The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

**One of the best, most famous and most iconic Westerns ever. More than a classic, it's mandatory.** I'm not an expert nor do I want to sound like one, but I think this is one of the most famous western films ever made, despite being shot by an Italian director and being more European than American. Sérgio Leone was one of the most notable directors of his time and he left us, in this film, one of his masterpieces. This is one of those movies that is almost perfect. Problems and failures are scarce and reside in minimal details that end up not making a big difference in the overall work. The story was very well written and takes place in the midst of the American Civil War, a time when violence was part of everyday life. In this environment of violence and mutual distrust, two men are looking for a treasure buried in a cemetery: the problem is the fact that each one knows only part of the location (that is, one knows the location of the cemetery and the other knows which grave it is) and there is a third man, a fearsome assassin, willing to do anything to take all the gold. For this film, Leone put together a very reasonable cast, mostly European, and three great North American actors with enormous talent: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef. I believe that they knew how to make the most intelligent and skilful use of this film, giving us a truly remarkable job. For this three actors, this is the best cinematographic work of their career, or one of the best, consecrating them as great Western movies actors. The film, however, seems to give Wallach more and better opportunities. While watching it, I got the feeling that he is the actor who receives most attention and best material, in addition to having known how to improvise at the right moments and in creative and intelligent ways. The film has great visual beauty, emphasized by the cinematography, the filming work and the good choice and design of sets and costumes. At a time when the correct period recreation was something that cinema sometimes blatantly ignored, this film did the opposite, giving us a realistic and believable vision of the past and placing the film in a specific place and time. I'm not saying it was a one hundred percent successful effort, but it was definitely a decisive step in the right direction when it comes to period films. The special effects and visuals are excellent, the best there was then, and the whole film has an epic, grandiose, expensive feel. It is also very long, with almost three hours in length, but it is worth not being afraid or giving up on because of that. Being a Western film, it is quite evident that there is a lot of violence, so it is not a film for children. Even so, it is not gratuitous violence. Finally, we owe Ennio Morricone a salute for the excellent soundtrack he composed. Among his vast work, this is not my favorite nor the best, but it is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable and iconic pieces, a work that we know, even without having seen this film, and that has become part of our collective memory. We can't ask for more than that.