Southwest. The midst of the Civil War. Three men band an uneasy partnership to find 200,000 in gold buried in a cemetery amongst the bloodshed of America’s most deadly war. This isn’t the glamorized hollywood western. It’s a brutal, gritty, and emotional western that has had audiences and critics both raving in praise about for years. Sergio Leone had achieved the impossible and as Quentin Tarantino once said, and I’m paraphrasing, “The Greatest Directorial achievement in the history of cinema.” And do I agree to that statement? Of course I do.
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is different from other films. The close ups of beaten up individuals, with blood pouring down their face, was something undreamt of back in the day. Those wide shots of a deserted landscape, hold the truest feeling of an outlawed west, with it’s dirty people and run down towns; it’s the type of western we all know, and have reiterated for years, or at least tried to. The music is certainly repeated often, which I would personally call the most iconic music in cinema history. It’s all orchestrated by the great Ennio Morricone which is in my personal opinion, the best musician in cinema, conducting some of my favorite soundtracks.
The performances are exquisite. None to which any film has ever surpassed where it becomes on par with The Wild Bunch. Clint Eastwood is always the noble drifter with a quiet dark side to him. He might be labeled the good, but he really isn’t. But there are far worse people, such as Lee Van Cleef’s sleek performance as the bad, who is intelligent and very dangerous. Then Eli Wallach as the ugly, and probably my favorite of the three with his emotional backstory, and the way he acts out is because he didn’t have much of a choice growing up and became desperado.
Now all three men are together, and would ultimately result, in the greatest climax. It’s a three way standoff. The sun drenched cemetery shines bright, as crows spiral above. The music begins to escalate as we see each of the men’s reactions, at a close range before they all draw. It evokes an edge on your seat moment that has you in shock. But that’s not even in the end of it. The ending continues that feeling to a whole new level. The film then closes and everyone who I’ve seen it with are left in a state of amazement. Although I have some friends who do prefer some of the other Dollars films, but I’m glad the other two films get recognition, especially when they have to live in this one’s shadow. But the majority of people consider this one the best, and I can’t deny it either.
The Film Vault 