Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

A Fistful of Dollars 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 4, 2022

Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary recorded by film historian Christopher Frayling; audio commentary by author and critic Tim Lucas; archival program with producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and American actor Mickey Knox; multiple archival featurettes; vintage promotional materials for the film; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

If you combine the archival audio commentaries and many programs that feature Christopher Frayling, biographer of Sergio Leone, and merge the information that is offered in them, you will get an extremely accurate summation of the genesis of the three films in the Dollars Trilogy. If you like reading, you can also track down a copy of Frayling’s book Once Upon a Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone, which provides a terrific overview of Leone’s entire oeuvre, together with many interesting and quite invaluable recollections from various people the great director worked with. The audio commentaries and the programs are included on Kino Lorber’s 4K Blu-ray releases of A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, so I would like to highlight a few interesting bits from Frayling’s book that are rarely brought up when the films in the Dollars Trilogy are discussed but are essential elements of their identities.

In the book, Frayling puts a special emphasis on the direct relationship between Leone’s profound admiration of John Ford’s classic American westerns and the grand operatic personality of his spaghetti westerns. This relationship is much easier to recognize in Leone’s later films, but its significance remains the same because it is what always gives a structure to everything that happens in his films. Also, it is precisely the reason why even though Leone’s style evolved, his films remained very similar. (This is true even for Leone’s final film, Once Upon a Time in America, which often feels like a contemporary western as well).

One of the most distinct qualities of Leone’s films is their music, which regularly produces harmonies that do a lot to establish a particular type of ambience. Interestingly, while it may seem logical to speculate that the efficiency of the music has a lot or everything to do with Leone’s passion for Italian opera and the fact that it spilled over into his films, the truth is that Ennio Morricone, who scored all but one of these films, routinely followed his instincts and produced harmonies that were usually based only on rough screenplays and notes that were provided to him by the director. Even more interestingly, as Leone’s style evolved, Morricone apparently became much more conformable experimenting and moved away from the screenplays and notes, so the maturation of Leone’s films was part of a bigger organic process that occurred on multiple levels.

Frayling describes A Fistful of Dollars as the most tightly controlled of Leone’s spaghetti westerns, and rightfully so because it was a project that had to prove the potential of his particular vision of the West. (By the way, this is the reason why For a Few Dollars More has a better sense of humor -- it was shot with greater freedom that allowed Leone to be more creative in various ways). It has fine characterizations and tells a good story, but when all is said and done it leaves the impression that it was a safe project. Clint Eastwood plays a wandering gunslinger who enters the small town of San Miguel and shortly after tricks the Rojos and the Baxters, two rivaling clans, to self-destruct. The set-up does resemble the one from Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, but it is quite a stretch to describe A Fistful of Dollars as a legit remake of it considering that the former was not an original project either. In fact, not only was Yojimbo based on Dashiell Hammett’s novel Red Harvest, but in it the influence of Ford’s work is far easier to recognize as well.

There isn’t a shortage of opinions about the quality of the films in the Dollars Trilogy, and I usually find something to agree with in all of them. My take on A Fistful of Dollars is practically identical to Fralyling’s, which is why I decided to mention one of his books in this article. I think that it is a very fine film but a bit too controlled, too transparent and safe as well. Leone’s best work would come a bit later on and be defined by its fearlessness and timeless relevance.

A Fistful of Dollars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of A Fistful of Dollars is a 4K Blu-ray/ Blu-ray combo release.

Please note that all screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they are not representative of the actual quality of the content that is on the 4K Blu-ray.

Much like the 4K Blu-ray release of Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, this 4K Blu-ray release of A Fistful of Dollars is essentially a rescue project that attempts to reverse as much of the damage that was done after the film was 'restored' in 4K at L'immagine Ritrovata. You can see how the film looked after the makeover if you read our review of Kino Lorber's first Blu-ray release. On this release, the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray offer regraded presentations in native 4K and 1080p.

I think that most people will be relieved to see that after the adjustments there is a pretty dramatic shift in the color temperature of the visuals and that they are closer to where they need to be. The first thirty to forty minutes of the film, in particular, frequently offer some quite well-balanced visuals that can almost convince that the damage that was done at L'immagine Ritrovata was effectively reversed. The problem is that a lot of the 'good' visuals are paired with various not so good visuals and the inconsistencies that emerge quickly begin to reveal the bigger picture, which is that the old grade has destabilized all sorts of different areas. Sometimes it is the overall dynamic range of the visuals, sometimes it is darker nuances, and sometimes it could be just a range of nuances that do not look right and introduce a temporary but extremely awkward temperature switch. (For example, you can have a quick switch from the perfect blue sky in screencapture #15 to a completely neutral background like the one seen in screencapture #18). Starting with the nighttime party hosted by Ramón Rojo, however, the visuals begin to lose their organic appearance as well. Yes, some are still decent, but the majority are not. In nighttime footage, but elsewhere as well, there are creamy yellows and plenty of anemic greens and browns that basically give the visuals are a very artificial appearance that would be suitable for a contemporary western shot on a budget. (See screencaptures #3, 20, and 23). In addition to looking odd, some visuals clearly struggle with the 'new' dynamic range that has been introduced with the new grade as well. (See screencaptures #25, 26, 27, 28, and 30). In these areas, the visuals quite simply do not look like they come from a film shot on 35mm stock in 1964. The rest is fine because the restored files have strong underlying qualities, but given the massive inconsistencies on display these strengths are largely irrelevant. The entire film looks spotless. (Note: The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free. The Blu-ray release is Region-A "locked").

A Fistful of Dollars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I usually view the film with the original audio track, so this time I decided to revisit it with the 5.1 track. I did not do any switches. I viewed the entire film with the 5.1 track. I thought that the lossless audio was very nice, boasting strong dynamic nuances that enhance the period atmosphere quite well. However, as it is usually the case with Italian spaghetti westerns, the audio has some pretty strong exotic qualities that become even more pronounced on the 5.1 track. The shutouts, for instance, can have some quite abrupt dynamic spikes. The dialog still has uneven portions but sounds very, very clear, so I think that it is virtually impossible to be unsatisfied with it. All in all, while original audio is always preferable, I must write that this 5.1 track serves the film extremely well.

A Fistful of Dollars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this archival commentary was recorded by Christopher Frayling, biographer of Sergio Leone, and has appeared on various other home video releases of A Fistful of Dollars. In a predictable fashion, the commentator provides an in-depth deconstruction of A Fistful of Dollars and provides plenty of invaluable information about its genesis and placement in Sergio Leone's body of work.

• Commentary Two - this archival commentary was recorded by critic Tim Lucas and was included on Kino Lorber's first Blu-ray release of A Fistful of Dollars. This is a good commentary, too. Various sequences are carefully analyzed and some not so obvious relationships and details discussed. As usual, there is plenty of good information addressing the production of the film as well.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - this archival commentary was recorded by Christopher Frayling, biographer of Sergio Leone, and has appeared on various other home video releases of A Fistful of Dollars. In a predictable fashion, the commentator provides an in-depth deconstruction of A Fistful of Dollars and provides plenty of invaluable information about its genesis and placement in Sergio Leone's body of work.

• Commentary Two - this archival commentary was recorded by critic Tim Lucas and was included on Kino Lorber's first Blu-ray release of A Fistful of Dollars. This is a good commentary, too. Various sequences are carefully analyzed and some not so obvious relationships and details discussed. As usual, there is plenty of good information addressing the production of the film as well.

• Marisol: Sergio Leone's Madonna in the West - in this archival program, actress Marianne Koch recalls how she was cast to play the Mexican beauty Marisol in A Fistful of Dollars and discusses her work with Sergio Leone and fellow cast members during the production process. The program was produced by Mike Siegel for El Dorado Productions in 2017. In German, with English subtitles. (33 min).

• The Frayling Archives: A Fistful of Dollars - in this archival program, Christopher Frayling, biographer of Sergio Leone, introduces some of the 'greatest hits' from his massive collection of promotional materials/memorabilia for Leone's spaghetti westerns and discusses their production and promotional campaigns (with plenty of terrific comments about A Fistful of Dollars). In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• A New Kind of Hero - in this archival program, Christopher Frayling discusses the cinematic significance of A Fistful of Dollars and specifically the fact that it reinvented the western, its relationship to Yojimbo, and unique stylistic identity. Also, there are terrific observations about the emergence of the new western hero portrayed by Clint Eastwood, as well as Gian Maria Volonte's involvement. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• A Few Weeks in Spain - in this archival program, Clint Eastwood discusses his contribution to A Fistful of Dollars and discusses Sergio Leone's working methods. Also, there are some excellent comments about the emergence of the Italian spaghetti westerns. In English, not subtitled. (9 min).

• Tre Voci: Three Friends Remember Sergio Leone - in this archival program, in this archival program, producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and American actor Mickey Knox (who spent over 30 years in Rome creating English language tracks for Italian genre films) recall their business relationship with Sergio Leone and discuss his working methods. Also, there are interesting comments about the evolution of the Italian spaghetti westerns. In English, not subtitled. (12 min).

• Not Ready for Prime Time - in this archival program, Monte Hellman (Two-Lane Blacktop) discusses the additional footage he was asked to shoot for the broadcast version of A Fistful of Dollars in 1977. Bits of the footage is shown in the program. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Not Ready for Prime Time - in this archival program, Howard Fridkin, Leone collector, recalls his first experience with the network version of A Fistful of Dollars and how he taped it on his brand new Betamax player. Footage from the notorious prologue that was shot for this version of the film is included. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Location Comparisons - this archival program offers then-and-now comparisons from some of the key locations in rural Spain that are seen in A Fistful of Dollars. With music (6 min).

• Trailers From Hell - presented here is an archival episode of Trailers From Hell with director John Badham (Bird on a Wire). With music (4 min).

• Outtakes - presented here a few original outtakes for A Fistful of Dollars. With music (3 min).

• A Fistful in Pictures - a collection of stills from A Fistful of Dollars. With music (15 min).

• Promoting A Fistful of Dollars - a collection of promotional materials for A Fistful of Dollars from around the world. With music (16 min).

• A Fistful of Dollars On the Set - a collection of production stills for A Fistful of Dollars. With music (4 min).

• Radio Spots - a collection of vintage radio spots for A Fistful of Dollars. In English, not subtitled. (6 min).

• A Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars - Burning at Both Ends Radio Spot - a vintage U.S. radio spot. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• A Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars - Burning at Both Ends Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for A Fistful of Dollars. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

A Fistful of Dollars 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

At some point in the future Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti westerns will have to be properly restored by an institution that actually cares about these films. The folks at Kino Lorber have done a lot to reverse the disastrous effects of the 4K 'restorations' that were completed at L'immagine Ritrovata, but the definitive makeovers of these films are still missing. It may take some time, but I think that eventually we will get them. These are huge, timeless films, and there are plenty of knowledgeable people who know that at the moment they don't look right. In the meantime, you can consider picking up Kino Lorber's 4K Blu-ray release of A Fistful of Dollars. It offers an imperfect technical presentation of the film, but for the time being it seems like the most attractive one on the market. RECOMMENDED.