Good, Bad & Ugly

THE FLICK: During their hey-day in the 60’s, spaghetti westerns got no respect. And that might still be the case today if it weren’t for one director: Sergio Leone. The most obvious reason for the success of his “Dollars” trilogy which concluded with “The Good, the Bad & the Ugly,” is the presence of Clint Eastwood. But it was Leone’s work behind the camera that made Eastwood a star...not the other way around. At first glance none of his films stray far from the spaghetti format – stylized violence, stripped-down story and copious close-ups of squinting eyes and itchy trigger fingers. But with “G, B & U,” Leone stretched the genre to fit more grandiose ideas than anyone ever thought possible. Ego may have been the motivating factor (Leone always saw himself as a David Lean-type director whose skills went unrecognized), but the result is irrefutably one of the best westerns ever made. After setting up the background for his trio of leads (Eastwood is the soft-hearted loner, Eli Wallach a quick-tempered scoundrel, and Lee Van Cleef an assassin for hire), Leone sets them out in search of a cash box full of army gold buried in a graveyard. Wallach knows the name of the cemetery; Eastwood knows the name on the grave. Together they form a tenuous partnership while dodging the relentless pursuit of Van Cleef. The finale finds them all in a three-way showdown with a fortune in gold in the balance. With 18 extra minutes inserted into the film, “G, B & U” seems a tad overblown. Leone would perfect his operatic style with “Once upon a Time in the West” a few years later (and once again approach the three-hour mark). But that film truly rises above its spaghetti origins to become more of a movie of western myths. With “G, B & U,” Leone is still in the thick of things, still tinkering with social/political themes (definitely more evident in this new cut), still allowing dialogue to be more than a passing inconvenience (“Once” plays more like a Hitchockian experiment in mis en scene). Wallach’s character of Tuco is the driving force behind the film, far more than Eastwood’s “Blondie” who serves as more of a god-like observer to all the chaos around him. Shades of Tuco show up in later spaghettis like “Run, Man, Run” and “A Bullet for the General.” But as a mouthpiece for the ignorant masses, no one can match Wallach’s energetic performance. For the added scenes, Eastwood and Wallach were brought in the dub new lines (most Italian westerns never recorded sound on location) along with a replacement subbing for the late Lee Van Cleef. Their difference in age (it’s been almost 40 years, you know) is noticeable, but negligible...if that makes any sense. But it’s a worthwhile effort to see a patchwork masterpiece made by a true autuer working within a genre without autuers. THE FEATURES: As mentioned earlier, the excitement surrounding this collector’s edition DVD is the 18 extras minutes (and let’s not forget the spiffy new anamorphic transfer!). But, besides the sweet packaging, which includes full-color booklet and lobby cards, there are a host of extras waiting inside as well. Leone’s West and Leone’s Style are separate 20-minute documentaries that make up one whole. Through interviews with Eastwood, Wallach and Leone collaborators we get a since of the atmosphere on the set: the language barrier (Leone spoke no English and neither did many of the other actors), the loose shooting style (Eastwood and Wallach were nearly blown up during the bridge demolition scene) and the director’s penchant for casting disfigured actors (Van Cleef’s missing fingertip gets a whopper of a close-up during the finale). The Man Who Lost the Civil War is a 15-minute documentary on the Confederate general mentioned in the film who led a failed campaign West in hopes of cutting off Union supply lines. Reconstructing The Good, The Bad & The Ugly details the process of piecing together this new version of the film, including segments that were too damaged to make the cut. Il Maestro introduces the viewer to composer Ennio Morricone’s priceless contribution to the film, touching on his avante garde style that inspired the famous “coyote howl” audio cue. This feature is supported by an audio only track from a musical historian that delves even further into his career. Since most of the Deleted Scenes accompanying the previous MGM release are now reincorporated back into the film, the pickings here are rather sparse; the most notable being Blondie’s tryst with a barmaid while Tuco is hot on his trail. Since the footage has disappeared, the scene is re-created via production stills and brief images from the French trailer. Speaking of which, two theatrical trailers and a poster gallery close out disc two. Back on disc one, you’ll find the original Italian audio along with a new respectful 5.1 English re-mix. An audio commentary is provided by historian/critic Richard Schickel, a Leone admirer who does his best remain insightful and accessible. Personally, I found the track a little too unfocused and unprepared. FINAL SCORE: This 2-disc special edition is easy to recommend to collectors and DVD aficionados as it’s a massive improvement, both in A/V quality and extra content, over the previous release. Those who skim over the special features might not be so giddy. But for everyone else, marvel at Leone’s 2nd best film as it hasn’t been seen since its 1966 Rome premiere!