Before Dirty Harry, “Unforgiven” and all those gleaming Oscars there was The Man With No Name.
Clint Eastwood’s spaghetti western era gave us a trio of classic oaters, capped by the epic yarn “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”
The film is part of a spanking new Blu-ray three-pack released earlier this month.
The triple-pack features the extended version of the 1966 “Ugly,” a delirious trek through an American West racked by the Civil War.
Even the Good in the title is hardly the white hat type, especially as played by Eastwood at his slit-eyed best.
Eastwood plays a morally-challenged bounty hunter teamed with a scoundrel named Tuco (Eli Wallach).
They can’t stand each other, but their parasitic relationship works – for a while. They soon go their separate ways but keep reconnecting when word leaks of a stash of Confederate gold is ripe for the taking.
They’ll both do almost anything to get their hands on the loot, but so will Setenza (Lee Van Cleef), the “bad” in the title’s equation.
Director Sergio Leone indulges his artistic whims in nearly every scene. His camera work is masterful, with stunning compositions that give life to the occasionally wooden performances.
The trilogy may have made Eastwood a film star, but “Ugly” belongs to Wallach. His character is a glorified cockroach, a creature who can’t be denied or beaten back, let alone squashed.
He’s wicked, conniving and as greedy as Gordon Gekko, but you can’t help rooting for the thug.
Van Cleef is nearly his equal, a subdued portrait of evil who works under his own code of ethics. He’s a fearful presence with the sort of gaze that could scare a lawman silly.
The film features a bevy of classic moments, from a bathtub gunfight to the grand finale shootout, a nerve-wrangling set piece stretched out to a near interminable length. And audiences wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Ugly” boasts that bombastic score by maestro Ennio Morricone, gorgeously shot western landscapes and even the running subplot of the Civil War.
It’s the latter which gives the film its bite. Watching these outlaws run up against men at war raises the stakes to a level not seen in most westerns.
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” delivers an iconic title, an unforgettable film score and a trio of characters etched permenantly in the halls of the film western.
The Blu-ray extras offer up wide-ranging look at the film and its legacy. “Leone’s West” explores the director’s take on a thoroughly American art form, while “The Leone Style” breaks down his trademark visuals.
We’re also treated to some historical background on the era captured on screen as well as a peek at how the 1955 film was restored to its current condition.
The extras wrap with two deleted scenes and an examination of the great score which helped bring the epic to life.
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Does the Blue Ray transition clear up the classic Leone grainy look? I love the look of his movies, I’m hoping the digital translation doesn’t clean it up before I go shelling out for the trilogy.