When I was a kid, one of my favorite things on TV (in the
days before DVRs and satellite cable) were the themed 8pm movies on the syndicated
channels. There would be Planet of the
Apes week, Chuck Norris week, etc. My
dad would call from work on those nights, asking me to check what the evening's
movie was. If it was something he liked, he'd tell me to tape it for him on the
VCR. Of course it was better for him if I stayed up to tape it without commercials
(and better for me because I'd get to stay up late watching a movie). So along comes Clint Eastwood week, and that's when I first saw the Sergio Leone
classic, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo;
otherwise known as The Good, the Bad, and
the Ugly. Right from the beginning I remember being captivated. The opening
theme from Ennio Morricone stays in your
head forever; it has to be one of the
most recognizable bits of film music ever. The way the opening titles splatter
across the screen like blood in bold colors with those iconic faces of
Eastwood, Wallach and Van Cleef grabs you before the story even starts. This
was the last time the director worked with either of his most recognized stars,
Eastwood and Van Cleef, and although I prefer both in For a Few Dollars More, both actors are in fine form, even opposite
the scene-stealing Eli Wallach as Tuco. The
story has all you'd expect from a Leone Western; gunslingers, revenge, gold, and a showdown to
end all showdowns. In fact, it's just about THE ultimate showdown with a
rousing score and sweaty stares going round among the headlining trio. The
movie shows off an epic flair that would eventually explode in Leone's Western
magnum opus, Once Upon a Time in the West.
Like West,
this film operates on a scale and scope that demands every inch possible of the
big screen you can only get on a good sized cinema screen. Suffice to say,
Leone did not compose his shots for a small tv; not the small Zenith I had in
my bedroom when I was a kid, or the HD
tv you have hanging in your entertainment room. This is a movie for the big
screen, folks. I was lucky enough to catch a screening of West at the Miami Film Festival some years back and it was only
then that I really understood what those critics were writing about when they
talked about those amazing close-ups that Leone would utilize. When this plays
at the Blue Starlite, you can bet I'll be there, really seeing this movie for
the first time as it was meant to be.
If you're new to this film, be sure to check out the rest of
the 'Dollars' trilogy, A Fistful of
Dollars and For Few Dollars More. They are loosely
connected to this one, mainly in style and actors, and take place after the
time of this film. Also be sure to check out The Good, the Bad, the Weird for a western
from Kim Jee-woon inventively inspired by this classic.
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