whynotsmile

i just watched THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY for the first time tonight.
(spoilers below)
wow.

just wow.

I'm not a big fan of westerns, but i have seem very few. I didn't hesitate to pick this one up, since i really like eastwood and leone. I wasn't suprised i liked it, but i was shocked at how much i loved it. I could easily see the influence this had on Tarintino and robert rodreguiz.

the music-fantastic. i like how it was the same thing, just changed a bit now and then. a bit faster, a bit slower, etc etc etc,

acting- ok the voice dubbing sucked balls, but how friggin cool was Eastwood in this? and the guys who played Angel eyes and tuto were spot on. dialouge? perfection

so many great scenes-cutting of the chain on the railroad track? end shootout? opening credits? the "boot and water" switch?
so many great, exciting, and occasionally funny scenerios.

costume, set design-all the stuff was just PERFECT.

it was just a great film but at the same time a damn entertaining one. i could see myself watching it over and over and over.

i watched the extended cut. i didn't seem to notice any scene that needed to be cut. perhaps the "drunk captain" scene went on a tad too long, but other than that, this was perfect.


so now im on a western fix. got any reccomendations? still haven't seen once upon a time in the west. should i start there?

jaeufraser

Dude, perhaps you should watch A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More. I mean, you might as well see the rest of the Dollars trilogy. Then go to Once Upon a Time in the West.

Great flick though.

The Nature Boy

Welcome to the party. Follow jaefaser's advice check out his recommendations. And you same to be against traditional westerns(though I promise you'll watch a lot more for comparative purposes with this one) so investigate more Spaghetti Westerns. My personal favorite Western is the Terence Hill film purportedly ghost directed by Leone, My Name is Nobody. You might watch the other Hill "Trinity" films or Blue Underground's "Spaghetti Western Collection" featuring some Django films.

Supermallet

I saw the restored version at the Nuart in LA, and "wow" doesn't do it justice. I had seen the old version and loved it, but the longer version is even better.

About the music: it's not all actually the same. The main motifs are repeated quite often, but listen to some of the other music, specifically in the beginning when Angel Eyes is walking to the guy's house (and the kid is riding the donkey outside). Some of the most beautiful music ever composed, which then turns into this avant-garde noise trip. Simply incredible. Morricone was flat-out one of the best composers of the 20th century.

The radical nature of much of the score is more clearly evident in the remastered soundtrack (the one advertised in the new DVD). This cuts out a lot of the reptition of themes (unless it was written into another piece), and hearing the music divorced from the images lets you really appreciate them as compositions.

Rypro 525

if you want an untraditional western (and aren't offended by language, sex, and strong violence), watch deadwood on hbo.

Husker

I haven't watched this movie since I was a kid. I really need to check it out again. It will almost be like watching it for the first time again.

This was back when Clint was cooler than cool. Every kid wanted to be him.

Me and my brothers watched it in the late 60's when it first came out. We were definitely hooked on the sound track too. My mom even bought the record. We wore that record out!

steebo777

Such a good movie. Just screened it last night, and I want to watch it again already.

chente

Yeah, great great movie. It is one of those movies that everytime i'm channel surfing and find it on, I stop to watch it.

bboisvert

Westerns is one genre that I'm not a huge fan of... but you should definitely check out The Wild Bunch.

Michael Corvin

I wanted to like these movies. Watched Fistfull, and while it was good I just can't get over the dubbing. It grates on my nevers to no extent. I never finished the trilogy because of it.

mljones99

I am watching it right now as I type and I am loving it!

Hiro11

To me, it's a toss-up if TGTBATU or Once Upon a Time in the West is my favorite Leone western.

It should definitely be mentioned that the dvd for OUATITW is 15 bucks and absolutely terrific.

Dr. DVD

While TGTBATU is the best, I have been checking out a variety of old spaghetti westerns and I must say that they are, at worst, good movies.
Even with a lousy transfer and P&S butchering, Death Rides a Horse is still very impressive to me.

cultshock

TGTBATU: one of the best films ever. Leone was one of the greatest. Morricone too.

Nice to see the film being well received by a whole new audience.

Rival11

This is how I felt after watching Adaptation

Darkfriend

Welcome to the club Whynotsmile

Some other great western flicks at random:

-Tombstone
-Unforgiven
-Shane
-The Wild Bunch
-Pale Rider

Rypro 525

what i always found amazing is that the big stand off scene, lasts for about 6 or 7 minutes before anything happens, so basically 7 mintues of nothing happening, yet Leone makes it so exciting.

QuiGonJosh

wait til ya see Once Upon a Time in the West...twice has good has Good, Bad, and Ugly...

Supermallet

Are you talking about from the moment that Blondie puts the rock in the center of the graveyard, or the part where they've all taken their spots and Leone is cutting back and forth between them? Because that latter part is definitely not 7 minutes.

And, I have to say, at times I feel I prefer For A Few Dollars More to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. I guess I just prefer whichever one I saw last.

And Husker, what do you mean when Eastwood WAS cooler than cool? He still is. I saw him do a Q&A after a screening of Mystic River and he commanded everyone's attention. He hasn't lost any of his power or mystique.

MSD

TGTBTU is the best movie ever made, glad you enjoyed it. I'd suggest checking out Leone's other westerns as well as Run Man Run, Companeros, A Bullet For The General and Django. Blue Underground and Anchor Bay have released boxsets which contain some great SWs as well.