A Fistful of Dollars (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Set Contains:

Disc 1 presents A Fistful of Dollars in glorious 2.35:1-ratio widescreen Techniscope (a "poor-man's Cinemascope" process that squeezed two images into each normal 35mm frame), with a new Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround mix--admittedly a bane to Leone purists who prefer the film's original mono soundtrack, but a positive boon for 21st-century home-theater systems. In his lively and authoritative feature-length audio commentary, noted British film historian and Leone biographer Sir Christopher Frayling provides an in-depth analysis of A Fistful of Dollars, along with details about the film's low-budget production, the star-making performance of Clint Eastwood, and the rocky road to successful U.S. distribution.
Disc 2 begins with "A New Kind of Hero" (22:53), Frayling's behind-the-scenes analysis of the film's innovative anti-hero played by Eastwood, whom Leone hired (when first choices Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Lee Marvin, and Charles Bronson proved too expensive) after seeing Eastwood in a 1961 episode of Rawhide. In the interview featurette "A Few Weeks in Spain" (8:33), Eastwood recalls the experience of making the film on location, and "Tre Voci" (or "Three Voices") is an 11-minute combination of retrospective interviews with producer Alberto Grimaldi, screenwriter Sergio Donati, and Mickey Knox, an American actor living in Rome who provided many of the post-synchronized voices for the English-language versions of Leone's films. In "Not Ready for Prime Time" (6:20), maverick American director Monte Hellman describes the circumstances that led to his direction of an explanatory Fistful of Dollars prologue for the film's American network TV premiere on August 29, 1977. Featuring Harry Dean Stanton and filmed as an attempt to "legitimize" the Man with No Name's seemingly immoral behavior, the rarely-seen prologue (7:44) is introduced by obsessive Leone fan Howard Fridkin, who saved his Betamax recording from the one-time-only 1977 broadcast. The delightful "Location Comparisons" provide a 10-minute montage of original Fistful of Dollars film clips meticulously matched to photos taken on the same locations in 2004 by devoted Leone fans Donald S. Bruce and Marla J. Johnson. Also included are 10 vintage promotional radio spots, original theatrical trailers, and an accompanying 8-page booklet listing film credits, scene selections, and background history on the film. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Clint Eastwood's legendary "Man With No Name" makes his powerful debut in this thrilling, action-packed "new breed of western" (Motion Picture Herald) from the acclaimed director of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and For a Few Dollars More. Exploding with blistering shootouts, dynamic performances and atmospheric cinematography, it's an undisputed classic of the genre. A mysterious gunman (Eastwood) has just arrived in San Miguel, a grim, dusty border town where two rival bands of smugglers are terrorizing the impoverished citizens. A master of the "quick-draw,"the stranger soon receives offers of employment from each gang. But his loyalty cannot be bought; he accepts both jobs...and sets in motion a plan to destroy both groups of criminals, pitting one against the other in a series of brilliantly orchestrated setups, showdowns and deadly confrontations., ISBN13: B000OPOAOI ISBN10: B000OPOAOI Material Type: dvd