A Fistful of Dollars 4K UHD Screenshots (Patreon)

Video

Although not HDR graded, the highlight of Kino's release is a new color grading, preserving the flesh tones and environments in their natural state. A slight oversaturation remains, minor as it is, but infinitely more organic than previous discs. Encoding sprouts a few chroma errors in spots, if minimally so.

Fistful of Dollars doesn't explode with sharpness even with a 4K scan. The elements look in pristine condition, yet softness pervades. There's texture, and preserved grain stays consistent. Sweaty close-ups deliver facial definition but to a lesser extent than comparable catalog efforts.

There's significant life in the source material, the contrast and strong (if not pure black) shadows both bold enough to appear wholly new. Aged this is not.

Audio

A 2.0 mono and 5.1 track are on offer. Although likely more authentic in mono, the DTS-HD surround mix brings boldness to Ennio Morricone's iconic score, especially as the bass' strings pick up. Little happens in the rears or even stereos - this still sounds mono, just with increased heft.

This helps alleviate the scratchy, messy, dubbed dialog, or at least offset the inherent age that's evident in every spoken word. Same goes for the stock sound effects like gunshots.