The director of the 1964 classic western 'A Fistful of Dollars' was Sergio Leone. He was an Italian film director and screenwriter who is widely considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He is best known for his 'Spaghetti Westerns' which were a subgenre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s. Leone's films are characterized by their moral ambiguity, dark humor, and use of extreme close-ups.