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STORY STUDY - MEDIUM: FILM - “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly”

Jeffrey Tung
Mar 20, 2017
4 min read

We’ve finally hit the final film in the “Man with No Name” Trilogy with The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which is considered to be the most famous and influential of the three films… and it’s also my least favorite in this trilogy.

(A little disclaimer, I will be talking about the extended version of the film)

Once again directed by Sergio Leone with story by Leone and Luciano Vincenzoni, and screenplay by Leone, Vincenzoni, and Age & Scarpelli, the film is set during the American Civil War. It starts off with a quick introduction of each titular character: Bandit Tuco Ramirez, the “Ugly,” evading bounty hunters, mercenary Angel Eyes, interrogating someone for the location of stolen Confederate gold taken by someone named Bill Carson, and finally, “Blondie,” a gunman who has an arrangement with Tuco where he turns him in for the bounty, then frees him from getting hanged, repeating the process for every town they visit. (I hesitate to call Blondie a bounty hunter because he doesn’t really do any bounty hunting.)

Blondie and Tuco have a falling out. Tuco is able to get revenge on him by forcing him at gunpoint to walk through the desert with no water or shade. They encounter a horse carriage, one of which is an injured Bill Carson. Before he dies, he separately tells Blondie and Tuco about the location of the stolen Confederate gold, totaling in $200,000. Tuco is hesitant in killing Blondie now, since while he may know the location, a cemetery on Sad Hill, Blondie knows the name of the grave where the money is buried.

The pair journeys to the cemetery, but their path is crossed by Angel Eyes and his gang, whom they escape from, and Union soldiers whom they are captured by.

It all leads up to the famous, climactic three-way duel between the three characters in the center of the cemetery. The name of the film and the sequence are synonymous with each other.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly goes all out with its action: there are not only gun fights, but also a battle scene between Union and Confederate soldiers that occur right before the climactic Sad Hill cemetery duel. Aside from that, the film is more or less shot the same as the previous films.

Something to make note of is that there is not a lot of Blondie; most of the film is taken up by Tuco and his crazy antics. A comparison of his character can be that of Kikuchyo from Seven Samurai.

The film is also famous for that iconic, Ennio Morricone tune that plays in the title credits and throughout the film. I also recommend “The Ecstasy of Gold,” which plays at the cemetery when Tuco is looking for the grave.

So why is it my least favorite film in the trilogy? Pacing, characters, and expectations.

I stated that the plot starts when Blondie and Tuco learn about the gold’s existence. This plot point happens at the ONE HOUR mark, meaning everything else was complete setup, some of which could’ve been cut out. Even the backdrop of the Civil War serves no importance; just an obstacle for Blondie and Tuco to get through in order to reach the gold. Either way, I felt like there were scenes throughout the film that could’ve been cut out altogether.

You’re probably thinking that this is because I was watching the “extended edition.” The problem is that the extended edition is 179 minutes, but the theatrical run time is 177 minutes; not that big a difference.

As for the characters, nothing is wrong with their characterization; all of them have clear motivations and personalities. Really, the problem is that I preferred the noble mission that For a Few Dollars More had. A Fistful of Dollars also had a simple goal, but its pacing was executed more efficiently than The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It also doesn’t help that it centered on a character that I SHOULD find funny, but Tuco was borderline unlikeable, whether because of his actions or his comedy just didn’t, for the most part, click for me.

Even before I became fascinated with film and film history, I was already aware of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly through popular culture. My expectations were formed, even though I knew nothing about it aside from it being a western (it wasn’t until way later I found out it was a western made my Italians.) Once I finally watched it, I felt that it was just slow, and not in a good way. Sadly, re-watching it didn’t really change my opinion either.

Now, continuing from last week’s post, I brought up that there may or not be a continuity of this Man with No Name and his three adventures. Obviously, the main characters of all three are played by the same actor, Clint Eastwood. However, Lee Van Cleef, who plays Angel Eyes in this film, played Colonel Douglas Mortimer in For a Few Dollars More.

There are also various actors who have appeared in all three films in the trilogy playing completely different characters. Plus, there’s the fact that Clint Eastwood’s characters have different names. However, since these names are dictated by someone else (he never introduces himself on screen in any film), it’s still up for debate. Either way, something is seriously wrong here.

Honestly, there is no confirmation on whether or not there is continuity, or even a connection between the three films. However, if there WAS, it’s safe to say that The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly would chronologically be the first. Why? If you notice, Blondie doesn’t wear his trademark poncho until the very end, right before the cemetery duel.

Bias aside, if I was to introduce someone to this trilogy, I would recommend either the first or second film. I feel that if they really do like either of them, then I can trust them to invest in more time with The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

However, no matter what I think as a whole, the film is considered to be a classic, and it’s not hard to see why. Great music, iconic characters, memorable score, beautifully shot; there’s so much to appreciate.