The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Review
This review of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is spoiler-free!
The western is a film that often times doesn't seem too difficult to make in one way or another. There are so many different styles of western stories that nearly any could be used as a basis for what a director and a writer want to undertake. For me, I've seen all kinds of films in the overall western genre. Whether we focus on films revolving around war, films focused around interactions between Americans and Native Americans, or even just pure outlaws and bandits against the law, there's just so much content that is possible for someone to take and consider when making a western film. In all of these years since the dawn of film, this genre has most definitely been one explored to it's fullest, but before we had a plethora of different Westerns, we had a genre that was in its arguably prime during the middle of the 20th century. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is an example of filmmaking in its heyday. Westerns were never as good as they were during this time, so it's finally time to look at this groundbreaking film.
If I were to follow the same formula I do in my usual pieces, this would be where I discuss the overall story of the film. Well, since The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is such a character piece of a film, it really relies on the story between its characters. Speaking of, let's start right from the top with The Good, or the Man with No Name, a gunslinger trying to make money just like the rest of the world. The Good has made a partnership with Tuco, The Ugly, who is also a wanted outlaw. They make money by turning in to multiple different sheriffs to claim the bounty on Tuco's head and free him in the midst of his hanging. When The Good decides he no longer wants the partnership of Tuco and leaves him for dead, Tuco wants revenge and seeks him out. Finally, we have Angel Eyes, The Bad. Angel Eyes is a determined hitman and killer who seeks to always follow through on his deeds as long as he gets the money he deserves. Eventually, these three men come to discover the story of a Southern soldier having buried a wealth of gold in a grave. From there the race is on between these three men to get to the grave and uncover their fortune.
There are no bad performances in The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, it's the rare film that knows how to use each and every character in the film to it's fullest. Credit to Sergio Leone for using such stellar talents to sell his story. Clint Eastwood's Man with No Name is without question the best character in any Western ever created. He's the quintessential cowboy and outlaw, doing whatever it takes for money even if that means betraying those he calls his friends. Giving perhaps the best performance of his career, Eastwood leaves everything on the table in this role and creates an unforgettable character in the process. Angel Eyes, played by Lee Van Cleef, is another example of mastery over a role. Van Cleef knows his role is to be a merciless killer with a brain, and whenever we see Angel Eyes we get just that. He's the perfect villain for the Man with No Name because he follows a similar code just with different ideas in the end. Finally, we land on Tuco who is played by Eli Wallach. Using the most comedy of the group, The Ugly finds a bit of a middle ground between The Good and The Bad that is absolutely perfect in this film. He's the only member of the group to know the location of the grave but constantly goes back and forth between killing the others because he constantly forgets that they hold key information as well. A solid comedic element in a story so focused on revenge and death.
For me, what Sergio Leone really does best with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is capture the desolate nature of the wild west. Starting off nearly every shot we are greeted by empty wastelands of sand and dust. Leone knows how to set a scene in a way that very few others can. You grasp the true sense of despair and emptiness that came with this world and just how alone you were. Along with this, he has an ability to work with camera angles in a way so that to surprise both the audiences and the characters. Often times off-screen elements will be incorporated into the story and the characters, along with the audience face them at the same time. This act of connection between audience and characters is incredible and very few films are able to create this sync up. All around, I believe Sergio Leone did incredible work on this film and some of the groundwork he laid here with the filmmaking played a role in the future of Westerns.
Well, if you couldn't tell by now I really really really enjoyed The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The western is something you can get in all different tastes as I stated at the beginning of this piece, but this is a film that shows the roots of a bustling genre. For those of us who believe that films pre-21st century are not necessary to watch, I challenge that so far with this one film. Before this film, Clint Eastwood was considered almost uncastable, but after this, he truly became a household name. I even have to give quick credit to those musical work here, as there's only one true score used throughout the movie and it's become synonymous with Westerns through the years. That alone shows what I already believe: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has stood the test of time and influenced a genre of filmmaking like few other films can.
