The greatest of ‘Western’ completes golden jubilee

It was exactly 50 years ago, on 15th December 1966, a movie ‘Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo’ was released in Italy. This was the third film by an Italian director who could not speak English. Despite being alien to the language, the man, known as ‘Sergio Leone’, gave us a movie, which is considered to be one of the classics and best westerns ever made.

The film not only changed the life of many viewers like me, who were glued to TV whenever a Western Spaghetti was being aired, but was also ‘a life changer’ for those associated with it.

This film, later released in USA, as THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, captured the moment. The new genre, Spaghetti Western, took full advantage of the ‘gap’ created in cinema, as most of the cowboy- centered content moved to television in the early 60s.

TV series like Rawhide, Maverick and Bonanza being prime examples. Legendary John Wayne, the ‘Cowboy’ of mostly all Western movies made until then, was aging and the movies he acted in, were too much Americanised. People needed quick action, less words, more style in just two hours.

With this movie, the viewers got it all… The story goes … A blonde ‘good’ looking hero, on multiple occasions, saves his cunning, evil, greedy, selfish, wicked and ‘ugly’ friend for money… in another story, a ruthless and ‘Bad’ bounty hunter is searching for Bill Carson who has knowledge of some ‘gold’. Their paths cross in the film, one dies, one survives, and one takes the gold.

After the release of this film, it was Sergio Leone who took the gold.

Leone breathed life into the tired Western genre with his three films. Starting with the 'A Fistful of Dollars' in 1964, his 'Dollars Trilogy' is comprised of ‘For a few dollars more’ followed in 1965 and ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ in 1966. All of these three movies had Clint Eastwood, in the lead, making him an overnight star. He went on to act in Hollywood and was mentored by Don Siegel, who directed him in Coogan’s Bluff, Dirty Harry, Two mules for Sister Sara and Escape from Alcatraz.

He himself went on to become a director and a successful producer. When in 1993, he received couple of Academy Awards for ‘Unforgiven’, he dedicated it to his mentors Don Siegel and Sergio Leone. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Clint Eastwood. Unforgiven' (1992) was the third Western to win the Oscar for Best Picture, in the entire history of Oscars.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was not an ordinary film. The first ‘threequel’ of its kind was filmed by Leone, 50 years back. It was not a ‘threequel’ between The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, but a one between Hollywood, Italian Films and the talent of ‘Lee Van Cleef’.

It was Van Cleef’s character of Bad, who died in the end, but it was Van Cleef, who got life out of the death. The acting career of 41-year-old actor was in doldrums before that and he was not getting roles he wanted. His roles in American Westerns were very short in duration. He never had ‘worth remembering’ roles, let alone lead ones, but his life changed after THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY. He got to replace Yul Brynner in one of the Magnificent Seven movies, made ‘Sabata Trilogy’ his own, (ironically Yul Brynner played the title role in one of the films) and acted as a major star in many movies.

Eli Wallach, the most senior of the trio, had earlier played Calvera in John Sturges ‘The Magnificient Seven’ and Gant in ‘How the West was won’, played Ugly in the film, who got the most screen time, and is still remembered.

The music of ‘Dollars trilogy’, showed the importance of background score in a movie. The music of ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, can be termed as the greatest scores of all times. Who can forget the moment when Tuco was searching for the grave of ‘Arch Stanton’ and we were helping him do so.

The man behind the magic and music was Italian maestro Ennio Morricone. A classmate of Sergio Leone, he was hired for ‘A fistful of Dollars’ but went on to give music for Leone’s seven films. Ennio Morricone has music of films like Once Upon a time in America (Sergio’s last), In the line of Fire (with Eastwood in the lead), The Untouchables, The Thing and the most recent The Hateful Eight. This composition was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly had a huge impact on the cinema over the last five decades. Like many top-class directors, Leone’s style of story-telling is unique even today. Many of his trademarks, use of extreme close-ups mixed with long shots, movement of camera and use of loud music with it, (Ecstasy of Gold; an excellent example) and his love for huge sequences have been hugely influential to modern filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, John Carpenter and Robert Rodriquez. One can see a lot of ‘Leone’ in their work.

Famous Dialogues of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:

1)"I'm looking for the owner of that horse. He's tall, blonde, he smokes a cigar, and he's a pig!" - Tuco

2)The Good: There are two kinds of people in the world those with guns and those that dig. You dig

3)The Bad: [Laugh] you know the pity is when I'm paid, I always follow my job through. You know that.

4)Tuco the Ugly: When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.

5)The Good: Every gun makes its own tune.

6)The Bad: Even a filthy beggar like that has got a protecting angel.

7) Mexican Bounty Hunter: [holding a wanted poster] Hey, amigo! You know you got a face beautiful enough to be worth $2000?

Blondie: [from behind them] Yeah, but you don't look like the one who'll collect it.

8) Angel Eyes: Why are you going under the name Bill Carson now?

Tuco: One name is as good as another. Not wise to use your own name. Like you! I'll bet they don't call you Angel Eyes! Sergeant Angel Eyes!

9) The Good: Tut, tut. Such ingratitude after all the times I saved your life.

10)Angel Eyes: Two people can dig a lot quicker than one. Dig.