The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
What got this whole process started was me flipping the channels and catching the ending of this movie the other day. This is another Sergio Leone classic and another movie littered with great performances. Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, and Lee Van Cleef dominate every scene of the movie. This movie also stands out because of its fantastic score by Ennio Morricone.
Like the other movies on this list, the movie is paced and the story complex. We learn to know the characters so well especially the main character, if there is one, Tuco played by Eli Wallach. I'll be honest this movie is my number one Western and one of my favorite movies of all time because of the performance given by Eli Wallach. It is utterly fantastic. The movie is worth watching just to see him on screen.
It's a very twisted tale where these three men are brought together searching for some stolen gold in the middle of the Civil War. That's about all I can say for the story. These characters will travel down many roads to get to the finale, the best of any Western ever made. I can still remember seeing it for the first time when I was a kid.
In Leone's West there seem to be no good men, they are all bad. The only distinction is whether they are part of the evil and corrupt society or whether they are not. Those that are not seem to die, seem to be dying inside even if they are still alive. Leone's West is not a pretty place, it never is, but his characters are rich and wonderful and brilliantly brought to life. This movie is a wonderful piece of motion picture making and should not be missed despite the violence and the fact that it's a Western.
