The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Movie: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Review by Kevin Xalvis (xalviss)

Cast: Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef

Director: Sergio Leone

Rather than a review of a 30 year old movie, here is my recollection of a 30 year old movie. I watched this movie somewhere in 1992 and since then I was astounded and mad after it. This is because of my father, who introduced me to Western movies and gave me the essence of watching movies with a different perspective... Back in the '95, brilliant, breathtaking, mesmerizing...and like a fine wine, this one just gets better and better. So far ahead of it's time, it blows your mind. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is one of the greatest movies ever made.

The beginning of the film is so memorable, with the young, rough good-looks of Eastwood being labeled "The Good", the absolutely evil look of Lee Van Cleef being labeled "The Bad", and a dirty, unkempt, desperado Eli Wallach with booze and food flying being labeled "The Ugly". The ending fight scene with its 3-way showdown is one of the most memorable pieces of film I have ever watched.  It’s a matter of fact; nobody speaks until about 10 minutes into the film. It is all visual. 

We, the audience, are forced to imagine what the characters are thinking, what might be taking place. Leone gives the viewers a chance to guess what might happen. Even in once Upon a Time in the West, we see his mastery at the No-Dialogue introduction. I also believe that this is his way to introduce the character's personality traits without the viewers actually knowing that they know it. A subtle technique so when they see a character does something later in the movie; the viewers can accept the character's actions.

Three men, three guns, beautiful scenery, high tension, excitement. A work of art. You can almost feel you're there, trying to avoid bullets. The hairs on my arms stand up every time I watch this film, especially during the final scene. Sergio Leone knows how to build a scene.

This is Leone's final western from the trilogy, and clearly the best. Here, he showed all of his directorial techniques, the legendary close-ups, the 10-minutes-of-silence-and-tension scenes and similar. Ennio Morricone's music is absolutely perfect with this film. It's hard to think of a movie with a better soundtrack actually. Every character has its specific tune played with another instrument every time (Man with No Name-flute, Angel Eyes-organ, Tuco-human voice). Clint Eastwood shows us what we'll see from him in the future with his smooth talking, laconic speech, mean looks, and that ever persistent cigarillo in his mouth. 

Don’t forget the legendary one-liners he is saying throughout the film such as- Man with No Name: You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig. I laugh every time I see it. Lee Van Cleef gives his best performance here. His little, piercing eyes make him ideal for this role. Eli Wallach is also perfect as Tuco, the nosy bandit who never stops talking and has a key role in the film. Finally, I think everybody should see this film, simply because of its greatness, magnificence and cinematic significance. It defines the word "cool".

Cheers!

Xalvis