Review of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) by Tazio G — 12 Mar 2013

Blondie: Two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We're gonna have to earn it.

"They formed an alliance of hate to steal a fortune in dead man's gold".

A sweeping, definitive spaghetti western by Sergio Leone. I haven't seen that many westerns in my life and this is the first for me from Sergio Leone. This was an epic experience for me. The iconic score, grand performances, compelling story, and landscapes were all perfect. Clint Eastwood was made for the western genre. When you look up the definition of cool or badass he should be popping up. He just gives an awesome performance. Lee Van Cleef is a very synical, evil type of character as "The Bad" and portrays him very well. I would have never realized Eli Wallach was in this. He looks completely unrecognizable, but he has the best performance in the movie. His sort of character has been constantly used in today's cinema. "The Ugly" is a deceiving kind of character and really does show the two face. One minute he wants "The Good" dead, next he's acting like they are best friends, and his character constantly changes. All of these characters are somehow different and unpredictable than you think they are. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly displays flawlessness in every sense. Sergio Leone's knows how to craft movies that's for sure. His story never lets up with amazing dialogue/character development and never lets go of your attention even in the slow bits. Plus the civil war scene and the climax are some of the best scenes ever. I can't believe I haven't seen more movies from this guy and the movies from the classic western genre. Definitely need to now!