Directed by : Sergio Leone
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060196/
Long but very engaging and brilliant in all aspects.
The Ugly : God is with us, because he hates the Yanks too.
The Good : God's not on our side, because he hates idiots also.
The opening credits begin with that splendid background piece that has been thereafter used in numerous hindi films. Its very much like Pulp Fiction, only difference being that here no scene comes before credits. The theme is used many times in narrative, though I felt it was over-used but I didnt mind it as I like the theme very much.
The pace of movie is slow, so much that it takes almost 10 mins before a character says a dialogue. All 3 characters are introduced in reverse order of the title, The Ugly (Tuco) played by Eli Wallach, The Bad (Angel Eyes) played by Lee Van Cleef and The Good (Blondie) played by Clint Eastwood. All have dramatic starts and ends to their sequences. I loved, 'The Bad' one specially, as it had slightly longer suspense drama.
The story is about finding the gold buried under a cemetary about which only a certain Bill Carson (Antonio Casale) knows. The Bad is after it, while The Good and The Ugly get invovled into the race out of nowhere.
The scenes between The Good and The Ugly provide excellent humour, specially Eli Wallach who seeks revenge from Blondie for betraying him. But he always ends up getting himself in trouble, and Blondie too later. That scene where Tuco makes Blondie walk across desert was superbly shot. Also, the makeup work done on Blondie, it was hard to see his face with those closeup shots.
My personal fav scene is when Tuco has to suddenly change his tone with Blondie, 'You are my friend, dont die, dont die'. That one where Tuco goes to buy pistol, full comical scene. Or when Tuco thinks the horses coming aren't enemies, and he would say hello and go away.. the look on his face when the officer's uniform turns from gray to blue. That final scene when all three have to earn the gold, its superbly cut and intentionally lengthened with wide shots to mid shots to extreme close up. I actually guessed wrong as to what would be the outcome of that sequence. And the final dialogue of Tuco to Blondie, a abuse inspite of what he did for him.. just to live upto his name 'The Ugly'.
And I loved the end too, the director very well justified the titles given to all the 3 characters, their fate was similar to it. He creates the drama, with Blondie knowing half the secret about gold, and Tuco other half.. as a result both can't kill each other. That scene where Angel Eyes says that isn't 3 the perfect number, just a giveaway to where the final sequence will lead to.. as other people gonna get eliminated. The last scene where as viewer we watch what is going to happen with Tuco as he looks for help from Blondie, again drama built by extending the time to the scene.
Also, the small plot where Tuco and Blondie again land into a unknown territory thanks to Tuco mainly.. was very well put into the narrative leading to the climax of gold in cemetary.
All three main leads did great work, though Eli Wallach was my pick of the three as he would bring a light humour in almost every scene involving him. Also, Clint Eastwood was excellent, love the scene where he asks Tuco to bring his ear closer as he spills water over him saying my friend will take good care of me. Lee Van has the lesser screen time of them I guess, though he creates his bad image right from first murder he does, or the music scene where he beats Tuco.
Cinematography is excellent, also the camera angles.. for instance when Tuco runs around the cemetary, all his pov shots were well cut with other angles.
Overall, I completely enjoyed the movie, great performances and technically without any flaws. Yes, its nearly 3 hr long but do you mind watching a long movie with all those merits, I doubt so.
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060196/
Long but very engaging and brilliant in all aspects.
The Ugly : God is with us, because he hates the Yanks too.
The Good : God's not on our side, because he hates idiots also.
The opening credits begin with that splendid background piece that has been thereafter used in numerous hindi films. Its very much like Pulp Fiction, only difference being that here no scene comes before credits. The theme is used many times in narrative, though I felt it was over-used but I didnt mind it as I like the theme very much.
The pace of movie is slow, so much that it takes almost 10 mins before a character says a dialogue. All 3 characters are introduced in reverse order of the title, The Ugly (Tuco) played by Eli Wallach, The Bad (Angel Eyes) played by Lee Van Cleef and The Good (Blondie) played by Clint Eastwood. All have dramatic starts and ends to their sequences. I loved, 'The Bad' one specially, as it had slightly longer suspense drama.
The story is about finding the gold buried under a cemetary about which only a certain Bill Carson (Antonio Casale) knows. The Bad is after it, while The Good and The Ugly get invovled into the race out of nowhere.
The scenes between The Good and The Ugly provide excellent humour, specially Eli Wallach who seeks revenge from Blondie for betraying him. But he always ends up getting himself in trouble, and Blondie too later. That scene where Tuco makes Blondie walk across desert was superbly shot. Also, the makeup work done on Blondie, it was hard to see his face with those closeup shots.
My personal fav scene is when Tuco has to suddenly change his tone with Blondie, 'You are my friend, dont die, dont die'. That one where Tuco goes to buy pistol, full comical scene. Or when Tuco thinks the horses coming aren't enemies, and he would say hello and go away.. the look on his face when the officer's uniform turns from gray to blue. That final scene when all three have to earn the gold, its superbly cut and intentionally lengthened with wide shots to mid shots to extreme close up. I actually guessed wrong as to what would be the outcome of that sequence. And the final dialogue of Tuco to Blondie, a abuse inspite of what he did for him.. just to live upto his name 'The Ugly'.
And I loved the end too, the director very well justified the titles given to all the 3 characters, their fate was similar to it. He creates the drama, with Blondie knowing half the secret about gold, and Tuco other half.. as a result both can't kill each other. That scene where Angel Eyes says that isn't 3 the perfect number, just a giveaway to where the final sequence will lead to.. as other people gonna get eliminated. The last scene where as viewer we watch what is going to happen with Tuco as he looks for help from Blondie, again drama built by extending the time to the scene.
Also, the small plot where Tuco and Blondie again land into a unknown territory thanks to Tuco mainly.. was very well put into the narrative leading to the climax of gold in cemetary.
All three main leads did great work, though Eli Wallach was my pick of the three as he would bring a light humour in almost every scene involving him. Also, Clint Eastwood was excellent, love the scene where he asks Tuco to bring his ear closer as he spills water over him saying my friend will take good care of me. Lee Van has the lesser screen time of them I guess, though he creates his bad image right from first murder he does, or the music scene where he beats Tuco.
Cinematography is excellent, also the camera angles.. for instance when Tuco runs around the cemetary, all his pov shots were well cut with other angles.
Overall, I completely enjoyed the movie, great performances and technically without any flaws. Yes, its nearly 3 hr long but do you mind watching a long movie with all those merits, I doubt so.
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