the good the bad and the ugly

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
"The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" is the most famous of all of Sergio Leone's work, and
probably one of the most famous westerns of all times. Not only it became part of our culture, but
it has also created a sub-genre of Westerns, tenderly called "Spaghetti Westerns" - mostly because
of the Italian origins of the filmmaker and the fact that his movies were shot in Europe instead of
Hollywood. Despite the characteristic western tradition found in the movie, the movie is free of
any western cliché as any traditional western theme is either given a unique twist or absolutely
removed by Leone's masterful storytelling.
The plot of the movie, is a classic western plot, it concerns three people searching for two hundred
thousand dollars worth of gold, nothing more than the essential quest for money.
Two of the characters are typical western individuals, a hero and a nemesis, while the third
character is far more complex and quite revolutionary for the Western genre.
Clint Eastwood is playing "The Good", a good fellow (of course only relatively good), called
"Blondie", although his real name remains undisclosed and he officially goes under the surname
"Man With No Name". Clint Eastwood's character is a characteristic western character, not really
"good" in a traditional sense, but he has an evident sense of honor and tries to do the fair thing.
The scene when Blondie gives a dying Confederate soldier a puff of his cigar is a very powerful
moment which characterizes the Man With No Name better than any other sequence without
saying a single word. This role built the foundation of Clint Eastwood's stardom and his typical
western personage. He became a Western icon through this movie and the public still remembers
him as "The Man With No Name", the charismatic, enigmatic and laid-back "Blondie".
Lee van Cleef is "The Bad", he plays the role of "Angel-Eyes" who is evil personified, a classic
western nemesis, a ruthless killer who is ready to do whatever it takes to get what he desires.
Finally, the most fascinating character of the three is Tuco, "The Ugly" who is played by Eli
Wallach. Tuco is a two-bit bandit with a criminal record of a mile long, and a fair price on his
head. He is definitely the most complex and the most interesting character in the film. All impulse
and rage, Tuco spins wildly throughout the movie, stealing, lying, pretending to be Clint
Eastwood's best friend in one scene, trying to kill him in another, Tuco represents "the ugly" side
of us. Tuco's character is not a traditional western character, as he is neither really black nor white
by any means. Eli Wallach puts so much character in this personality which includes just the right
amounts of humor, slyness and humanity that, no matter how bad he is, the spectator always cares

and sympathize for him.
Eli Wallach's most memorable performances in this film most likely signaled the end of the
traditional John Wayne characters, which were either good or bad, thus, the end of the "White
Hat/Black Hat" western tradition.
The story is a quite conventional western tale. All three characters are after the gold treasure. Two
gunmen, Tuco and Blondie, team up somewhere in the west, interested in making some easy
money. This isn't an easy partnership, Tuco and Blondie have a love-hate companionship, and
once in a while one of them screws his companion. During one such act of vengeance, they come
across a group of dead and wounded soldiers and before the last of them dies, he tells them about
a hidden treasure of gold. Tuco learns only the name of the cemetery where the gold is buried,
while Blondie finds out just the name of the grave under which the treasure is be found. Those
circumstances force them to work together. Angel-Eyes also learns about the treasure and when he
finds out that the two partners have the information he wants he tracks them down. As all three
reach the cemetery, climax takes place in the form of the legendary three way duel. There are no
wasted scenes in the film regardless of the fact that it is a long movie. Despite the fairly ordinary
story, Sergio Leone manages to build a lot of uncomfortable tension in the film, keeping the film
from ever getting predictable.
It is an interesting development when, at some point during the movie, the characters are
confronted with the severe reality of the American Civil War. All of a sudden, two traditional
Western gunslingers have to face a completely new danger, and find themselves in situations they
cannot shoot their way out of. It adds an important touch of reality to the film and cleverly and
intentionally devastates the classic romantic myths many early Western movies have created about
the Wild West.
The environment of "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" story is a classic Western setting; it is no
different here from many other Westerns as it features a massive amount of spectacular panoramas
and wide landscape shots.
"The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" features the incredible Ennio Morricone's score featuring the
modulated screaming in the main theme that is the most instantly recognizable western theme of
all time. The Western genre itself became associated with this magnificent score. There are only
few movie scores that have risen beyond the films they are associated with to become part of our

culture (such as the stabbing music in Psycho). Morricone's theme was an attempt to recreate a
hyena's cry, and while most spectators don't recognize a hyena, the pure force and aggressiveness
of the cry is a powerful motif in the film which is wisely used by Leone in several powerful
scenes. The scene in the Union prison camp and the climatic scene in the cemetery at the end of
the film are absolutely astonishing combined with Morricone's powerful score.
The final duel is an important all - Western element and it is certainly present in "The Good, The
Bad, and the Ugly". The final three way duel became a legendary western scene, the best
shoot-out climax in any of Leone's works, and probably the best duel of its kind, it is perfectly
timed, choreographed, and photographed. Like many other of Leone's scenes it is without
dialogue, simply carried by extremely clever camera angles and perspectives. Morricone's brilliant
music and Leone's clever editing create an emotional peak rarely found in western movies. During
the first minutes of the duel, Sergio Leone simply flashes between shots of the duelists looking at
each other, analyzing the situation and slowly moving their hands towards their fire arms, in an
ever increasing speed, while Morricone's exceptional music plays on the background and increases
the severe atmosphere, the tension rises higher and higher until finally it blows off in a blaze of
gunfire.
"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is an exceptional movie, it is still a traditional western, yet it
includes many innovations and originality. The simplicity of the "man against man, and may the
fastest draw win" theme is cleverly integrated with complicated real human characters and tempers
as well as the not so typical for western tradition, violent background of the American Civil War.
"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is a serious, infectiously humorous film which symbolizes the
Western genre while it expands its rules and traditions.