- Release date: December 23, 1966
- Directed by: Sergio Leone
- With: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach
- Duration: 2h41
- Type: Western spaghetti
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCN5JJY_wiA&t=102s
Sergio Leone, the son of an actor, was familiar with film sets from childhood. He is an Italian director and screenwriter, considered the inventor of spaghetti westerns. He is widely recognized in the history of cinema for having imposed his innovative style in his movies, his staging but above all for his music composed by his collaborator and friend Ennio Morricone.
Any good spaghetti western lover must have already watched Sergio Leone’s movie « The Good the Bad and the Ugly« . End point of the trilogy of dollars, it is one of the most famous westerns in the history of cinema and it is today considered one of the essentials of the seventh art which we never tire of.
Synopsis
The film features three gunslingers during the Civil War in search of a chest containing $200,000 in missing gold coins. Tuco knows that the treasure is in a cemetery while Blondie knows the name inscribed on the tombstone which serves as a hiding place. Each needs the other, but a third man, Sentenza, the Union army sergeant also enters the race in search of the jackpot, and he does not hesitate to slaughter women and children to achieve his ends.
Movie’s atmosphere
If you are looking for a treasure hunt strewn with pitfalls with multiple twists, remarkable protagonists, duels of anthologies all accompanied by the legendary score of Ennio Morricone, this film is made for you.
Actor’s performances in Sergio Leone’s movie
The actors of the hellish trio of this western are just brilliant each in their own way. Clint Eastwood is divine in his role as a handsome boy and genius shooter, Lee Van Cleef is freakishly creepy and Eli Wallach is mischievous and hilarious.
Explication
Indeed, Blondin is the Good. Handsome man, he doesn’t talk a lot but he has a sense of formula and above all he aims straight.
Sentenza, the Bad, embodies evil. A sadistic and methodical killer, he only obeys his own interest and does not hesitate to kill, with pleasure.
As for Tuco the Ugly, he passes for a somewhat clumsy puppet but he knows perfectly well what he wants and how to get it. He does not hesitate to take all possible and unimaginable risks.
To live in this unforgiving world, the characters must engage. On the good side or the bad side.
One thing to remember at the end of the story of Sergio Leone’s movie. You have to know how to make alliances to achieve your goals because you can never do it alone. The strongest do not triumph, they are the most effective.
Soundbite on Sergio Leone’s movie
« You see, in this world, there’s two kinds of people, my friend: those with loaded guns, and those who did. You did ».
Blondie, The Good the bad and the Ugly
When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk
Tuco, THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY
Anecdotes on Sergio Leone’s movie
- The famous skeleton in the final sequence is…authentic! In Madrid, a woman rented the skeleton of her mother, an actress during her lifetime. The latter had chosen to offer it in this way, in order to “be able to continue her career even after her death”.
- Eli Wallach (Tuco) was in danger in several scenes. He was nearly poisoned when he accidentally drank from a bottle of acid left by a technician near his soda bottle. The acid was to make it easier to open the bags after a shovel. Wallach mentions this anecdote in his autobiography.
Futher information on Sergio Leone’s movie
If you’re an unconditional fan, you can watch Sad Hill Unearthed on Netflix, a documentary that follows an association in the reconstruction of the famous cemetery of the mythical duel scene 50 years after the filming of the film. In the Spanish province of Burgos, below the Mirandilla Valley, is where the Sad Hill Cemetery is located. In 1966, nearly 250 soldiers were requisitioned to build the 5,000 tombs for Sergio Leone’s movie. Before the association brought the decor back to life, there were only a few damaged stone slabs left covered in weeds.
The idea started as a joke by a group of passionate friends. They then created the association Asociación Cultural Sad Hill. Then the project really came to life when in October 2015, the association obtained authorization from the regional government to restore the place.
To protect and raise awareness of the site, the association asked the government of Castilla-León to give the place the status of Property of Cultural Interest. It was the first Spanish site protected for cinematographic reasons.
The project gained momentum, fans from all over the world came to help bring the place back to life. Then the association had the idea of offering fans of the film to sponsor a grave. For only €15, they could write the name of their choice on a cross.
Today, it is no longer possible to sponsor a grave, but it is possible to make a donation to the association which will be used for the maintenance and the realization of cultural activities.
Association website: https://asociacionculturalsadhillen.wordpress.com
Authored by : Charlotte Lescallier