Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il/Opinions

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Review

In the last and the best installment of his so-called "Dollars" trilogy of Sergio Leone-directed "spaghetti westerns," Clint Eastwood reprised the role of a taciturn, enigmatic loner. Here he searches for a cache of stolen gold against rivals the Bad (Lee Van Cleef), a ruthless bounty hunter, and the Ugly (Eli Wallach), a Mexican bandit. Though dubbed "the Good," Eastwood's character is not much better than his opponents -- he is just smarter and shoots faster. The film's title reveals its ironic attitude toward the canonized heroes of the classical western. "The real West was the world of violence, fear, and brutal instincts," claimed Leone. "In pursuit of profit there is no such thing as good and evil, generosity or deviousness; everything depends on chance, and not the best wins but the luckiest." Immensely entertaining and beautifully shot in Techniscope by Tonino Delli Colli, the movie is a virtually definitive "spaghetti western," rivaled only by Leone's own Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The main musical theme by Ennio Morricone hit #1 on the British pop charts. Originally released in Italy at 177 minutes, the movie was later cut for its international release.

Comment

"Ironic, parodic super-western, the culmination of the Dollar trilogy and at the same time pointing in a new direction. In The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Leone enhanced and perfected all the narrative and visual ideas of the two predecessors, while his still anti-epic style is now set against a quasi epic background, and allows both levels not to confront but to comment each other. Eastwood's charismatic coolness is here pitted against the method acted flow of endlessly brilliant dialogue by Wallach, while Van Cleef, just like Wallach in the role of his life, impresses as the ultimate baddie. Morricone's excellent soundtrack, Leone's directing and the film itself reach their apex in the closing triello, one of the most emblematic western scenes ever. One of the best westerns, one of the best films, a true masterpiece." - by Stanton

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