For a limited time only, the ZDF Mediathek is streaming a Western masterpiece that laid the foundations for a cult trilogy. Quentin Tarantino can’t praise the film enough
In 1963, a poncho was just a poncho. Then 1964’s For a Fistful of Dollars hit cinemas and the world was a different place. Everyone wanted to turn into Clint Eastwood with a poncho, the hype of the Italo-Western was born and the film landscape was no longer the same. The masterpiece is still available to stream in the ZDF Mediathek until December 10, 2023
Western masterpiece established cult trilogy: Quentin Tarantino loves it more than anything
For a Fistful of Dollars revolves around a nameless stranger (Eastwood) who plays the brutal gangs of a small Mexican town off against each other. The story is strongly inspired by the Japanese classic Yojimbo, the bodyguard by Akira Kurosawa.
Watch the trailer for For a Fistful of Dollars here:
For a Fistful of Dollars made Eastwood a star, made the Italo-Western respectable and left such a deep cultural impression that it is still considered a cult film by millions of fans almost 60 years later. Director Sergio Leone went on to make the westerns For a Few Dollars More and Two Glorious Scoundrels with Eastwood, which are now known as the Dollar Trilogy.
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One of the masterpiece’s many fans is Quentin Tarantino, who celebrated the western as the “birth of modern filmmaking” in a speech. According to the star director, the film has shaped the staging of genre moments and the use of soundtracks like no other
