Sept 16, 1964 –
The first of Sergio Leone’s “Man with No Name” westerns, Fistful of Dollars, opened in Italy, three years before it would arrive in the United States. The term ‘Spaghetti Westerns‘ was coined by Spanish journalist Alfonso Sánchez. As pointed out by one of our more astute bunkies, most ‘Spaghetti Westerns‘ were shot in Spain.
This movie is a remake of Yojimbo, which itself was based on the as yet unadapted 1929 novel Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett. In fact, this movie’s U.S. release was delayed when Yojimbo screenwriters Akira Kurosawa and Ryûzô Kikushima sued the filmmakers for breach of copyright. Kurosawa and Kikushima won, and as a result received 15% of this movie’s worldwide gross and exclusive distribution rights for Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. When Kurosawa released the film in Japan, he pointedly retitled it ‘The Return of Yojimbo.’ Kurosawa said he made more money off of this movie than he did on Yojimbo.
The Haus of Dcaligari 