#13 The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

In Summary

One of those great films where not a single second of screen time is wasted.

Sprawling and taut, quiet and loud, meditative and intense. There aren't many films quite like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

The plot revolves around three men's quest for a buried fortune. The Good - the badass who only kills when necessary. The Bad - the badass who'll kill anyone who gets in his way. The Ugly - the badass who'll flex his morals according to the situation.

Both a satire and celebration of the Western genre. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly twists and turns on a knife edge as each lead character usurps the other in search of the fortune.

Those sudden lurches in narrative are built upon the character-building foundation work of the opening 45 minutes. While little of narrative substance occurs during the opening section of the film, it is compelling viewing nonetheless as we learn just what each character will and will not do via a series of intriguing action set-pieces.

A thoroughly confident piece of work, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly is further elevated by the synchronicity between director Sergio Leone and composer Ennio Morricone. A truly iconic score is timed perfectly to the flow of the film - demonstrated none more so than by the stylised freeze-frames set to the main theme that dot throughout the film.

By the time the film has built up to its achingly intense final stand-off, Leone knows he has the audience right where he wants them. He toys with us as he stretches out every last second of tension, Morricone's score amping up the stakes that little bit higher, before eventually deigning us with a climax.

A Memorable Quote

You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.

Things You May Not Know

• The bridge explosion had to be reshot after the initial explosion occurred when there weren't any cameras running - this involved having to rebuild the entire bridge.
• The highest rated film on the IMDb not to receive an Oscar nomination.
• The sound in this film was not recorded live - which is apparent in several scenes where the dialogue appears out of sync - this was how most Italian films were made at the time.

One of the Greatest of All Time?
If you couldn't tell from the summary, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is most certainly one of the greatest films ever made.

This is an example of a film where just about every element - the plot, the acting, the directing, the music, the editing - excels. The end result is a compelling and engaging epic that sings through its three-hour running time.