Movie lovers have been blessed throughout the decades with lighting in a bottle across multiple genres. But is it possible to recapture the wonder of the original masterpiece? A team of Hollywood and Italian filmmakers wants to find out as veterans from the U.S. and abroad set up shop to make a remake of A Fistful of Dollars.
Released in 1964, A Fistful of Dollars is responsible for launching the spaghetti Western genre into international regard. It was originally directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starred Clint Eastwood in his first major role as The Man with No Name. Now, 60 years later, it is making its big return to town.
‘A Fistful of Dollars’ originally starring Clint Eastwood is the latest classic set up to get a remake
A remake of A Fistful of Dollars is coming to the big screen, brought to viewers by Euro Gang Entertainment, which was founded by Gianni Nunnari of 300 fame and Simon Horsman, part of the Magazine Dreams team.
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Just as the original A Fistful of Dollars had an international squad behind it, so too will this remake, as they are joined by Italian producer Enzo Sisti, along with the company Jolly Film, based in Rome.
By time of writing, the film is in the early stages of production so details are limited. There is no official writer tied to the program, nor have there been any cast announcements or a start date for filming. Deadline theorizes that the film can be expected to be in English.
Following in the footsteps of giants
Following up an act like the original A Fistful of Dollars will be no easy task for this upcoming remake. Indeed, others have tried and faltered before even gaining momentum, like a Mark Gordon TV version that never made it off the ground.
The original, itself, drew inspiration from legendary films of years past, most prominently Akira Kurosawa’s 1961 film, Yojimbo. The resemblance was so strong that the production company Toho filed a successful lawsuit and Kurosawa himself wrote to Leone, saying, “Signor Leone, I have just had the chance to see your film. It is a very fine film, but it is my film. Since Japan is a signatory of the Berne Convention on the international copyright, you must pay me.”
A Fistful of Dollars had a budget of around $200,000, while Eastwood was paid $15,000 for his role in it. Its humble beginnings launched the Dollars Trilogy, completed by For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and established the popularity of not just the spaghetti Western genre but the career of a man who would work on at least 60 films—and counting!
