Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

English title: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Genre: western movie

With: Eli Wallach (Tuco the Ugly), Clint Eastwood (Blondie the Good), Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes the Bad), Aldo Giuffrè (the alcoholic Union Captain), Luigi Pistilli (Father Pablo Ramirez), Rada Rassimov (Maria)

Director: Sergio Leone

Screenplay: Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone (from a story by Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone)

Release: 1966

Studio: Produzioni Europee Associati, Arturo González Producciones Cinematográficas et al.

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.7/10 

 

Riding High for Filthy Lucre 

 

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Story-line: Texas, 1862. While the American Civil War rages on elsewhere in the state, Tuco the meanie survives a showdown with gunslingers in a dusty town. Not far away, another toughie, Angel Eyes, visits Stevens the rancher to inquire about a lost cash box and a missing man named Jackson. As for Blondie, our third protagonist, he shows up when Tuco falls into another trap laid by bounty hunters. As you can plainly see, these guys know how to keep busy!

Pluses: formidable acting from a legendary trio backed by a fine Italian cast, great direction and editing, a distinctive musical score known the world over (by Ennio Morricone), superb camera work and photography (in outdoor scenes especially), an intelligent and unpredictable screenplay built on vivid dialogues, occasional humour and strong suspense, striking settings and sensible production values.

Minuses: as admirable as this movie is, it does contain a couple of unlikely twists (SPOILERS AHEAD!): (1) a dynamite-planting scene is played out far more casually than it should, considering the proximity of enemy fire, and (2) where did Blondie get that horse and rifle in the final scene?

Comments: in the late 1960s, Sergio Leone raised many doubts this side of the Atlantic when he took on a quintessentially American genre – the cowboy movie – but his “spaghetti westerns” were and still are a genuine phenomenon, an astonishing collection of energetic horse operas. This fabulous film has spawned unforgettable roles for Lee Van Cleef (his smirky ways and thin-rimmed hat), Clint Eastwood (with his poncho, cigarillos and fascinating aura) and Eli Wallach (as the short and foul-mouthed pistolero). Though a good notch below ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, which boasts a richer, wider-ranging screenplay, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY will bowl you over with its spectacular tale of sometimes heartless and sometimes noble roughnecks.   

 

MBiS 

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 Three Burials

Original title: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

Genre: personal adventure drama

With: Tommy Lee Jones (Pete Perkins), Julio Cesar Cedillo (Melquiades Estrada), Melissa Leo (Rachel), Dwight Yoakam (Sheriff Frank Belmont), January Jones (Lou Ann Norton), Barry Pepper (Mike Norton), Vanessa Bauche (Mariana the healer), Levon Helm (the Old Man with the radio)

Director: Tommy Lee Jones

Screenplay: Guillermo Arriaga

Release: 2005

Studio: EuropaCorp, Javelina Film Company

Rating: R

MBiS score: 8.0/10

 

The Title Says Plenty But There’s Quite a Story Behind It  

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Story-line: when the body of Melquiades Estrada, an illegal immigrant, is found by hunters in the south of Texas, his employer, Pete Perkins, asks for his remains so he can take them back to Mexico. His request is denied but he chooses to press on.  

Pluses: an evenly good cast spearheaded by Tommy Lee Jones, a mysterious, graphic and well-constructed screenplay that uses flashbacks and flashforwards to tell its unusual story in a logical and interesting way, irreproachable direction, fine cinematography (especially in barren areas of the Lone Star State), adequate production values and a genuinely surprising ending.

Minuses: although welcome in such a bleak drama, the screenplay’s humorous moments tend to be macabre. 

Comments: THREE BURIALS is a modest and efficient film that plays on themes of moral duty, remorse, humility and brotherhood. It has no place for heroes – only for common folk who struggle with life, cut corners and sometimes do bad things – and doesn’t try to do more than the essential, a wise choice considering its serious subject matter. Whatever your tastes in cinema, you will find value in this offbeat and sincere contemporary western.   

  

MBiS 

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