 Excuse me for interrupting, but I had to speak out about a subject that Chris Barry brought up that is near and dear to my heart -- favorite Western. John Wayne is great and all (The best John Wayne Western, by the way, is The Searchers), but give me a heaping plate of Spaghetti Western over your typical John Ford fare any day. Pound for cinematic pound, Sergio Leone is the greatest director of Westerns, ever. While the stories may be somewhat empty, the voices badly dubbed, and the cast almost entirely Italian, the man has an eye for framing a shot that is often imitated but never duplicated. Add to that an impeccable sense of timing, dramatic tension, and a wicked sense of humor, and you get the greatest Westerns ever to grace the silver screen. Leone was definitely at the top of his game in "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly". The is the perfect Spaghetti Western, and the greatest Western in the history of Westerns. Let's look at the cast first: Clint Eastwood, the Man With No Name, cruel and ruthless, but with a core of morality that makes him easy to root for; Lee Van Cleef, who was mostly wasted in American movies -- his feline features and smooth voice give Angel Eyes the appearance of the perfect predator; and Eli Wallach, a bungling, repugnant clown that is impossible not to like, but as skilled with a pistol as his two opponents. With this film, Leone managed to assemble the perfect cast, a trio of dynamic, compelling legends of the movie Western. And then there's the cinematography -- in a word, WOW. From vast stretches of open desert, to the inside of a simple monastary, Leone makes every shot count. While most directors will film 90% of the movie with boring, uncreative shots, and then blow their wad on a few "money shots" (*cough* Spielberg *cough* *cough*), Leone framed every shot like it was a still photograph. You can't watch this film without realizing the artistic genius of this man's cinematography. Lastly, there's the story. Thin, to be sure, but the pacing and the acting make this film's nearly three-hour running time pass in an instant. When you actually sit down and watch the film, there's surprisingly little gunplay (which, unfortunately, is what Leone is most remembered for), but the film is engrossing nonetheless. I don't know if it's the acting, the action, or just Leone's amazing gift with a camera, but I can watch this film over and over again and never be bored. And then, of course, there's the amazing gunfight at the end. And Ennio Morricone's legendary score. But those speak for themselves. Well, that went a little long. Sorry for interrupting, but I thought it was important. Poodoo! About the author: rystenmere@hotmail.com You may read another review, submit your own, or return home. |
