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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Customer Reviews (67 - 69 of 91 Reviews)

Excellent
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly seems to be about the most popular western in the world. One can't help but wonder how that happened, considering how unusual and seemingly uncommerical it is. It is a film about style and mood, which means it is not a strictly staged and constructed production designed to funnel us through all the plot points and mandatory gunfights with a maximum of speed and a minimum of effort from either the producers or the viewers. It has a central plot, for sure, but nothing to demand the 3 hour running time. Not even half of that really. Instead of letting the plot create and then rule the world, Leone created a world and allowed the plot to creep its way through it. This is something which is disappointingly rare in film, and Leone has made a film which is exceptionally good at performing this rare trick. This style can be a good or a bad thing, depending on who you are, but it's usually a good thing for me, and this film is pretty damn great film, no two ways about it.

The basic plot synopsis goes that the 3 titular characters are searching for a hidden treasure of Civil War gold, and though they don't trust or like each other, they need to work together to some degree because no one of them has all the information necessary to find the gold. That however, doesn't tell you a fifth of what actually occurs during the film, and nothing that really matters as far as watching or enjoying the film is concerned. This is a genuinely epic tale, which is set in a dark, filthy and corrupt world. This provides a strong contradiction, as there is no epic hero, and no fantastic setting, but instead we have a trio of outlaws, and the backdrop is a long, highly destructive war.(which the characters are not concerned with.) Thus the characters tranverse many miles and do many unlikely deeds, but they do not change the world, and do not care to. And although they are all outlaws and killers, the sort of destruction they reap pales in comparison to what is occuring around them. So as this and the other westerns of the era de-mythologized the old west, this film de-mythologizes the rest of the world as well, reminding us that violence, death and corruption were hardly unique to the old west. Yet this is not all the film is about, and it isn't as dark and cynical as that may make it sound. It still has humor, still has excitement and intrigue and countless other things.(much like the real world) Wisely, no one theme or motif is allowed to dominate for too long. The tone shifts from the comedic to the hyper-dramatic to everything in between at various points in the film, and Leone does them all with ease.

Contrary to my expectations it's Wallach's Tuco Ramirez that dominates the film, not Eastwood's Blondy. Tuco stands in strong contrast to the other 2 leads, as he is a nervous, tittering character who is often played for laughs yet is still violent and deadly and occasionaly truly brutish and sadistic. Lee Van Cleef is great as Angel Eyes. He manages to portray an utterly heartless and irredeemible character without turning him into a ridiculous caricature. These two characters illustrate what makes this film so good. They stand very close to the edge, nearly becoming overblown and ridiculous, but never going so far as to actually become so. In many ways Eastwood's Blondy is the least interesting of these 3 characters, but is largely redeemed by the fact that he is, well, cool. His cool demeanor and sardonic dialogue stand in opposition to the more extreme, polarized characters, and he thus provides a sort of base for the highly-dramatic and stylized film.

Good characters aside, the real strength of this film is in the visual and audio presenation. Cinematography and sets are fantastic. Not so gritty as to be unpleasant to look at but not overdone and overly picturesque either. Lots of great wide angle shots, particularly during the bridge scenes. Morricone's famed score is great too. The main theme is overused a bit, but the rest of it is strong, particularly the brilliant Ectasy of Gold and The Trio in the closing scene of the film. The gunfights are just great. On one level, they are a sort of anti-action scene, as they are all build-up with little action. The final shootout in the graveyard naturally stands out, and is one of the great scenes in all film. It is a clinic in the Leone style, contrasting the beautifully conceived long shots with countless close-ups of the 3 characters doing essentially nothing. 5 minutes pass between when the last word of dialogue is spoken and the first round is fired in what proves to be a very brief exchange, yet it does not disappoint. The blaring score and the frantic editing just before the first blast are the true climax, and it is as effective as one could hope. It is, as many have pointed out, dramatized and extended far more than is reasonable, but it holds up emotionally and visually and thus works beautifully. The early scene between Angel Eyes and his first target is similarly effecting, and is another standout. It's got darker more horrific scenes as well, such as Tuco's torturing of Blondy and his later torture at the hands of Wallace. And many of the scenes with the armies have great sorrow and desolation. In fact, it pretty much all works, so while not every scene may be utterly necessary to move the plot along, they all manage to entertain in varying ways. Most movies have difficulty entertaining on one level, so this is quite an accomplishment.

This is a fine DVD. It looks great, even the restored scenes. Too bad they don't have old dialogue for them, and you'll definitely notice the new dubbing, but this should only be a mild annoyance at worst. The extras seem pretty interesting, though I haven't watched them all. All in all, a good version of a classic. Get it.

Best Western
I had never seen this film. I saw several scenes in the middle and clips from commercials, but I had never really liked westerns, and, from what I understood, spaghetti weserns were the worst. When I finally decided to see this movie, I did so only as a means of sarcastic entertainment, the "Plan 9" syndrome. I was blown away.

Right from the first I realized how much of Leone's style was employed by my other favorite directors. I loved the comedy, action, and melodrama so much in fact, that when I compiled my Top Fifty, this masterpiece shot to a not too modest number two.

A recurring theme throughout the film is the concept of there being "Two kinds of people in the world." This is an intrigueing concept to me because that statement is contradicted by the title and by the complexity of the many characters tthat appear throughout it. Things aren't limited to just good and bad, blue and gray, rich and poor. There are are many factors that go into each individual, and this is one of the things that makes the film so memorable.

The cinematagraphy is the best of any film I've ever seen. In the film are some of the best panoramas and close-ups including the Greatest single shot in history. (Orson Welles, eat your heart out!) I think Roger Ebert gave the best explanation when he discussed the limited perception of the camera and characters.

I do have a few quarrels with certain things they changed to extend it to its original Italian version. Though I wouldn't say this in most cases, the new dubbing should not have been done by the original actors. Their voices have changed so much that the new scenes sound dubbed by bad impersonators. In fact the best new dubbing was Lee Van Cleef's. He was the only actor who didn't do his own dubbing. Death can have that effect on your career.

Ultimately, this is not only the best western, but one of the best melodramas, comedies, war films, and one of the best films ever made! A very enthusiastic FIVE STARS!!!

My Favorite Western of All Time!
I wasn't a big fan of Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West," so I took a gamble and bought this new extended cut of "GB&U" for a low price. I am truly glad I did! I saw this film once before about 8 years ago and I didn't remember it being that great. I can now say that this is not only my favorite Leone western, but my favorite western period. The acting of the three leads, the music (of course), and the storyline are some of the best ever in this genre of movies. The Dvd is loaded with interesting features, with Clint Eastwood and Eli (the ugly) talking about the fun times and near death experiences when making this classic film. This movie is a real testament to the west and the seal greatness that will forever live on with the name Sergio Leone.

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