The Good, the Bad and the Ugly




"Idiots." It's for you.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is set at the height of the Civil War. After word of a missing Confederate cashbox comes down to an evil man named Angel Eyes (Lee Van Clef), he begins to search for it. Meanwhile, the bulk of the story follows two men who also learn about the cashbox. Blondie (Clint Eastwood) is a man who earns a dishonest living, but is basically the good guy. After betraying Tuco (Eli Wallach), a temporary assistant in his job, the two begin a series of betrayals. All the while the three get closer to the cashbox and the inevitable showdown.

Being one of the best westerns ever made, and certainly the best spaghetti western, this stands as one of my favorite films. What isn't there to like? Though it is a long affair and discourages repeated viewings, this does almost everything right to make these men larger than life. At the same time it also brings out the ironies, which keeps this from being a trivial story. While Eastwood's man with no name is the good guy, he is far from perfect. The bad guys also play Union soldiers, a twist away from the usual blue equals good. Even though the Civil war keeps dropping in on these fellows, they take no part in it but still witness its horrors. Most of the time they go unheeded, but the moral is clear.

This movie could have easily been crap. A couple of the lines are dumb, and most movies fail at making their characters macho as this one aims to do. But here the actors all nail their parts, from grim and sarcastic Eastwood to dense and vulgar Wallach. These performances make the movie entertaining and make their characters unforgettable.

This movie also sports one my favorite soundtracks of all time. Ennio Morricone catches the mood almost every time, transcending the scenes and making them memorable. From the infamous theme of the three duelers to the graveyard song that always brings to mind a long gone Spanish age filled with gold and wonders. Ok, the theme may be overused, but they are nonetheless extraordinary.

But even if wasn't the characters or the music or the unexpected humor, this still would be an impressive journey through war-torn America. As it stands, it is a classic and gritty epic.



-The Gnome