The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Rating:
Summary: Cigar?
Review: This is a classic film to watch, no matter who you are or what you're into:
The Ugly

Ever since Quentin Tarantino announced that he was using some sort of Spaghetti Western
techniques in his latest film, I decided to get interested in it. Then I saw a small clip of this movie
on television and I was completely blown away. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is most definitely
one of the best films ever made, alongside Gone With the Wind and Citizen Kane. The
Cinematography alone is enough to make me sleep happily for forty days and forty nights. The
action and death are more than enough to satisfy even the most cynical of action lovers. And the
final showdown at Sad Hill is perhaps one of the most memorable sequences is cinema history,
from the ecstasy of gold to the final "cut." All around, this movie is at the top of every known
ranking list.

However, there are one or two complaints about this new video transfer I'd like to address:
The Bad

With the original 1998 DVD edition, the American release was sold and with a not too bad of a
DVD package either. The sound is only 2-channel mono, but that didn't really seem to matter. The
feature ran for 2 hours and 44 minutes, then there was a theatrical trailer and some production
notes. Like I said, not a bad little package.

This newly remastered edition is different. On the original release there were some deleted
scenes that were cut out of the American release. Most of those scenes have been added,

making this a full 3 hour spectacle. That's not too bad because at absolutely no point does the
movie drag, but the newer scenes are horribly remade.
-First off, the dubbing. Any Kung Fu movie has crappy American voice-overs, as with any
Spaghetti Western, which is okay once you get used to it. However, even Clint Eastwood's and Eli
Wallach's newly acquired voices for the deleted scenes are terrible. They both sound extremely
old, especially Wallach. They don't really need top be that well in sync, but at least a mono
soundtrack could be used instead of today's sophisticated technology.
-The picture. While I'll tell you about the good parts of it later, now I'll say that there's
some very annoying things about it. At one very noticeable point, there's terrible dubbing and
yellow streaks flashing about for five seconds.

And now, the moment you've all waited for:
The Good

Some of the picture is bad, but the rest of the digital transfer is sheer dynamite. The reds are
blood red, the greens are forest green, and nothing's dark that doesn't need to be. Hardly any film
scratches and most have been fixed. A beautiful 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound mix that EXPLODES
off the screen. I was jumping for joy when the first bullets went off, but in all honesty the sound
effects have just been re-worked to seem more life like. This film is magnificent.

In conclusion, this isn't the best DVD ever, but it's okay. Still, if the Alien Quadrilliogy had been
considered here, whereas a Special Edition and Theatrical Release was available (or in this case
Italian and American), this would've sold more copies and it would be something to be proud of.
Still, I like it. I don't love it, but if you're like me just watch it a few times. It'll only get better with
age.

Rating:
Summary: The Man with no name has a name
Review: Joe Manco is his name, or at least a best guess, in the first movie the undertaker and bartender both call him Joe, generic? maybe. In the second film Col Mortimer is told by the town sherrif that another man was interested in the bounty on a wanted man, The Sherrif says he goes by "Manco" indicating Clint.

Rating:
Summary: It's Even Better Now!
Review: This movie is my favorite, ever. I have seen it over 100 times and now with the added scenes I want to watch it again already!
The film has been restored as has the soundtrack. My original GBU DVD suffered some mis calibration, voices were off etc. This seems much better for the most part. The movie was shorn of around 20 minutes for the U.S. release, these scenes hence were never done in English. Clint and Eli Wallach came back to voice in their lines for said scenes. Some one was brought in to do Lee Van Cleef as he passed away in the 90's. Wallach's voice shows it's age but's it's not detracting, Clint sounds great, Van Cleef's impersonator does quite well. A classic movie that can now be seen in the way Leone intended. outstanding special features too. A must for Italian western fans, and great movies in general.

Rating:
Summary: ...the end
Review: It started with 'Fistful of dollars', continued with 'for a few dollars more' and ends with a bang with this film. Now, the original film is great but with the added stuff this film is amazing! The trilogy SHOULD be viewed consecutively but can be viewed alone. I find this film to be a masterpiece just like the two prior. It is one of the defining western series ever made. Classic director, Classic actors and one heck of a finish!

Rating:
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST SPECIAL EDITIONS !!!!
Review: This is another great example of what a "Special Edition" should be , it takes its place along with others such as "Alien Quadrilogy", and all the Tarantino Spec.Eds.
The packaging is heavy duty cardboard , giftbox with the title on the cover in raised lettering. On the inside we have a essay/introduction written by Roger Ebert put together in booklet form, and highlighted with close up images of our three Desperados. Further into this edition we find several well done minature theatre lobby posters in different nationalities. There is also a miniture print of the original soundtrack album cover( which I actually have had since I was about 9).
Of course the main attraction, is the film, the fully restored film. Fully restored not just to its original European length but to its original Rome Premere length. And the quality of this picture is fantastic, beautiful technicolor. The audio as well has been redone and this was no easy feat ( you can learn about the process from the featurette " Re-constructing The GBU.).
This is as good video and audio as we will ever get of this groundbreaking, sweeping, operatic masterpiece.
There are also very well done featurettes on the making of GBU, which include extensive interviews with Clint, and Eli as well as Leone producer, Grimaldi, and dubbing expert Knox,a historical documentary on Siblys Campaign(which is where Sergio got the idea for the CivilWar portion of the story), and a very intresting and educational commentary track by film historian Richard Sheckel.
Round all this off with some deleted footage, and the original theatrical trailer and you pretty much have the ultimate edition.
Weather or not you already own the bare bones edition of this classic( which is a pretty good print), if you are a Leone fan this is a MUST HAVE!!
My hats off to MGM!!

Rating:
Summary: Lots of Extra's add to value of classic Epic Western
Review: If you haven't seen this movie, it represents one (if not THE) best of Sergio Leones "Spaghetti" westerns. At a hair under 3 hours, this is also up there with the likes of Once Upon a Time in the West (also by Leone) but moves with considerably more flow, and I think is a better script, story and movie overall. Clint plays the "Man with no name" a drifting, quick drawing hombre with a mean streak a mile wide, and tenacity to match and is the "Good" as referred to in the title. The story centers around gold buried in a cemetary, and is something of a multi subplotted journey to find it. Supported ably by Lee Van Cleef, and excellently by Eli Wallach as the unkempt and greedy "Ugly" part of the trio, this is a classic western in all senses. Sweeping vista's, bar room brawls, gunfights, hangings, and even a brief stop off in a War on the way. But the movie never plods, and any stale moments are usually livened up with some of Eli Wallachs comic relief (albeit playing straight). With a host of goodies on this collectable release including 4 documentaries, trailers, music and the newly renovated extended version in anamorphic widescreen, this is certainly worth owning. The transfer isn't bad, but please remember these movies were made nearly 30 years ago, and then on something of a budget. Often filmed in Europe, and South America, and sometimes dubbed over with local foreign extra's they have stood the test of time well, and look pretty fine on DVD - but there not perfect by a long way, Most will probably be forgiving however on content alone. 4 stars, but not quite 5 - Enjoy

Rating:
Summary: Go ahead, Blondie... make my day
Review: I'm a little ashamed to say, I only watched "The good, the bad and the ugly" yesterday, after almost twenty years of listening to people tell me (good) things about it. Looking back, there could have happened that usual phenomenon, common when you expect too much of something before knowing it: when you watch/listen/read/get acquainted with this something, the expectations were so high that you feel disappointed. Thankfully, in this case that was not true.

"The good, the bad and the ugly" (GBU from now on) is better than I expected. A true classic western, this movie is divided in two parts. In the first, Sergio Leone presents his characters; Blondie, the good, by Clint Eastwood: squinty eyes, extremely laconic, a certain shot, dubious morals; Tuco, the ugly, by Eli Wallach (I remembered him from "The godfatther part III") a funny, stumbling, greedy and dangerous person. These two have an arrengement of sorts, deceiving local sheriffs and getting easy money. The third character is "Angel Eyes" Sentenza, the bad, by Lee Van Cleef. And he's really bad. I wouldn't want to cross my path with this man, with laughing, soft eyes and a stone-hard countenance, who will stop at nothing if he has to make a kill. I have hardly seen a better-fitting cast as the one displayed in GBU.

These three characters are, strangely, extremely well-developed during the movie, even if they are stereothypes to the bone. It's mostly them that make this movie unforgettable, together with Leone's extremely dedicated and personal direction.

Bottom line, as shown in the second half of the movie, the story is a treasure hunt (set in the middle of the Civil War - Leone shows, in GBU, what he thinks about the Vietnam War), and, in the Old West, no one could trust anybody. The final scene in the cemetery is pure genious, the slow takes showing the eyes and the hands of the contenders, fighting for their lives and a fortune in golden coins. All this permeated by Enio Morricone's fantastic soundscore - I think there's no one on Earth that doesn't know this tune.

That's to say: GBU has not aged in almost forty years. It keeps being a modern movie, that deals with human desires in a world withiout too much scruples. We still can relate, can't we?

Grade 9.3/10

Rating:
Summary: THE GOOD TURNS BAD BUT NOT UGLY ON THIS DVD
Review: "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is Sergio Leone's ultimate spaghetti western with a plot centered on a gold treasure buried in a cemetary. It stars Clint Eastwood as the "Man With No Name" a gunfighter in the amoral/lawless American west who engages in actions that are not always legal, but never wrong. Naturally, Eastwood butts heads with Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef); a murderer without a conscience, and Tuco (Eli Wallach); a conflicted bandit who remains beyond redemption. Like most of Leone's great masterworks, visual style and long stretches of seemingly silent moments tell far more than any amount of dialogue could. Thus, the film is a rare example in which style is transformed into substance.
THE TRANSFER: The previously issued DVD of this film was excessively troubled by age related artifacts and a non-anamorphic transfer. Although we have been given an enhanced 16X9 transfer this time - the age related artifacts are still present - if slightly tempered. Colors remain dated, though, unlike the previous incarnation, are not as faded. Many scenes remain softly focused with minimal grit and dirt. The Techniscope widescreen process (an absolutely inferior widescreen format)dillutes the film images. The "restored" scenes are not terribly well integrated into the film. At one point the entire image turns jaundice yellow, which is obtrusive to say the least! Fine details and definition are sometimes poorly rendered, that its best to say that this visual presentation is true to its shoddy original film stock. The audio has been remixed to 5.1 but is nevertheless strident and very unnatural sounding.
EXTRAS: Audio commentary that is very informative, and several fine documentaries about Leone, the film's composer -Ennio Morricone, the civil war and the Leone's style. Also, some deleted scenes.
BOTTOM LINE: This is by far the best that the film has looked on any home video format. But the improvements, while substantial, still do not bring the video quality of this presentation up to par with films of the same or similar vintage.

Rating:
Summary: A solid DVD with a few glaring omissions
Review: A few years ago, MGM released The this movie on DVD with an excellent transfer and a modest collection of extras. This year, they have gone back to the well and released a 2-disc special edition with a new assortment of supplemental material and restored the movie, as close as possible, to Sergio Leone's original Italian version. Does all this new material warrant an upgrade from the original release? You betcha!

The presence of Eastwood biographer Richard Schickel on many of the film's extras places the emphasis a little more on Eastwood than Leone. It's unfortunate that Christopher Frayling, author of Something to Do with Death, the definitive book on Sergio Leone and his films, was not included on this DVD. His presence on the Once Upon A Time in the West DVD was invaluable and he is sorely missed on this one. Having said that, the extras that are on this new 2-DVD set are top notch.

On the first DVD is an audio commentary by film critic and historian Richard Schickel. He starts off the track by explaining how the film was originally cut by over twenty minutes for the American release. This new version is as close to Leone's original Italian version as is possible with the surviving footage. Schickel talks at length about Leone's distinctive style of filmmaking. He also talks about the influence of fine art on Leone's style. Despite mistakenly calling Angel Eyes The Ugly character from the titles (it is actually Tuco), his track is very informative and rich with interesting factoids.

The second DVD begins with a twenty-minute featurette entitled, "Leone's West," which looks at the making of this classic western. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and the film's producer Alberto Grimaldi talk about their experiences and recount wonderful anecdotes in brand new interviews. The one glaring omission is the downplaying of Lee Van Cleef's contribution to the film. Just because he isn't alive to provide his own thoughts, this featurette pretty much ignores his significant contribution to the movie.

"The Leone Style" examines the director's unique approach to the craft of filmmaking. He favoured long takes and often juxtaposed close-ups with long shots that gave his movies a grandiose quality. This is a good extra.

An element of the film that is not often examined is the American Civil War that acts as a backdrop to the main action of the film. "The Man Who Lost The Civil War" examines the "Sibley Campaign" that actually took place on the Texas-Mexico border as depicted in the film.

"Reconstructing The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is a look at how this classic was restored to almost its original length.

Ennio Morricone's invaluable contribution is examined in "Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."

There are also two deleted scenes that could not be integrated back into the movie because the original negative was too badly damaged. One scene is even reconstructed through stills and footage from the French trailer.

MGM has released a quality product with this new special edition 2-DVD set. There is enough material to warrant an upgrade if you have the original DVD. The discs come in an attractive package, the film has never looked better, the new footage neither hinders nor improves the film, and the extras provide fascinating background to this classic western that redefined the genre.

Rating:
Summary: This looks interesting.
Review: Even if it doesn't measure up ith the original release, it'll still be great to see. Out of the entire trilogy, this prequel was the most amazing. Set around the 1861-1865 era of the Civil War, it's obviously chronologically before the 1870's era (Like the headstones say) of A Fitful of Dollars.

But chronological issues aside, the other two are in as much need of a disc set. They were the only ones non-anamorphic. So I'm buying this, not only for the new stuff, but to up the sales for MGM to release the other two. This movie, alone with the sequels, are the best westerns ever!