Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone are mainly known for their legendary Westerns, but Leone was also inspired by other movies. However, since he did not have the rights for one film, a large sum in penalties had to be paid.
Which film is it? A Fistful of Dollars made Clint Eastwood a major film star in 1964. It was the start of the Dollar Trilogy by the legendary director Sergio Leone, who was an important pioneer of the Spaghetti Western genre.
However, A Fistful of Dollars has an inspiration source that was released in 1961: Yojimbo, by the Japanese directing legend Akira Kurosawa. You could even call A Fistful of Dollars a Western remake, but they actually did not have the rights for it.
This led to a lawsuit and a penalty, which was probably quite lucrative for Kurosawa.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is also considered a legendary film with Clint Eastwood:
A Fistful of Dollars is actually a remake
How did the lawsuit come about? Although Yojimbo tells a samurai story, the narratives are very similar: both films have a nameless protagonist who acts in morally gray ways. Both end up in a town that is in chaos due to criminals. They meddle in affairs, but without a completely heroic intention. Some shots in the film are said to have been taken over.
Yojimbo had a significant influence, even internationally, and was also a source of inspiration for A Fistful of Dollars. According to film historian Stuart Galbraith IV. (via akirakurosawa.info), who wrote a biography of the two called The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, Kurosawa sent Leone a letter stating:
Signor Leone, I just saw your film. It is a very good film, but it is my film. As Japan signed the Berne Convention on international copyright, you have to pay me a fee.
This led to the lawsuit. According to akirakurosawa.info, it is said that they ultimately reached an out-of-court settlement. Kurosawa and the studio behind Yojimbo, Tōhō, reportedly received 15% of the revenues from A Fistful of Dollars. Filmfoundation.org also reports that they additionally obtained distribution rights for Asian countries.
My producer was not exactly the brightest
How much money did Kurosawa ultimately receive? An exact monetary figure is not available, but sources like akirakurosawa.info assume that the lawsuit brought in more for the Japanese director than his own film Yojimbo.
In 1984, Sergio Leone commented on the matter in an interview with American Film (via Scraps from the Loft) and explained:
My producer [of A Fistful of Dollars] was not exactly the brightest. He forgot to pay Kurosawa for the rights, and Kurosawa would have certainly been satisfied with very little; thus, my producer had to make him rich later on and pay him millions in penalties.
Sergio Leone
Unfortunately, no official figures on the box office results of Yojimbo can be found, but if Leone’s statement is true, it is quite likely that the penalties were higher than the money Kurosawa earned from Yojimbo, especially since the film studio presumably received the majority of the film’s revenues.
If the creators behind A Fistful of Dollars had simply secured the rights, they could have spared themselves a few million dollars in penalties. Nevertheless, both films are considered legendary works. George Lucas is also said to have been inspired: George Lucas allegedly stole from a cult film for Star Wars, admitting that he was inspired by 2 characters
