The three way stand off at the end of the film is the best stand off that's ever been recorded in Cinema history. The tension, the anxiety, that builds and builds. The fast cutting from faces to guns and to just the eye movements of Tuco, Angel Eyes, and Blondie make the sequence unforgettable and unrivaled in the history of stand offs in the Western genre.
If you watch the film for the first time the tension rises steadily, steadily. And the question of what will happen; who will shoot who? Angel Eyes would shoot Blondie. And Blondie would shoot Angel Eyes. But who will Tuco shoot? Would he shoot Angel Eyes who had him tortured? Or would he shoot Blondie who nearly had him hanged by the noose? It's a tough decision. But Tuco decides to kill Angel Eyes. The question doesn't get answered as his pistol is empty.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is a strong case for the best Western ever. It has all the ingredients of a great film. A strong story, a strong cast, and a World that makes the viewer nostalgic for the Civil War. And the War may be the best part of the film. It looms like a storm over every crucial scene. Starring Clint Eastwood as the man with no name, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef as the trio of bandits hunting the 200,000 in gold, the film was released in 1966 to great acclaim. The film is the capstone in the trilogy of films by Sergio Leone. Eastwood starred in all three as the dead eye who can't be beat.
The cast is all around great. Every performance notches a solid grade. From the guy who faces the camera at the beginning of the film to the farmer that Angel Eyes murders in the first segment of the film, each character contributes to the film.
I was taken in by each of the three main characters. Angel Eyes especially. He is so evil and so cold-hearted. He kills without remorse. Always getting his way until he is finally put down by Blondie. Blondie is the other character that comes off as an extension of John Wayne. He can't be beat. He makes the precise shot every time. He conveys no emotion. No deep psychology. He keeps going until the good fight is won. He stands as the symbol of White, Christian, settlers out on the range battling with everyone else to win. And win he does. He is like the myth of the greatness of settlement. He is the good.
Eli Wallach however is the ugly. And it shows. He fights for scraps trying to outwit Blondie and Angel Eyes. The film really is the story of Tuco. Without him the story doesn't move forward and isn't as good. Otherwise we would just have a standoff between Blondie and Angel Eyes. There would be no search for the 200,000. The character of Tuco is not as perfect as Blondie. But he has appeal. He is funny and obscene. In the scene where is introduced he has a bottle of liquor and a chicken leg in his hand while being pursued by bounty hunters. It is comical and shows the nature of The Wild West. Tuco is a great and memorable character. The final scene when he screams at Blondie is one of the best endings in a Western ever filmed. I wanted to see that scene again the minute it was over.
The techniques in the film are incredible. It far surpasses any Western in terms of battle scenes or cinematography. It makes ample and expert use of the close up. From the first shot of the film to final showdown, the cameras zoom in on just the eyes. The darting, insecure eyes, reveal all. Who will get shot? Who will die? The battle scene with the Union soldiers going against the Confederate soldiers on the bridge is incredible. I asked myself as the scene played out, how much did it cost? All of those canon ball shots, the close ups of the canons shooting off, how much did they cost? Such good film making. No other Western that I've seen rivals it. Not up until the point of the release of the film. Dances With Wolves does have some great shots too. But that wasn't until the 1990's.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is easily the best Western of it's generation. Sergio Leone is clearly a genius at creating movies in the Western genre that restore it to it's greatness. Seven Men From Now may have been entertaining to the crowd of the 40's or 50's, but compared to Leone's Spaghetti Westerns they look old, tired, and obsolete. Perhaps The Searchers can measure up to a film like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
The Searchers is deep and complex. It deals with issues between settlers and Native Americans. It raises questions that Dances With Wolves deals with in the most complex way I've seen yet on screen. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly doesn't deal with any issues related to colonialism. In fact there are no Native Americans in the film. It does create a sympathy for The South like Keaton's The General or Gone With the Wind. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly may have been the peak of Leone's work. Made at a time when film and culture was changing it shows that new ideas for The Western are a good thing. The reinvention of genres reveals that film will live on in different, better forms.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is a film that should be watched several times. In Clint Eastwood there is the legend of the unbeatable cowboy. Quick with a gun and short on empathy. Along with Leone they create films that are legendary. They will live on in film history far past the death of the director or Eastwood himself. I've seen the film at least four times and every time I'm watching the final battle scene into the showdown with rapt attention. Every time Eastwood's tension filled eyes draw me in to see how he will strike down his enemies with cold precision. Like an act of God he kills with exactitude. Yet, I reflect, is it all just a myth? Was there anyone really that good?
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