The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
1966
Directed by Sergio Leone
Finally, we break the streak of dull, pretentious movies with probably the most famous spaghetti western of all time. This is just a fun watch, which is, unfortunately, a nice change.
The three eponymous characters (guess which one Clint Eastwood is) are all completely obsessed with tracking down gold that was stolen from the Confederacy. It is pretty reminiscent of Treasure of Sierra Madre, but there is much more manliness involved (yeah, I said it; Eastwood is manlier than Bogart).
Don't get me wrong; I think this movie is amazing. However, I never really understood why it was considered such a masterpiece. Sure, the scenery is amazing but it seems weird that such a fun, entertaining movie is so critically acclaimed. Am I jaded now after seeing such boring movies?
Fantastic film and the cemetery scene is flawless.
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Eli Wallach and Sergio Leone communicated in French since Wallach didn't know Italian and Leone didn't know English.
Eli Wallach almost died several times throughout filming.
Sorry for the short review but I have done a lot of writing today!
Trailer:
This trailer is really bizarre and kind of funny. I have seen this movie a couple times when I was younger and I think now I have to watch it again. I don't know why it would be considered a masterpiece either, but definitely fun, and hey, Clint Eastwood...ya know?
ReplyDeleteHaha definitely. That is one attractive man.
DeleteFour in one go?
ReplyDeleteI guess you feel you have catching up to do.
Well, all these are much of a muchness.. The first one or two you see are great for the mood and atmosphere built up by clever and interesting use of close up, no dialogue.. and the music.. But after that?
Worth seeing, but nothing to get over excited about.. especially after you have seen all the others..
I love watching the Western genre change over time. Point for going chronologically!
DeleteThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a masterpiece in every sense.
ReplyDeleteThe entertainment value makes it a good movie, but all the supporting things makes it a master piece. The composition of the pictures, the framing, the close ups. Tension building, the way the pictures communicate the feelings and sensations we are supposed to get and then of course the legendary music. This is a movie that would be great even without a story.
Love it love it love it.
In a TV listings, sometime over the last few days, I saw, coming up, The good, the bad and the ugly Clint Eastwood. The importance of punctuation kids...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm in the masterpiece camp. Everything T said and I'll mention the music again because it might be the best soundtrack ever given to a film.
ReplyDeleteIt starts out as a very stylised western but then moves into an exploration of the absurdities and futility of war before finally bringing us back to the western for the finale.
I'm glad I'm not the only one to be reminded of The Treasure of Sierra Madre. At other times I'm thinking that it's a film noir set in the west. And sometimes when raising the tension it's as if inspired by and teaching lessons to the master, Hitchcock.