One of the best westerns ever made. Boasts an unforgettable Morricone score, a typically charismatic performance from Clint Eastwood and stately direction from the master of the genre, Sergio Leone With A Fistful of Dollars (1964), Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone gave birth to the spaghetti western. So it is appropriate that he should take the helm for the quintessential example of the genre with this, the best and last of the Dollars trilogy (after 1965's For A Few Dollars More).
Anti-epic, brutal and displaying an often overlooked gallows humour, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly centres on the aptly described protagonists. Eastwood (The Man With No Name - other than 'Blondie', or the Good), Van Cleef (Angel Eyes, or the Bad) and Wallach (Tuco, or the Ugly) are the three degrees of moral ambiguity searching Civil War-torn America for a buried payroll.
In truth, however, the plot is incidental to the film's appeal. The spectacularly bleak landscapes, Morricone's cheekily melodramatic score, and the physical interplay between the leading men all contribute to the film's (and Eastwood's) iconic status.
The finale's showdown is an inspired set-piece of sweaty tension and invention that has been blatantly lifted by directors all over the world from Woo to Tarantino. As cool as a cheroot in a heatwave.
Verdict Sergio Leone's masterpiece is as enduring as the scorched desert in which it is filmed. Also receives props for most effective use of whistling ever.
Anti-epic, brutal and displaying an often overlooked gallows humour, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly centres on the aptly described protagonists. Eastwood (The Man With No Name - other than 'Blondie', or the Good), Van Cleef (Angel Eyes, or the Bad) and Wallach (Tuco, or the Ugly) are the three degrees of moral ambiguity searching Civil War-torn America for a buried payroll.
In truth, however, the plot is incidental to the film's appeal. The spectacularly bleak landscapes, Morricone's cheekily melodramatic score, and the physical interplay between the leading men all contribute to the film's (and Eastwood's) iconic status.
The finale's showdown is an inspired set-piece of sweaty tension and invention that has been blatantly lifted by directors all over the world from Woo to Tarantino. As cool as a cheroot in a heatwave.
Verdict Sergio Leone's masterpiece is as enduring as the scorched desert in which it is filmed. Also receives props for most effective use of whistling ever.