as the “man with no name” and directed by Sergio Leone. This is a different type of western, a grittier, less black-and-white western, that takes place in a town where rival gangs rule and the coffin-maker is kept busy.
What A Fistful of Dollars offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: an seminal example of the evolution of the western; a mysterious, iconic anti-hero protagonist; a tale of crime and harsh justice; and a lot of cool, grimy, sweaty close-ups backed by Ennio Morricone’s now famous score.