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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/82337e10_8efe_42b9_96ba_1fc0089f1f29.jpeg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:[[SpaghettiWestern And it sure wasn't the last.]] [[AFistfulOfRehashes Not by]] [[TheExpyWithNoName a long shot.]]]]
3
4%%I know that this is a chained sinkhole, but I don't know of any other way to link SpaghettiWestern, AFistfulOfRehashes, and TheExpyWithNoName altogether in the caption.
5
6->''"When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man."''
7-->-- '''Ramón Rojo'''
8
9''A Fistful of Dollars'' is [[ForeignRemake the 1964 Italian (and originally unauthorized)]] SpaghettiWestern remake of the Japanese film ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', which itself was allegedly [[SecondaryAdaptation inspired]] by the novel ''Literature/RedHarvest'' by Creator/DashiellHammett. It's the first in what's known as The Film/DollarsTrilogy by Western fans, and was followed by ''Film/ForAFewDollarsMore'' and ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly''.
10
11The Man With No Name (played by Creator/ClintEastwood and called "Joe" by the coffin maker) wanders into a small poverty-stricken town on the Mexican border dominated by two feuding crime gangs, the [[{{Bandito}} Rojos]] and the Baxters, and he decides to play the clans against each other, ostensibly so that he can profit from their conflict. The opportunity arises in the form of a Mexican shipment of gold passing through the town. However, his sympathies for Marisol, a hostage of the Rojos gang, leads to a change in plans with near-fatal consequences for the Man With No Name.
12
13The gunfight at the end is the most famous part of the film. ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'' directly homages it, among [[ReferencedBy/DollarsTrilogy many other]] [[ShoutOut Shout-Outs]] to this movie.
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15A novelization was written by Frank Chandler.
16----
17!!Tropes featured in ''A Fistful of Dollars'' include:
18* AdaptationTitleChange: ''A Fistful of Dollars'' is based on the Japanese samurai movie ''Yojimbo''.
19* AdaptationalHeroism:
20** Juan de Dios, the counterpart of the corrupt watchman from ''Yojimbo'', is simply a crazy bellringer who's an in-universe annoyance at worst and appears to be friends with Piripero.
21** Downplayed with Joe. Sanjuro in ''Yojimbo'' instigated the gang conflict because [[ItAmusedMe it amused him]]. Joe did it because he's OnlyInItForTheMoney.
22* AdaptationalJerkass: In the novelization, the cavalry is more brutal in its depiction, going so far as to strike a nearby child and drawing blood in the process, and then threatening a woman and her child with death just for standing in its path. Additionally, the sergeant's threat to Joe when he approaches the stagecoach is much more explicit.
23-->'''Sergeant:''' Looking for something, señor?\
24'''Joe:''' Just curious.\
25'''Sergeant:''' [[IllKillYou I ought to kill you.]]\
26'''Joe:''' You nervous?\
27'''Sergeant:''' [[BadassBoast I am never afraid, señor.]]\
28'''Joe:''' That's okay, then. I got it on good authority. You ain't dangerous.\
29'''Sergeant:''' Get out of here, Yankee. ''Vamos.''\
30'''Joe:''' I'm going. [[{{Understatement}} I figure my advice wasn't so sound.]]
31* AffablyEvil: The Baxters. Unlike the Rojo Brothers, they are much more affable and less brutal in nature.
32* AlliterativeName: '''R'''amón '''R'''ojo.
33* AnachronismStew: Joe, after entering a place for something to eat and drink, holds up what looks like a plastic wreath, looks at it then throws it down back on the table. Plastic was not around in the late 1800s.
34* AnimalMotifs: Joe's gun has rattlesnake grips on it.
35* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Which, by the way, calls the film "Fistful of Dollars" - no "A".
36* AntiHero: Joe is ruthless and unabashedly seeks money, but he has a soft spot for Silvanito and the family he encounters.
37* ArcWords: "When you shoot to kill, aim for the heart." Ramón takes his mantra [[spoiler:[[AttackAttackAttack a little too seriously]]]].
38* AssholeVictim: Let's just say no one but the Baxters will miss those shit disturbers who intercept and assault Joe at the start of the film when he gets his revenge and guns down a fourth Baxter [[GuiltByAssociationGag just for hanging around where he confronts them]]. The Rojos, for their part, are practically full of them--Chico especially won't be missed when he's [[spoiler:crushed to death]], considering he took a lot of glee in [[WouldHurtAChild shooting at a kid and beating up his father right in front of him]] in the very first scene.
39* AwesomeButImpractical: Essentially what defines Ramón's over-reliance to heartbound kill shots with his rifle. [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim Sure, he could just end Joe]] [[BoomHeadshot then and there]], but [[RuleOfCool if it's not as stylish as a shot to the heart, why bother?]].
40* AxCrazy: Ramón. He is [[{{Yandere}} extremely obsessed with a woman]], is widely paranoid, and tortures and kills in cold blood. He is a dangerous psychopath and many a massacre brings an insane SlasherSmile to his face.
41* BadassCape: Joe's poncho, which is an iconic part of his character.
42* {{Bandito}}: The Rojos are [[TheCartel banditos-turned-bootleggers]], who sell alcohol on both sides of the border, and have an ugly rivalry with the Baxters, a family of white-collar American gunrunners. While two of the brothers are absolutely stereotypical, Ramon (also Gian Maria Volonté) subverts it somewhat by being completely evil, but very bright.
43* BangBangBANG: When "Joe" is recovering from his beating, he does some pistol practice. In a modestly sized room, and every other shot seems to be a PEEYOW! ricochet.
44* BatmanGambit: Due to previous interactions with Ramón, [[spoiler: Joe knew he wouldn't try for a headshot so he built a bullet proof vest to block his shots.]]
45* BerserkButton:
46** You can laugh at him and otherwise abuse him all you want, but Joe will ''end'' you if you dare laugh at his mule. [[GuiltByAssociationGag And Heaven help you if you happen to be in the area when he catches up with anyone who makes that mistake, as that fourth Baxter learned the hard way.]]
47** Silvanito gets rather upset with Joe when he reveals why he had only two corpses delivered to the cemetery. He takes the sanctity of the abode of the dead very seriously, as his rant indicates.
48** The sergeant has one in the novelization. Joe is one smart remark away from getting a slug between his shoulder blades after audibly underestimating his credentials.
49* BigBad: Ramón. Don Miguel may be the leader of the Rojos, but Ramón is on par with him in terms of strategy and participates in a lot more of the gang's atrocities in person.
50* BlackAndGrayMorality: To begin with, The Man With No Name is only interested in driving the Rojos and Baxters into open warfare for the Dollars of the title. He does, however, make a point to get Marisol and her family away from the Rojos; not only does he gain nothing from this, it very nearly gets him killed.
51* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: Joe towards Ramón, though it's clearly a display of bravado rather than mercy (and the gun was empty anyway).
52* BloodlessCarnage: During the ambush of the 60-some soldiers, there are no bullets hitting either bodies, the sand, or in the background, and not one drop of blood is spotted, although the soldiers are acting like they are hit, there is not one bullet hole among them. A Gatling Gun would rip them (the soldiers, as well as their clothes) to pieces.
53* BloodFromTheMouth: [[spoiler:Ramón, when Joe finally gets to shoot him. Downplayed with Silvanito, who was merely roughed up by the Rojos and shows a visible blood trail from his mouth in the final closeup of the film and neither is nor looks none much the worse for wear.]]
54%%* BloodKnight: Ramón.
55* BookEnds: The Stranger begins his stay in San Miguel by gunning down four of the Baxter men in a display of quick-draw shooting. The final confrontation with Ramón sees him perform the exact same feat by gunning down the four men Ramón has flanking him, leaving Ramón at the Stranger's mercy.
56* BoomHeadshot: [[spoiler: Happens to Esteban at the end of the climactic showdown, courtesy of Silvanito with a shotgun.]]
57* BottomlessMagazines: In the final showdown, Joe shoots 6 shots in total at the Rojo gang - then fires a 7th shot to free Silvinito hanging on the rope without reloading. The revolver he is using can only fire 6-shots and then needs to be reloaded.
58* BoxedCrook: A very unusual example of ExecutiveMeddling. Joe has no clear motive to go to the town and get involved in the feud. This made TV network executives nervous, so when the film aired on TV, a prologue was filmed: the Man With No Name is released from prison to restore order to the town. This scene was shot without the permission of Sergio Leone, and without Eastwood's participation. Creator/HarryDeanStanton plays the Prison Governor.
59* BridalCarry: Joe does this to Marisol after he accidentally knocks her out.
60* BulletproofVest: Joe fashions one out of scrap metal before the film's climax, giving him a chance against Ramón and his rifle.
61* TheCartel: The Rojos are basically the prototype of a Mexican cartel.
62* ChekhovsSkill: Ramón's ability to make perfect heartshots to a suit of armour. His rifle's bullets don't penetrate it [[spoiler:and also cannot penetrate Joe's boiler plate.]]
63* TheChessmaster: Joe. He instigates conflict between the gangs while taking pay from both sides.
64* ChildHater: Joe speculates the cavalry captain to be one in the novelization after witnessing him roughing up a child and threatening another with death.
65-->'''Joe:''' I wonder if the captain is married and treats his own children like that?
66* ChromosomeCasting: Marisol and Consuela are the only female characters in the film.
67* CigarFuseLighting: Ramon uses a cigar to light the fuse on the dynamite that blows up the wall around the Baxter house.
68* CoffinContraband: Joe uses this tactic to escape from San Miguel without the Rojos noticing--specifically, ''he'' is the contraband. He stops only to watch the Rojos utterly annihilate the Baxters in their search for him, only telling Piripero to carry on after the last Baxter is dead.
69%%* ColdSniper: Ramón.
70* CompositeCharacter: The Baxters (led by town's sheriff) and the Rojos are stated to be directly in charge of the businesses in the town, unlike in Film/{{Yojimbo}}, where the gangs have the mayor and a rival business owner of his in their pockets for the sake of appearances. As such, Ramon directly takes ownership of Marisol for the DistressedDamsel subplot, unlike his Japanese counterpart who pawned her off to one of the merchants.
71* ContractOnTheHitman: Joe leaves the Rojos because he overhears them plotting to kill him when the job is finished, to avoid paying him.
72* CoversAlwaysLie: Movie posters show The Man With No Name holding a Walker Colt. In the movie he uses a Colt Single Action Army.
73* CripplingTheCompetition: The bad guys stomp on Joe's hands while beating him. Except they stomped on the wrong hand.
74* TheCuckoolanderWasRight
75-->'''Joe:''' Crazy bell ringer was right. There's money to be made in a place like this.
76* DamselInDistress: Marisol has to be rescued by Joe and re-united with her husband Julio and son Jesús.
77* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to ''Yojimbo''. BlackComedy aside, there's more bloodshed, and the villains are more openly AxCrazy.
78%%* DeadpanSnarker: It's a movie starring Creator/ClintEastwood, so take a guess...
79* DependingOnTheWriter: The only man who died a natural death in San Miguel died of pneumonia in the film and of lead poisoning in the novelization. [[NoodleIncident How he contracted pneumonia in the film is never expanded upon]], but in the novelization, Silvanito explains rather crossly that he had cut himself on a rusted tin.
80* {{Determinator}}: After finding out Joe was responsible for getting Marisol and her family out of the town, Ramón has Joe beaten to a bloody pulp. Yet he was still able to not only make it out of the room he was locked into alive, but also was able to take a few more henchmen down.
81* DigitalDestruction: It's gotten to the point where the best version is a hodgepodge between the Italian Ripley's Blu-ray (complete image plus the original colors and the original Italian mono audio track, but a lossy original English mono audio track) and the American Kino Lorber Blu-ray (slightly cropped with excessive yellows, but more image than the MGM Blu-ray, and features the original English opening and closing titles plus a lossless original English mono audio track). While the Italian and German releases use a color scheme that hews closer to what was originally seen in theatres, they differ in image quality and the quality of the included original English mono track, with the German Blu-ray featuring a slightly inferior color scheme leaning a bit too closely towards red and the Italian Blu-ray having its original English mono track in a lossy format. The MGM Blu-ray is the worst of the lot, featuring a heavily-cropped image throughout, somewhat muddied colors, and an English mono track which is simply a fold-down from the 5.1 remix. The Kino Lorber Blu-ray, as mentioned before, leans heavily on the yellow side, but shows more image than the MGM Blu-ray (if slightly less than the Italian and German Blu-rays), and what it lacks in image quality, it more than makes up for by including the original English mono track in a lossless format, taken from an original 35mm/16mm print with an optical soundtrack.
82* DirtyCop: The patriarch of the Baxter crime ring is also the town sheriff.
83* DirtyCoward: Paco in the novelization sees his death coming as soon as Joe kills his accomplice Martin at the mine and tries to talk his way out of it. [[spoiler:Joe will have none of it.]]
84* DisproportionateRetribution: Ramón is a master at it:
85** The most visible example is making Marisol his whore just because he thinks her husband, Julián, owes him on account of a past gambling incident. As a matter of fact, he is determined to make life as hellishly difficult for Julián and his family as possible, with as much manpower as possible, over that gambling dispute. Talk about a [[{{Pun}} fistful]] for an eye...
86** More generally, woe betide anyone who befriends one of his enemies, as Silvanito found out the hard way ("And that's for being his friend!").
87%%* DivideAndConquer: Joe's basic strategy.
88* TheDragon: Esteban. He's the second most bloodthirsty of the Rojo brothers, and he plays an active role in Joe's torture (that role being reduced in the original theatrical cuts released in the US and the UK), but he's basically subordinate to both Ramón and Don Miguel.
89* DragonInChief: Ramón is this to his elder brother Miguel. Miguel is the Don of the family, but Ramón is a much more dangerous fighter, and is the true power of the family.
90* TheDreaded: Early in the film, when Joe has met Don Miguel and Esteban, he comments to Silvanito that he has yet to meet Ramón. Silvanito tells him to hope he never does.
91* DressingAsTheEnemy: The Rojos gang disguise themselves as US soldiers to stage an ambush on the Mexican troops.
92* TheDrifter: ''The'' classic Western example, with the Man With No Name simply wandering into the town at the beginning.
93* DubNameChange: In the original Italian, Don Miguel was known as Don Benito.
94* EnemyCivilWar: The Man With No Name deliberately starts this between The Baxters and The Rojos.
95* EvenEvilHasStandards: Don Miguel looks shocked when [[spoiler:Esteban shoots Consuela.]] Heck, even ''[[AxCrazy Ramón]]'' is a little shocked.
96* EvilGenius: Ramón. He's the only one of the villains who has a clue about Joe, and seems to be the Rojos' planner as well.
97* EvilLaugh: Many of the Rojos let out a few when they massacre the Baxters--even Don Miguel, the normally level-headed leader of the Rojos, who doesn't fire a single shot through it all. Those who don't have a SlasherSmile at the very least.
98* EvilMatriarch: Mrs. Baxter is the real brains in her family.
99* EvilVsEvil: The Rojos vs. The Baxter, though the Baxters are perhaps more corrupt than evil.
100* {{Expy}}: The entire cast of the film are based on the characters from ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', to the point where it resulted in a lawsuit. Several ''Yojimbo'' characters have no clear counterpart in ''A Fistful of Dollars'': Inokichi, Tazaemon the silk merchant, Tokuemon the sake brewer, and Hachi and Kuma, the two thugs sent to kill the country inspector.
101* FakeShemp: The 1977 prologue for TV featuring Creator/HarryDeanStanton has a heavily swathed body double for Clint Eastwood shot largely from behind. Two tight close-ups of Eastwood's face with his trademark squint have plainly been taken from other footage, as he's squinting in bright sunlight and Stanton is talking to Eastwood indoors.
102* FalseFlagOperation: [[spoiler:The Rojos pretend to be American soldiers to steal the gold shipment from the Mexican Army. They've already killed the Americans and position the bodies to make it look like they killed each other.]]
103* TheFamilyThatSlaysTogether: The Rojo brothers and the Baxters are both family gangs.
104* FauxAffablyEvil: Ramon acts friendly most of the time, but is rotten to the core. You see his real personality during the massacre of the Baxters, where he is laughing and firing almost indiscriminately, overjoyed to be able to kill and kill (the rest of the men are acting the same way, but Ramon has largely been so controlled up until this point that it's a surprise to see the monster inside showing itself so openly).
105* FeudingFamilies: The Baxters and the Rojos, though it's The Man With No Name's manipulations that brings the feud to a boil.
106* FirstPersonDyingPerspective: When "[[TheExpyWithNoName Joe]]" shoots [[BigBad Ramon]] at the end, we get a brief sequence filmed as a first-person POV from Ramon's perspective. The camera shakily jerks and heaves one way and then another, mirroring the mortally wounded Ramon's movements as he tries and fails to steady himself. This is the only time this happens in the film and as soon as Ramon dies the film reverts to a steady third-person perspective.
107* AFistfulOfRehashes: The TropeNamer, and itself a Western rehash of ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', as mentioned below.
108* ForeignRemake: Again, of ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}''. The writers didn't credit Kurosawa at first, and as a result he had to sue them. He wound up being awarded the East Asian distribution rights for ''Fistful'' -- which wound up making him more money than most of his own movies.
109* {{Foreshadowing}}: While cursing [[spoiler: the Rojos for murdering her family, Consuelo yells at Ramón]] "May you and your brothers die spitting blood!". [[spoiler:Ramón]] bleeds from the mouth as he dies.
110* ForTheEvulz: This is the only reason in Ramon. He is just an inhuman bastard who enjoys killing and robbing.
111* GangOfHats: The Mexican, hard-partying Rojos and the European, dignified Baxters.
112* GatlingGood: The Rojos steal some gold from the Mexican army, largely thanks to being able to mow down about 100 soldiers with a Gatling Gun (which is actually a mock-up of a Mitrallieuse volley gun crammed on top of a normal machine gun, probably a Maxim).
113* GiantMook: Chico is the first of the Rojo thugs we see, and also one of the most prominent to the point of being billed in the opening credits. He's got a great girth, and he generally isn't very friendly even towards his fellow thugs, except for Vincente, who complains about having to watch Joe until he's ready to open his mouth about Marisol, ultimately getting barreled to death along with him.
114* GigglingVillain: Esteban whenever someone is being tortured.
115* GoodColorsEvilColors: A downplayed example. In the climax, the camera prominently shows the ominous, expensive black leather boots of the wicked Esteban Rojo (who also tends to flashy dress) — and then immediately cuts to a zoom-in on the tan-colored, simple but stylish, roughout boots of the protagonist.
116* GoodCopBadCop: During the torture scene, Ramón is the bad cop who oversees the torture and interrogation of Joe, while Don Miguel is the good cop who offers to release Joe if he'd just tell them where Marisol went.
117* GoodGunsBadGuns: "The Man With No Name" (good) carries a Colt Single Action Army revolver (particularly, the "Artillery" model with a shorter barrel which is better for {{Quick Draw}}ing), one of the most classic "good" guns of the Old West. Ramón Rojo, the primary antagonist, prefers his rifle, a Winchester 1892. It's more accurate at a distance, holds more rounds, and Ramón at one point utters the now-famous page quote to "The Man". [[spoiler:In the climax, knowing Ramón's calling card is to always aim for the heart, "The Man" crafts a chest protector out of an old boiler plate, wears it under his trademark poncho, and takes the hits until Ramón's rifle is out of ammo. After taking out Ramón's henchmen, "The Man" moves into close range and gives Ramón a final chance to test his quote. "The Man" wins easily.]]
118* GuileHero: The Man depends as much on his cunning as his phenomenal skill as a pistolero, spending most of the first half of the movie playing both gangs against each other expertly.
119* GuiltByAssociationGag: An example that isn't PlayedForLaughs. "I saw the whole thing; you killed all four of them." Uh, Sheriff Baxter, wasn't the grand total number of Baxters mocking Joe's mule three? Lampshaded by Joe himself as he leaves the area:
120-->'''Joe:''' My mistake. Four coffins.
121* TheGunslinger: If you have to ask, you've never seen the film (or any other Creator/ClintEastwood western).
122%%* TheHeavy: Ramon
123* HollywoodHealing: Not as bad as ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', as Clint Eastwood's character does take some time to recover from his injuries. Contrast with another SpaghettiWestern adaptation of the same story, ''Film/{{Django}}'', however, where the hero ends the movie triumphant but physically shattered.
124* HongKongDub: Not especially noticeable, especially when Joe's talking (Clint Eastwood was supposedly the only cast member to be fluent in English), but a glaring example can be seen in the US theatrical cut after Joe is tortured. Chico is talking with Vincente about how fun it'll be to watch Joe even though there's a shot of both their dead bodies amidst the remains of a giant barrel Joe had rolled at them, and the sound of the barrel rolling and Chico screaming right before being smashed can be heard after the fact, as Joe's crawling out of the storeroom (for some reason, the US theatrical cut was done slightly differently than the UK theatrical cut but used the same audio as the UK theatrical cut). Played straight in the scenes with the little boy crying, where the dubbing is ''incredibly'' obvious.
125* IWantThemAlive: When Joe escapes the Rojos, Ramon orders a search, but wants him alive. {{Justified}}, as he wants to know where Marisol is.
126* IWarnedYou: When suggesting the "brilliant" idea of shooting Joe in the back for that first hundred, Esteban is told outright, "Just shoot him in the back, and it's all settled, eh? Well, what if your gun twitches just a little?" Joe wasn't the one to kill him at the end, but Esteban tries for that back shot, his shotgun twitches in the windowsill just a little, and he gets blown away for his troubles, as foretold.
127* IdiotBall: Ramon and his men freak out over Joe's apparent inability to die when Ramon shoots him repeatedly with his rifle, yet it never occurs to Ramon to try shooting Joe in the head, nor does it occur to him or his men to just open fire indiscriminately when Joe reveals he was wearing a crude bullet proof vest the whole time.
128** Sort of a justified trope as in an early scene, Joe calls out Ramon for not doing a head shot during a practice shoot. Ramon believes that to really kill a man you must aim for the heart. Joe counted on it and called him on it during the aforementioned bulletproof vest scene. There's also the fact that at the time, a truly bulletproof vest was almost unheard of.
129** Also justified in that, even for an expert marksman with high-end modern sniper gear, headshots are actually really, ''really'' hard to pull off. Aiming for the heart means that even if you miss, you've likely hit ''something'' in the chest/torso, which is packed with important organs.
130* ImprovisedArmour: The metal chest piece is ripped from a stove.
131* InvulnerableHorses: {{Subverted}}. During the ambush at the river, Ramon shoots many soldiers, but not a single horse is injured. Then after the gun is silenced, there are several dead horses lying in plain view.
132* IronicEcho:
133** While the nameless Stranger is comparing weapons with Ramon, Ramon praises his rifle, to which the Stranger replies that he'd prefer his .45. Ramon replies, "When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with a pistol will be a dead man. That's an old Mexican Proverb... and it's true." Later on during the final showdown, the Stranger repeats those words to Ramon, and says "Let's see if that's true." Of course, the words don't hold up, and Ramon is killed.
134** Twice through the movie, Joe is described as being "in the middle" between the Rojos and Baxters, which he considers ripe for opportunity. At the end, while both gangs are wiped out, Joe ruefully notes that now he's "in the middle" between the approaching Mexican and US government forces. This time, however, he considers it too dangerous and hightails it out of town before they arrive.
135* {{Irony}}: At the start of the film, Joe is giving [[{{Undertaker}} Piripero most of his business]]. Unfortunately for Piripero, Joe's cleared out most of his customers by the end of the film. Though, the bodies pile up at a fast enough rate at one point that they just don't bother with coffins anyway.
136* {{Jerkass}}:
137** Ramon and Esteban Rojo, for the Rojos.
138** On the Baxters' side, three of their thugs casually make fun of Joe and fire at his mule's feet almost as soon as he rides into town.
139* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Joe, in his treatment of everyone who's not a Rojo or Baxter.
140* KeepItForeign: In pre-1988 prints of the English dub, Piripero audibly measuring the fresh Rojo corpses from the Italian version is left in.
141* KickTheDog: Ramon, when he massacred a Mexican army unit in his first appearance and when he brutally tortures Silvanito.
142* KickMePrank: At the start of the movie when Joe rides into town he passes a man riding out with an "Adios amigos" sign on his back.
143* KilledMidSentence: Paco in the novelization.
144-->'''Paco:''' Señor, I warn you to leave. Martin made me do this thing. I did not want it. Now I tell you that Ramon knows of this place. He is coming with many men. If you go now, head for the border, I will tell Ramon that—\
145''[Joe pumps two bullets into Paco without a second thought]''
146%%* KnightErrant: Joe, in his treatment of Marisol.
147* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Rather than capitalize on his victory in the gang war between the Baxters and the Rojos, Joe decides enough's enough when faced with the prospect of being caught up in a possible conflict involving the Mexican government over their stolen gold and skips town, but not before paying what he owes Silvanito.
148* {{Leitmotif}}: Joe is accompanied by a swift descending scale on a recorder whenever he does something impressive/we see his face/he happens to blink.
149%%* MobWar: Engineered by The Man, of course.
150* MrSmith: The protagonist is actually called 'Joe' in the script, but as only Piripero the undertaker gives him that name, as in "average Joe", Clint Eastwood instead became The Man With No Name.
151* MuggedForDisguise: A US Cavalry company are murdered and their uniforms stolen to allow Ramon and his men to stage an ambush on the Mexican troops.
152* MurderIsTheBestSolution: Ramon sets up two mass murders within several days rather than try more subtle methods or be content to accept an enemy's surrender.
153* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: For much of the movie, the Man With No Name is only out to make some quick cash, and while he's doing that he's all but invincible in fights and plays all the other characters for suckers. It's only when he tries to do something nice by helping Marisol and her family escape that the bad guys get wise to him...
154* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[spoiler:Joe receives one from Chico, Rubio, and Esteban after Marisol escapes.]]
155* NoNameGiven: The coffin maker refers to him as Joe. Might as well.
156* NoodleIncident:
157** Joe mentions that using corpses as decoys has helped him out of a situation more than once, and that he once knew someone like Marisol and there was no one to help.
158** It is not known which gang "Adios Amigo" (the dead man Joe encounters upon first entering San Miguel) fell foul of, let alone what "Adios Amigo" was doing in San Miguel in the first place.
159* NotQuiteDead: Paquito survives the initial assault on the small house only for Marisol to warn Joe, resulting in the head of the small house guard meeting his end [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks with a sword to the chest]].
160* NotSoAboveItAll: Don Miguel, who is typically the OnlySaneMan of the Rojos, is seen laughing while they massacre the Baxters, though he doesn't kill any of them.
161* ObviousStuntDouble: There's an obvious horse riding double for Clint Eastwood during the entire sequence where he rides back to town while trying to avoid the Rojo's.
162* OhCrap:
163** Ramon's reaction every time Joe gets up from his heart shots.
164** Joe's expression after he accidentally knocks Marisol out, mistaking her for a Rojo.
165** Ramon's henchmen is a SmugSnake when he's about to kill Marisol's husband, and he maintains that look when getting ready to kill Silvanito for protecting him. However, he is clearly on the verge of shitting his pants when Joe steps up behind Silvanito and backs him up. Joe gives him a DeathGlare, and the man ''very slowly'' moves his hand well away from his gun.
166* OneBulletLeft: Joe has one bullet left in his six-shooter, while Ramon has one bullet in a rifle. Joe might have been lucky, but considering how badass he is, he was probably just that good. The point was that both of them have one bullet, but they have to load their weapons of choice first. And Joe's six shooter is faster to load than Ramon's rifle, even when Joe's hand is not fully healed.
167* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Joe. Though, he does offer a good amount of his earnings to the family he rescues from the hands of the Rojos, making it clear that, while money may be a major motivating factor for him, it's not the only one.
168-->'''Joe:''' That crazy bellringer was right. There's money to be made in a place like this.
169* OnlySaneMan: Silvanito, the bartender, who at first reluctantly befriends Joe.
170* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When feigning an intention to make peace with the Baxters, the Rojos, especially Ramón, do a little ''too'' well. Ramón's sudden friendliness and politeness towards John Baxter and his wife sets off alarm bells in Mrs. Baxter's head, and sure enough, after they've returned home from the dinner Joe breaks into their mansion to let them know ''exactly'' why the Rojos wanted to make peace all of a sudden. As it so happens, a cavalry rode through town, and Ramón had the whole cavalry massacred, except for two soldiers who somehow managed to flee to the town cemetery. Fearing an investigation, Ramón then decided to keep things peaceful between the families just long enough for the investigation to officially clear the Rojos of any involvement in the massacre.
171* OrangeBlueContrast: Pops up from time to time during the nighttime scenes, being most visible when the Baxters prepare for dinner with the Rojos, and later near the end when [[spoiler:the Rojos massacre the Baxters]].
172* PetTheDog: The protagonist saves a family caught in between the troubles of the two GangOfHats, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold making him seem less amoral]]. The family is so damn thankful, Joe practically has to [[ShooTheDog shoo them in order for them to leave.]] And with good reason: dire consequences would befall both if they don't.
173%%* PlayingBothSides
174* PlayingDrunk: Joe pretends to be so blind drunk at the Rojos' party that he has to be carried to bed. Of course, it's a ruse so he can sneak out and free Marisol.
175* PlotHole: During the shootout in the cemetery, Ramón shoots the (dead) soldiers on the tombstone. As the (dead) soldiers don't move or react at any time during the shoot out, wouldn't that indicate that the soldiers weren't alive? Yet no-one in the shootout seems to notice.
176* PocketProtector: The Man with No Name hides a metal plate under his poncho before the final showdown. In that fight, he deliberately goads Ramon to aim at his chest, which is the only part of his body that is armored.
177* PowerTrio: The Rojo Bros.
178** Ego: Ramon, who is AxCrazy but calculating.
179** Superego: Don Miguel, who is the most reasonable of the three.
180** Id: Esteban, the most impulsive of the three brothers.
181* PrecisionFStrike: Joe has one in the Italian version when the Army comes to town.
182-->'''Joe:''' Who knows what the hell's in the stagecoach.
183* PrematurelyMarkedGrave: The local undertaker looks the protagonist over before leaving. Another character comments that the one hard look is all that the coffinmaker needs, because there has been so much business.
184* PreMortemOneLiner: After verifying that John Baxter wasn't kidding when he surrendered, Ramon tells him to take up his surrender terms with his wife and says, "Maybe she won't be too happy," before shooting him.
185* PrisonerExchange: Marisol is exchanged for one of the Baxters.
186* RailingKill:
187** Ramon kills a Baxter this way.
188** Esteban [[spoiler:dies this way when Silvanito shoots him in the bar balcony.]]
189* RecycledInSpace: ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'' WITH COWBOYS! [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Not that there's anything wrong with that.]]
190* RecycledSoundtrack: Music/EnnioMorricone sampled the music from his cover of Woody Guthrie's song, "Pastures of Plenty", performed by Peter Tevis, for the soundtrack.
191* RevengeBeforeReason: At the end of the movie, Joe has killed all of Ramon's associates, tricked him into using up all the bullets in his rifle, and [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands shot the rifle out of his hands for good measure]]. Instead of just shooting the defenseless Ramon, however, he [[spoiler:empties his own gun and throws it on the ground, just so he and Ramon can have a who-can-pick-up-their-gun-reload-it-and-shoot-the-other-guy-first contest]] just to further humiliate him.
192* RevolverCylinderSpin: During the climatic my-pistol-against-your-rifle showdown between The Man With No Name and Ramon, The Man With No Name gives the cylinder on his revolver a spin after loading it and getting the drop on Ramon. Of course, since he only loaded a single bullet, it was pure luck that the chamber with the bullet came to rest under the hammer...
193* RevolversAreJustBetter: Ramon attempts to defy this in the page quote. It doesn't go well. The movie really plays with the trope, though. Joe doesn't win the shootout because his revolver is inherently better than Ramon's rifle. He wins because he utilizes his weapon's strengths to exploit the weaknesses of Ramon's (the revolver is slightly quicker and easier to reload and aim, and the close range nullifies the rifle's greater long-distance accuracy).
194* {{Sadist}}: Ramon and Esteban Rojo, both visibly delighted during moments of carnage.
195* SawnOffShotgun: Silvanito wields one. He points it at the Rojo thugs when they gather outside his bar and uses it to kill Esteban (who appears to be using the same gun to fire at Joe).
196* SeanConneryIsAboutToShootYou: [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ed/A_Fistful_of_Dollars_poster.jpg Clint Eastwood's going to shoot the guy above you. Or maybe he's just preparing to shoot you.]]
197* SecondaryAdaptation: This 1964 live-action film is a [[TheRemake remake]] of the 1961 film ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}'', itself based on the 1929 novel ''Literature/RedHarvest''. Additionally, this film was [[{{Novelization}} novelized]] in 1972 by Creator/FrankChandler.
198* ShapedLikeItself: Combined with OverlyNarrowSuperlative. The poster proclaims "''A Fistful of Dollars'' is the first motion picture of its kind. It won't be the last!" Especially ironic since it was a remake of ''Yojimbo''.
199* ShoutOut:
200** In a musical sense. Quite a few of the musical cues (that don't use mariachi trumpets) sound straight out of a samurai movie--seemingly a nod to the film's inspiration.
201** According to the commentary on the DVD, the animated opening sequence (which would later become a common feature of {{Spaghetti Western}}s) was this to Franchise/JamesBond.
202* ShootTheRope: Joe does this for Silvanito, who was strung up by his hands.
203%%* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Played with: not one is the classic one on one facedown.
204* SiblingsInCrime: The Rojo brothers, who run a powerful gang.
205* TheSlowWalk: Eastwood's final showdown with the Rojos begins with him walking dramatically towards them after grabbing their attention with some dynamite.
206* SmashCut: From Ramon's EvilLaugh after explaining to Esteban why he wants peace with the Baxters all of a sudden to Silvanito laughing at the seeming failure of Joe's gambit.
207%%* SmokingIsCool
208%%* TheSociopath: Ramon and Esteban Rojo.
209%%* SouthOfTheBorder: Though some action involves American soldiers as well.
210* SpaghettiWestern: One of the most famous examples, as well as a TropeCodifier for the detached cynicism that would make Spaghetti Westerns so distinct from their American counterparts, which up to this point had typically taken a more reverent and overtly heroic tone.
211* SquashedFlat: [[spoiler:Chico and Vincente are killed when Joe rolls a massive barrel on top of them. They're not quite flat, but they're quite dead.]]
212* TheTheTitleConfusion: As noted above, in the opening credits the title is simply ''Fistful of Dollars''.
213* ThousandYardStare: Joe has one immediately after accidentally punching out Marisol, making it clear that, for all his faults, [[WouldntHitAGirl hitting women is not something he's comfortable with]].
214* ThrowABarrelAtIt: Joe takes out Chico and another Rojo by rolling a large barrel at them.
215* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: After the shoot-out in the little house, Joe is wrecking the place with a machete. Marisol sees a not-quite-dead bad guy reaching for a gun and shouts a warning. Joe spins around and hurls the machete at him, neatly impaling him.
216* TokenGoodTeammate: Don Miguel seems more like ReasonableAuthorityFigure than the AxCrazy Ramon and GigglingVillain Esteban. [[spoiler: Doesn't stop Joe from killing him, too.]]
217* TortureIsIneffective: Despite Ramon's brutal attempts to extract information from both Joe and Silvanito, he ends up with exactly zero in the way of useful information.
218* {{Understatement}}: In the novelization, after the massacre at the Rio Bravo:
219-->'''Silvanito:''' That Ramon, he is a mean one.\
220'''Joe:''' He ain't no Sunday school teacher, that's for sure.
221* {{Undertaker}}: One of the only characters who earns an honest living is the the undertaker. And he's pretty cheery too, until Clint's character wipes out the remaining gang members.
222-->'''Joe:''' Get three coffins ready.\
223''[later, after gunning down four men]''\
224'''Joe:''' My mistake. Four coffins...
225* UnorthodoxReload: Ramón Rojo casually does the half-cycle spin at the beginning of the final showdown.
226* VillainousBreakdown: Ramón starts the final duel with a confident [[PsychoticSmirk smile]], stating "The ''Americano'' is dead." [[spoiler: As his shots fail, over and over, to kill Joe, his confidence crumbles, until he's visibly panicked and [[AttackAttackAttack firing again and again]] until he runs out of bullets.]]
227* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The only concrete information about San Miguel's location is that it's somewhere in the northeastern part of Mexico.
228* WomenAreWiser: In the novelization, Consuela Baxter claims to be the smartest member of the Baxter family, [[LadyMacbeth and as in the film she backs it up at several points]].
229* WouldHitAGirl:
230** Completely accidental, but you get the feeling Joe was more annoyed at hitting a bystander than punching out a lady.
231** Esteban guns down Mrs. Baxter without a second thought.
232* WouldHurtAChild: To demonstrate how horrible Ramon is, he has the child of the kidnapped mother (a 6 years old kid) ''threatened with death'' if she is not given over.

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