The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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

— Man With No Name

I have been trying to dive into more classic movies. Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly comes in at number 4 of the Top 250 of all time on IMDB. This is a movie out of MANY that I was embarrassed to have not seen. I am not partial to westerns per say, but I was willing to give it a try. I really liked it.

This is the last film of “The Man With No Name” trilogy. I forgot that it was a trilogy. I need to see A Fistful of Dollars and For Some Dollars More. This movie holds up well on it’s own, which is very rare.

Being introduced to Sergio Leone, I have noticed his unique filming style with multiple close-up shots on the actors, the indelible score by Ennio Morricone and the ten minute wordless beginning. Brillant.

In this final installment, The Man with No Name aka “The Good” (Clint Eastwood) and his outlaw friend, Tuco aka “The Ugly” (Eli Wallach) are searching through the American southwest during the Civil War to find a grave that is said to contain $200,ooo in gold.

After they back stab each other along the way to find the money, their plans are thwarted by a heartless gun slinging Union soldier, Sentenza aka “The Bad” (Lee Van Clef).

Not unlike every other western, the ending fairly predictable, but I enjoyed the ride there. I did have some problems with some of the pacing. The movie was almost three hours long. I was confused that the people talking were dubbed. I found out that most of the characters spoke in Italian or Spanish. I can let that slide.

Overall, the film was a solid film that needs to be viewed.

Judgment: Being this is my first Sergio Leone movie, I would love to see the rest of his films. I would suggest you will, too.

Rating: ****1/2