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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Part of the ‘Man with no name’ Trilogy, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ is the third film produced by Sergio Leone in which Blondie (The Good, portrayed by Clint Eastwood) and Tuco (The Ugly, portrayed by Eli Wallach) form an uncomfortable alliance in the hunt for gold in a race against Sentenza/Angel Eyes (The Bad, portrayed by Lee Van Cleef).
The film is set around the time of the American Civil war, and despite being the third instalment of what has become known as a trilogy, it is the first chronologically. The three films are not connected in any way other than the mysterious man with no name and can be watched in any order without spoiling each other although many will recommend them in the order of ‘Fistful of Dollars’, ‘For a Few Dollars more’ and then finally ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ simply for the reason that we can view Sergio Leone’s progression as a director, each film arguably outdoing each other, with ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ often regarded as his best ever film.
Throughout the film such an atmosphere is created that the viewer can feel the uncomfortable tension generated from the uneasy relationship of the characters, although some scenes feel tough and possibly slow, Leone uses his environment to maximise such feelings such as the scene where Tuco drags Blondie through the desert, close to death.
Having viewed the extended version of the film, I am yet to view the cut version and with some great scenes being cut such as the alcoholic union officer I find it hard to understand why such scenes would be. The film can possibly be divided in to two halves; the first is a more longwinded insight in to each three of the characters as Leone introduces us in to the lives of each, the second sees more fast paced action as the chase for gold accelerates, with the unpredictable characters competing against each other for a $200,000 dollar reward.
Although Clint Eastwood is often regarded as the main character and the face of the film, Tuco finds himself having far more dialogue than his partner in what is a fantastic performance by a criminal who as the film title suggests, shows many ugly characteristics, however we perhaps find ourselves feeling sorry for a man who seems to show genuine emotions in certain scenes such as when he meets his brother, the head of a church.
No review of ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ would be complete without a mention for Ennio Morricone who adds magical and often haunting music that creates some fantastic and dramatic scenes. The film features probably one of the best musical scores ever for a film and Morricone’s music is regarded as one of best features of Sergio Leone’s Westerns.
The final, inevitable scene emerges as the result of all these fantastic ingredients, fantastic acting and each character’s attitude can be seen, Leone uses his close-up and dramatic style and Morricone compliments it brilliantly with his fantastic music. The film is in my opinion Leone’s greatest ever film and possibly the greatest Western created.
RATING:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Part of the ‘Man with no name’ Trilogy, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ is the third film produced by Sergio Leone in which Blondie (The Good, portrayed by Clint Eastwood) and Tuco (The Ugly, portrayed by Eli Wallach) form an uncomfortable alliance in the hunt for gold in a race against Sentenza/Angel Eyes (The Bad, portrayed by Lee Van Cleef).
The film is set around the time of the American Civil war, and despite being the third instalment of what has become known as a trilogy, it is the first chronologically. The three films are not connected in any way other than the mysterious man with no name and can be watched in any order without spoiling each other although many will recommend them in the order of ‘Fistful of Dollars’, ‘For a Few Dollars more’ and then finally ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ simply for the reason that we can view Sergio Leone’s progression as a director, each film arguably outdoing each other, with ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ often regarded as his best ever film.
Throughout the film such an atmosphere is created that the viewer can feel the uncomfortable tension generated from the uneasy relationship of the characters, although some scenes feel tough and possibly slow, Leone uses his environment to maximise such feelings such as the scene where Tuco drags Blondie through the desert, close to death.
Having viewed the extended version of the film, I am yet to view the cut version and with some great scenes being cut such as the alcoholic union officer I find it hard to understand why such scenes would be. The film can possibly be divided in to two halves; the first is a more longwinded insight in to each three of the characters as Leone introduces us in to the lives of each, the second sees more fast paced action as the chase for gold accelerates, with the unpredictable characters competing against each other for a $200,000 dollar reward.
Although Clint Eastwood is often regarded as the main character and the face of the film, Tuco finds himself having far more dialogue than his partner in what is a fantastic performance by a criminal who as the film title suggests, shows many ugly characteristics, however we perhaps find ourselves feeling sorry for a man who seems to show genuine emotions in certain scenes such as when he meets his brother, the head of a church.
No review of ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ would be complete without a mention for Ennio Morricone who adds magical and often haunting music that creates some fantastic and dramatic scenes. The film features probably one of the best musical scores ever for a film and Morricone’s music is regarded as one of best features of Sergio Leone’s Westerns.
The final, inevitable scene emerges as the result of all these fantastic ingredients, fantastic acting and each character’s attitude can be seen, Leone uses his close-up and dramatic style and Morricone compliments it brilliantly with his fantastic music. The film is in my opinion Leone’s greatest ever film and possibly the greatest Western created.
RATING: