Review of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) by Harry W — 17 Dec 2013

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, the coup de grace of the Sergio Leone Dollars trilogy, is undoubtably the most original and spectacular spaghetti western masterpiece to have ever graced the cinematic screen.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a leg up from its predecessors because it raises the scale from being a small narrative to being a spectacular epic which covers the lives of multiple characters as well as the civil war, and it does it so magnificently that it reaches up to the heights of the Sergio Leone masterpiece Once Upon a Time in America. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly features some of the greatest direction available from Sergio Leone and sees him at his Spaghetti Western peak, which is magnificent after some great predecessors in his Dollars trilogy.

The narrative in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is exceptional because of how it chronicles three outlaw characters defined by the film's title, and it follows them all through complicated paths that intertwine and play games of war and manipulation with each other which is incredible since all the twists and turns his viewers equally as hard as the characters without shooting them in the gut. The characters all develop well over the course of this 3 Hour Spaghetti Western epic, and the story develops along with them as it becomes a more complex and intense story which reaps the strong violence and smart screenwriting into becoming the masterpiece of storytelling that it is. One example of this is the fact that the film opens with 10 minutes of silence, and everything that needs to be said isn't said and is rather left to the body language of the actors. A lot of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is built on a complex silence and so it's all powerfully beneficial to the atmosphere.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly also features some of the strongest action in western cinematic history. It's never too excessive despite being considered that upon its original release in 1966, and instead of being loaded with blood and gore it gains it's strength from the intensity of the fight and the sound of its bullets flying, and the sight of its enemies falling, seen falling and hitting the ground.

But what elevates The Good, the Bad and the Ugly above all other Spaghetti Westerns, above the two predecessors in the Dollars trilogy, even above Sergio Leone's later Spaghetti Masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West, is the final scene. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has one of the most well shot, strongly edited, grippingly directed and intense film endings in cinematic history, and to hold all that it surely has to be unforgettable. Because it really is. It's one of the most intense moments in cinematic history where it puts all its characters at the same point of strength with the same chance and gives no sense as to what the outcome could be. The more the audience is made to wait the more intense it grows, and it's utterly stronger every second until it's frightening climax. The moment is the paradigm of the complex twists and turns in Sergio Leone's complicated story, and it's an unforgettably powerful experience to witness it.

So built on the powerful roots on strong direction, a sufficiently intelligent story and a strong atmosphere, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is set up to succeed. But to benefit even stronger it helms a talented cast three immaculate western leads.

As always, Clint Eastwood is a powerful lead. Finding the fine line between being a fearless badass and a humane hero, Clint Eastwood completes the Dollars trilogy in his coup de grace as the man with no name with all the gritty charisma and powerful line delivery which made him a superstar in the first place. The only difference between him this time is that there is absolutely no way to know what his character will do based on his motivations, with the exception of the knowledge that his intentions are good as the title reveals. Really, all of the heroism of the story is rooted square into his performance, and his heroic western charisma has only increased over the years.

Lee Van Cleef was also great, reprising his role from For a Few Dollars More in a much more villainous way in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to the strength of the story because his antagonistic mannerisms are significantly more threatening this time around. The intense state he lets off is full to the brim with darkness and evil, and his characterisation of a villain with morals is powerfully dominating one. One so powerful and so evil that predicting his next step is incredibly difficult and only certain for viewers who can decipher his gaze. His screen presence matches Clint Eastwood in terms of antagonising his heroism, and it sets up a powerful character chemistry for them to share.

Eli Wallach made a great third addition to the cast. Matching the high quality screen talents of Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach provides a third character to the screen: the Ugly. The character Tuco is merely a petty thug who knows the basic rules for surviving in the west and has to follow them, and we get a deep understanding for how he functions when faced in several complex power-defining situations so that we learn just what it is to be Tuco. Eli Wallach manages to hold his own very well and even have some moments of good comedic timing, and really it's surprising just how talented he is. His chemistry with Clint Eastwood is grand, and the journey they both take is an entertaining one led by both actors' natural charisma.

Really, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is nothing short of an absolute masterpiece. It's a paradigm of spaghetti western cinema and is a complex exploration of gringo and bandido journeys in a western setting, featuring one of the single greatest ending scenes in cinematic history.