The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
(B or 3/4 stars)
3 men of 3 completely different temperaments & tastes get involved in a long, adventure-filled campaign to find a fortune in 'The Good, the Bad & the Ugly' (a stylish, but cynical, ultra-violent spaghetti western directed by the great Italian filmmaker, Sergio Leone). It is known for its beautiful visuals, copious close-ups & its lonnnggg shots spread across the nearly 3 hour languorous run time. This movie contains iconic characters, accurate period details, & the fantastic whistling music score by Ennio Morricone. It shows the dark side of the west and, with its great success, became highly influential in the western genre. And it is the final installment of Leone's Dollars trilogy {along with A Fistful of Dollars & For a Few Dollars More}.
The setting is the Southwest during the Civil War, where Clint Eastwood stars as Blondie {the "Good" in the title}, a tazciturn, enigmatic gunslinger who is out to make some $$. Lee Van Cleef co-stars as Angel Eyes {the "Bad' in the title}, an amoral hitman who always commits to a mission & sees it through to the end ... as long as he's paid. And Eli Wallach plays Tuco {the "Ugly" in the title}, a vicious, wanted Mexican outlaw. Tuco & Blondie are partners making $$ off of Tuco's bounty, but when Blondie goes his own way, Tuco looks to hunt him down. When Blondie & Tuco come upon a horse carriage loaded with corpses, they re-team, & learn from the only survivor, Bill, that he & some soldiers have buried gold in a faraway cemetery.
Bill dies before stating the locale of said cemetery, so Tuco can only move forward knowing its' name, while Blondie finds out the unmarked grave where the $$ is buried. Now, the two must stay alive in order to find the gold. Sadistic criminal Angel Eyes {also named Sentenza} - who had been looking for Bill - discovers that enemies Tuco & Blondie had met with Bill and knows that they know where the fortune is; now, he needs them to lead him to it. To this, the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly must all hash it out in order to get their grimy hands on the $200,000 worth in gold coins. Much happens before, during, and after all of this. But everything culminates in a climactic showdown that takes place amid a battle btwn. the Confederate & Union forces.
This movie provides a fairly rousing finale to the Leone trilogy. Leone's operatic Civil War Western is a very good film in its own right, but can also be viewed as a dress rehearsal for his next Western, 1969's Once Upon a Time in the West - which I admired even more. Funny enough, I think I even liked another of Leone's Eastwood/Van Cleef westerns that released in America the same year as this film, For a Few Dollars More. But I digress. Leone's direction is showy, but he's more of a visual artiste than, say, an incredible director; in my opinion. The screenplay by Leone & Luciano Vincenzoni is not intricate, but still delivers on intriguing plot happenstance {however infrequent that is}, characterization, and mostly ... tense-dense atmosphere.
Clint Eastwood is commanding as our main hero. Lee Van Cleef makes for an amazingly oily, sadistic villain. And Eli Wallach is hypnotic to watch; every word that he utters & every move he makes has gravity to it. Tonino Delli Colli's cinematography is dazzling, whether it is his vast, sun-drenched landscapes, strange camera flourishes, or the enormous, character-drenched close-ups. Carlo Simi's Civil War era production designs & costumes are wholly authentic. Ennio Morricone's music score is awesome. And the climactic shoot-out at the Sad Hill ghost town cemetery is tremendous. 'The Good, the Bad & the Ugly' is epic. I only wish it weren't as long as it is. I wouldn't say that the narrative is dramatically feeble, but its' miniscule plot points & dialogue make the 3 hours feel longer than they are. Still, the movie more than earns its classic status. It is quite the grandiose spectacle.
The setting is the Southwest during the Civil War, where Clint Eastwood stars as Blondie {the "Good" in the title}, a tazciturn, enigmatic gunslinger who is out to make some $$. Lee Van Cleef co-stars as Angel Eyes {the "Bad' in the title}, an amoral hitman who always commits to a mission & sees it through to the end ... as long as he's paid. And Eli Wallach plays Tuco {the "Ugly" in the title}, a vicious, wanted Mexican outlaw. Tuco & Blondie are partners making $$ off of Tuco's bounty, but when Blondie goes his own way, Tuco looks to hunt him down. When Blondie & Tuco come upon a horse carriage loaded with corpses, they re-team, & learn from the only survivor, Bill, that he & some soldiers have buried gold in a faraway cemetery.
Bill dies before stating the locale of said cemetery, so Tuco can only move forward knowing its' name, while Blondie finds out the unmarked grave where the $$ is buried. Now, the two must stay alive in order to find the gold. Sadistic criminal Angel Eyes {also named Sentenza} - who had been looking for Bill - discovers that enemies Tuco & Blondie had met with Bill and knows that they know where the fortune is; now, he needs them to lead him to it. To this, the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly must all hash it out in order to get their grimy hands on the $200,000 worth in gold coins. Much happens before, during, and after all of this. But everything culminates in a climactic showdown that takes place amid a battle btwn. the Confederate & Union forces.
This movie provides a fairly rousing finale to the Leone trilogy. Leone's operatic Civil War Western is a very good film in its own right, but can also be viewed as a dress rehearsal for his next Western, 1969's Once Upon a Time in the West - which I admired even more. Funny enough, I think I even liked another of Leone's Eastwood/Van Cleef westerns that released in America the same year as this film, For a Few Dollars More. But I digress. Leone's direction is showy, but he's more of a visual artiste than, say, an incredible director; in my opinion. The screenplay by Leone & Luciano Vincenzoni is not intricate, but still delivers on intriguing plot happenstance {however infrequent that is}, characterization, and mostly ... tense-dense atmosphere.
Clint Eastwood is commanding as our main hero. Lee Van Cleef makes for an amazingly oily, sadistic villain. And Eli Wallach is hypnotic to watch; every word that he utters & every move he makes has gravity to it. Tonino Delli Colli's cinematography is dazzling, whether it is his vast, sun-drenched landscapes, strange camera flourishes, or the enormous, character-drenched close-ups. Carlo Simi's Civil War era production designs & costumes are wholly authentic. Ennio Morricone's music score is awesome. And the climactic shoot-out at the Sad Hill ghost town cemetery is tremendous. 'The Good, the Bad & the Ugly' is epic. I only wish it weren't as long as it is. I wouldn't say that the narrative is dramatically feeble, but its' miniscule plot points & dialogue make the 3 hours feel longer than they are. Still, the movie more than earns its classic status. It is quite the grandiose spectacle.