Review: Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" Astonishes on 4K Blu-ray from Kino Lorber

Although the Spaghetti Western genre's genesis can be attributed directly to the success of Sergio Leone's 1964 classic "A Fistful of Dollars," that doesn't speak to just how much Leone's in-your-face, windswept style changed the course of filmmaking. Clint Eastwood's image may stand tall, but it's that way because Leone was able to catalyze the shifting moral dynamics inherent in the western genre and successfully marry them with operatic scenes of quick-cut, violent, and realistic action that gives weight to those dynamics. Even the opening credit sequence does more to outline the moral muddiness of the film better than most westerns can achieve in their entire runtime.

Kino Lorber Studio Classics presents Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars" on 4K Blu-ray for the first time ever, with a native 4K presentation sourced from the restored 4K files provided by L'Immagine Ritrovata. Kino previously used the same source for their 2018 Blu-ray of the film, but they've performed extensive shot-by-shot color grading for this presentation to make the film look as close as it has ever looked to its original form. Colors are remarkably richer and bolder than the 2018 Blu-ray, with that invasive green tint now gone in exchange for a truer color gamut. Although there's no HDR applied to the presentation, the disc bitrate is maxed out to allow the best presentation possible. I'm happy to report that the film truly looks better than ever.

When a gunfighter with no name (Clint Eastwood) arrives in a dusty Mexican border town, he posts up at a saloon and quickly realizes the town is run by two warring gangs – one run by John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy), and the other run by Ramón Rojo (Gian Maria Volontè). The gunfighter soon kills four men of Baxter's gang, putting him in Ramón Rojo's favor. But what Ramón doesn't know is that the gunfighter plans to pit one side against the other.

Kino has ported over all the extras from their 2018 Blu-ray edition. It's worth noting that what they provided then is still a great helping of features that draw remarkable context around the film. In particular, the commentary by film historian Tim Lucas is incredibly thorough and is more than worth a listen. Kino Lorber has now successfully released the definitive edition of "A Fistful of Dollars," and the film truly looks stunning in 4K.

Other special features include:

� Audio Commentary by film historian Sir Christopher Frayling
� Interview with actress Marianne Koch
� The Christopher Frayling Archives: "A Fistful of Dollars"
� "A New Kind of Hero" featurette
� "A Few Weeks in Spain" – Clint Eastwood on making the film
� "Tre Voci" – Three friends remember Sergio Leone
� "Not Ready for Primetime" – Renowned filmmaker Monte Hellman Discusses the television broadcast of "A Fistful of Dollars"
� The Network Prologue with Harry Dean Stanton
� Location Comparisons: Then to Now
� Trailers from Hell with John Badham
� "A Fistful in Pictures" Image Gallery
� Archival outtakes
� Radio spot
� Double bill trailer
� Theatrical Ttailer
� 5.1 Surround and Original 2.0 Mono audio tracks

"A Fistful of Dollars" is now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray from Kino Lorber Studio Classics.