A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

Leone's debut launched the Dollars Trilogy and the entire Spaghetti Western genre, starring Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name — an adaptation of Kurosawa's Yojimbo that cost $200,000 and grossed $14.5 million worldwide. Shot in Spain's Almeria desert, it established the squinting antihero, extreme close-up, and desolate landscape as genre trademarks.