The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I've always heard a lot of good things about many of the westerns of old. The ones with John Wayne specifically, as well as many during the sixties and seventies with Clint Eastwood.

One in particular always seemed to emerge from the bunch for both its imagery, script, and overall style: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. When I noticed that it was on Netflix a while back (you're welcome for the shameless plug, Netflix!) I figured that I should probably watch it. As a movie buff, my lack of pre-1990 movie watching experience is often embarrassing, and I knew that this one was "one of the greats".

I went in with middling expectations. The runtime was nearly three hours long for this one and I often find that movies don't tend to age very well for me. But it was a long weekend and I decided "What the hell! The worst that can happen is that I don't like it."

Suffice it to say that over the course of the next three hours, an older Hollywood began to win me over in a time where special effects were practical effects and a movie's merits were based on its actors, plot, and script rather than how good it looked. Now, I'll admit, I am a big sucker when it comes to big budget, special effects driven movies. I think they are some of the better experiences at the movies because they require you to suspend your reality and become engrossed in impossibilities like a man in a flying iron suit, a several hundred foot lizard destroying a city, etc. But watching GBU was refreshing...a welcome change of pace you might say. And I loved almost every minute of it.

The guns are real! Not CGI!

"I like this ledge. Get away from my ledge!"

Attached to that lengthy run time is really my only negative for the movie as a whole. I understand that they were going for an epic scope and story, and that often with that are more running minutes. But I felt that the film dragged in one particular portion where Blondie (Eastwood) and Tuco (Wallach) sign up for the Union army, after already having been disguising themselves as Confederate soldiers. Something about those scenes (pre-awesome-bridge explosion, mind you) just felt off for me and they felt like they were trying to unnecessarily extend the length of the film. But between that and the occasionally horrific voice syncing with lip movements, I had no qualms with any other aspects of the film. And not only did I have no other issues, I thought that the film did everything else on a level that was ahead of its time.

How iconic is that scowl? I mean seriously!

I was startled by how epic the rest of the film felt. There was a certain level of craftsmanship in all of it that just made it feel like it could have been released THIS year and it would have been one of the best movies of the year. The editing and script are done in a way that requires you to pay attention in order to know what's going on and the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and I imagine that it influenced the hell of a lot of people in that profession at the time. The story is rich and engrossing and although the overall goal of finding the gold is simple, there are many complexities woven in to add to the tension, drama, and characters. The actors do a fantastic jobs of displaying their characters and I appreciated the efforts the movie took to somewhat evolve them past typical archetypes found in the genre. All things considered, they are still pretty cliché, but even when clichés are done well they can be captivating. A young, incredibly handsome, Clint Eastwood scowls his way through the entire film and owns every scene he is in, practically making every single one iconic in some way, shape, or form. His calm, stoic nature automatically makes the audience revere him and his actions don't do anything to disappoint us. Simply put, he is a stone cold badass.

There are several scenes throughout the film that I had heard about either through word of mouth, spoofs, or copycats in later cinema, but to see them for the first time was glorious. Eastwood cleaning and loading his gun, suffering from dehydration, and ultimately that three way standoff that is quite possibly one of the Top 10 most iconic moments in cinema. The film is brimming with greatness in regards to entertainment and all of that is complimented with an original score that is equally as historic as the scenes themselves.

The beginning of one of the better scenes in cinematic history.

I am rarely as impressed with older movies as other people are. I find many of the effects cheesy, the plot lines jumbled, and sometimes just a general lack of gloss that Hollywood's films have today. For me, it's often a case that a film was overhyped and a lot of the little things within the film eventually disappointed me. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is not one of those times. It deserves every bit of praise it has ever received as well as its legendary status within the history of cinema. I always questioned why it was in so many people's all time Top 10 list, and now I know: because it is a DAMN good movie. And one that will stand the test of time for ages to come I suspect.

CONS:

• The length of the film begins to show during the period where Blondie and Tuco are enlisted in the Union army. It's really only a 10-15 minute time period, but compared to the other scenes in the film, this one felt much longer
• I was laughing out loud at how badly some of the audio and video lined up, specifically with actors speaking
• Really, really made me miss playing the videogame, Red Dead Redemption. Not really a con but I don't know where else it would be appropriate to state: get to work on the sequel Rockstar! 

PROS:

• A fantastic plot that is simple, but yet makes sure that you pay attention and know all the players of the game
• When people speak of "old Hollywood" and the glamorous days I can see how they tend to reminisce and get so nostalgic when you have films like this. This was one film that probably influenced countless others (and continues to do so) throughout the industry
• Fantastic performances across the board
• An awesome script that defines its characters and their motives with ease
• Clint Eastwood is perfect and that scowl will forever be remembered in Hollywood, long after he is gone
• Fantastic original score. One of the best ever
• Some gorgeous cinematography
• Chocked full of expertly crafted scenes that have aged very well
• Just feels really far ahead of its time
• It's hard for me to imagine any movies before 2000 as truly being iconic. This is of course due to my small amount of experience (but now growing!) in movies that pre date myself. But I can absolutely see why this film has achieved that status and I don't imagine that it will ever change

Retro Rath's Review Score:

10/10 -- Instant Classic