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"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend... those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig."

1966 NR / Western Action Directed by: Sergio Leone Starring: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Antonio Casas

Tagline

For three men the Civil War wasn’t hell. It was practice!

Summary Capsule

Clint Eastwood and friends shoot up the scenery and each other in the godfather of all westerns.

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Check out this movie in VHS or DVD, and the soundtrack CD

Drew's Rating: Two out of two six-guns blazing…
Drew's Review: A bit of history: in the mid-60's, a young director named Sergio Leone brought forth a new kind of movie. Gone were the clean, simple westerns of the past where John Wayne was the good guy, whoever he was fighting was the bad guy, justice always prevailed, and people managed to keep their clothes surprisingly clean in the desert southwest. In their place stood what became known as “spaghetti westerns” (so named for being filmed in Italy), where none of the old rules applied. The landscape was dusty and inhospitable; people wore grimy clothes, men were unshaven. The good guys weren’t always good and didn’t always win.

"If you're one of those people who can't handle a 3-hour movie that doesn't involve hobbits, you might not have the patience required"

Leone’s creation kicked off a spate of imitators and his influence is still felt to this day, but very few have managed to capture the feeling of his original trilogy, starring a young, unknown Clint Eastwood as the “Man With No Name.” All three films are hailed as classics, but it’s widely acknowledged that the first two allowed Leone to perfect his style for what was to be his masterpiece, a movie that would come to embody the western genre perhaps more than any other to this day: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

The plot, while solid enough, isn’t the most original in the world — a huge shipment of Union gold has been stolen by Confederate soldiers, who buried it… somewhere. A mercenary calling himself “Angel Eyes” Sentenza is searching for it; but soon, so are a thief and murderer named Tuco and his con-man ex-partner “Blondie,” AKA the Man with No Name (respectively, the Bad, Ugly, and Good of the title). Each man knows part of the information about where it’s hidden, so the rest of the film deals with the three working with and against each other to gain the missing clues and find the gold… which none of them is particularly inclined to share.

Again, not the most original storyline, but then it doesn’t have to be if the characters are intriguing and believable… and in that respect, Ugly delivers in spades. Eli Wallach is terrific as the conniving yet amusing braggart Tuco who would kill you for a nickel and then rob your corpse, while Lee Van Cleef has a lock on the unmatched arrogance and deadly humor of Angel Eyes. Meanwhile, Eastwood has by this point perfectly refined the squinty-eyed stare and quiet demeanor of the Man with No Name, broken only to deliver scathing jibes or zen-like wisdom. His encounter with a dying young soldier late in the film shows just how good Eastwood is at expressing his character’s thought processes without a single line of dialogue, proving he can do more than just scowl and look threatening.

It would be remiss not to mention the stunning cinematography. While there are only three main characters in the movie, the landscape itself — from bombed-out towns to vast, dusty stretches of plains — serves as the fourth, never letting you ignore its presence.

Leone was a pioneer of the wide-angle shots and extreme close-ups that would come to be associated with spaghetti westerns, and nowhere is this more evident than in the final, three-way showdown at the film’s climax… which stands as, without exaggeration, probably the best gunfight ever put to film. (Sorry, Tombstone fans.) Over two full minutes long, at no point does it feel drawn-out or boring; instead, Leone slowly cross-cuts between the three, then tightens his shots down to just their guns and their eyes, building up speed as the tempo of the music increases and each man’s hand creeps steadily closer to his gun, until finally… well. I won’t spoil it, but believe me, the tension is overwhelming, as you wonder just who’s going to draw first… and who’ll be left standing to claim the gold.

I’ve gone on and on about how flawless this film is. Like any, it has its faults. Though it is a more realistic western than most, it does lapse into stylization on occasion. Eastwood in particular seems to become God sometimes, whether he’s identifying Tuco by the distinctive sound of his gun or shooting a man directly into an open grave, then blasting his hat and gun in after him. Also, it's extremely long; the story flows along steadily and never gets bogged down, but if you're one of those people who can't handle a 3-hour movie that doesn't involve hobbits, you might not have the patience required. But with all that the film does right, it’s hard to take issue with a very few minor imperfections. Bottom line, this is one of the greatest westerns ever made, and a seminal film by anyone’s definition. Even if you have not the slightest interest in the genre itself, check this one out. Just tell the guy at the video store that Blondie sent ya.

Shalen's Rating: One out of one missing finger joints.
Shalen's Review: This is my second review in the Clint Eastwood “Man With No Name” trilogy, and frankly I’m in awe. This film has everything. It has Clint delivering some great lines, and managing to convey some things very well with no lines at all. It has Lee Van Cleef, one of my favorite Western actors, and good work from the other supporting cast members as well. It has distinctive sound track motifs, good camera work, and an excellent script.

"I’m in awe. This film has everything."

And it has Eli Wallach, playing a character that ends up rather more complex and interesting than Eastwood’s actually is. Apparently director Sergio Leone knew this, because Tuco gets more screen time than “Blondie” (Eastwood’s character. Apparently the other characters are not able to tell the difference between “blonde” and “medium brown”). Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes gets less than either, and his character is developed the least despite a very interesting introduction.*

I am a detail freak, so I’m going to mention some of the details that most drew my attention. The extreme close-ups are numerous and generally well done, although the one that opens the film startled me (“Who the heck is THAT guy?”). I like that the three antagonists all have different ways of carrying their guns: Tuco on a leather strap around his neck, Angel Eyes across his belly for a cross-draw, and Blondie in the traditional tied-down hip holster. I like that Leone took time to develop Tuco as a very good shot (even while drunk!), not just another craven who thinks he is good. I like the use of nooses in the constant personality clash between Blondie and Tuco, and I like that Blondie was the first one to be guilty of a double-cross. I like the insertion of Tuco’s brother and their relationship, although at that point I was afraid we were going to veer into Steinbeck territory and something bad was going to happen to him. I like that the makeup effects went so far as to depict the actual result of sun overexposure on fair skin (horrible blistering), although it would have been nice if Eastwood’s character had shown some scarring afterwards.

I was surprised to read Drew’s comments on the length of this film, because it really didn’t seem that long. It’s fairly approachable and easy to watch, and all the tricks of style don’t make it less entertaining. I think that was a gift Leone in particular had that many of today’s “good” directors lack.

If you’re looking for a good western that doubles as an excellent film, this is a good choice.

* His is the missing finger joint mentioned in the rating. It’s quite visible in the climactic gun battle. IMDB says Van Cleef lost it building a playhouse for his little girl. He was also a WWII veteran who acted as a minesweeper. He died in 1989.

"I am here to look stoic and chew bubblegum... and I'm all outta gum." Dude, how can you SEE?!? "Uh... can we get my stunt double in here?"

Didja Notice? [some sources: IMDb]

• There’s no dialogue for the first 10 ˝ minutes of the movie.
• Making its debut in this film is the familiar five-note “WHOOO-ooo-OOO-ooo-OOOOO” that everyone automatically hears in their head whenever it’s time for a showdown. Slap leather, ya varmint!
• In the theatrical trailer, Tuco is mistakenly designated “the Bad” and Angel Eyes “the Ugly.”
• The personality of comic superhero Wolverine was largely inspired by Eastwood’s portrayal of the Man with No Name, which would continue to influence those of countless other anti-heroes over the years.
• "Blondie" really ain't that blond. More like "Squinty."

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

Only for the fantastic music by Ennio Morricone.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Though primarily a western, Ugly also serves as Leone’s commentary on the futility of war, illustrated in a scene where Tuco and Blondie must cross a shallow river that’s playing host to a pitched Civil War battle. The small, inconsequential bridge spanning it is what so many men are dying for control over, and Blondie’s solution ultimately proves the most sensible — just blow the damn thing up, allowing them to pass and saving thousands of lives in the process. For the scene, Leone needed to get the permission of the Spanish Army to destroy an actual bridge, who agreed on one condition — their Captain be the one to blow it up. Unfortunately, he did it while no cameras were rolling, necessitating that the bridge be rebuilt just to get blown up again.

Filmed last in the series, Ugly is technically a prequel; in it, we see the Man with No Name gradually assembling the outfit he’ll wear throughout the two other films, culminating with his infamous poncho in the last few minutes of the picture. Though the so-called “Good” gunfighter begins the movie on no better moral ground than the other two characters (as Ash would say, “[He] ain’t that good.”), it’s clear that his brush with the horrors of the Civil War has changed him, leading to his slightly more honorable and heroic persona in the later movies.

Kevin R writes in, "Those movies were called spaghetti westerns because Sergio Leone was Italian, not because they were filmed in Italy. They were actually filmed in Spain. Hence the agreement with the Spanish Army."

Groovy Quotes

Bounty hunter: Hey amigo — you know you've got a face beautiful enough to be worth $2000?
Mw/NN: Yeah... but you don't look like the one who'll collect it.

Tuco: There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend. Those with a rope around their neck, and the people who have the job of doing the cutting.

Tuco: Don't die, I'll get you water. Stay there. Don't move, I'll get you water. Don't die until later.

Tuco: God is with us because He hates the Yanks, too!
Mw/NN: God is not on our side ‘cause He hates idiots also.

Tuco: When you have to shoot, shoot! Don't talk.

[Reading a note left by Angel Eyes]
Tuco: "See you soon, id... idi..."
Mw/NN: "Idiots." It's for you.

Mw/NN: You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend... those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.

DVD Review

The original DVD had a theatrical trailer, 14 minutes of never-before-seen Italian footage, a brief behind-the-scenes special, a short documentary on spaghetti westerns, and really crappy picture quality. In contrast, the newly-restored 2-disc collector’s edition contains [deep breath]: commentary by film historian Richard Schickel, four different documentaries on various aspects of the film, a featurette on Ennio Morricone, the movie’s composer, and even more Italian footage deleted from the U.S. release, recently redubbed by Eastwood and Wallach. Plus some mini-posters or something.

If you liked this movie, try these:

• A Fistful Of Dollars
• For A Few Dollars More
• Unforgiven