Sergio Leone was associated with the term ‘spaghetti western’. The term originated from Italian directors making westerns (spaghetti = italian, western = western). The films were mostly shot in Spain and portrayed the American Southwest nearly perfect. The reason for shooting in Spain was the low cost of extras and the low cost of locations. Most films in this genre were led by aging actors that couldn’t find ‘popular’ gigs in Hollywood.
Of course, it made one man’s career bloom. Clint Eastwood took a big leap thanks to Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. Three very popular Eastwood films included A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Each film focused on three main individuals or groups. Eastwood always played ‘the man with no name’, which is where they get the name of this set from. The other two characters or groups varied, but rest assured they always clashed at the end.
While the trilogy certainly is impressive, the best film in the bunch is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Three different stories survive within three different characters. ‘The Good’, played by Eastwood, is a man that defines the term ‘anti-hero’. He isn’t anyone’s friend, but between the three he’s definitely ‘the good’. The Bad was played by Lee Van Cleef and is a ruthless assassin constantly on the hunt for whoever pays a good price (even if it means killing both sides of the law). The Ugly, a ruthless, dirty bandit was played by Eli Wallach. A turncoat that will shoot you in the back at any given time. Each man has a quest for money on their minds and each ultimately meets at one point in the story when a $250,000 buried fortune is at stake. Leone put together a beautiful story of a rugged old west and a very tired look at a country torn in two by civil war.
It’s brilliantly shot and ends the way a film of this type should.
As for the other two films, it’s more of the same. I know people have favorites, and mine is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. I think it’s worth the price you pay for the trilogy, just for this film. The other two movies, which are just as good, are bonuses in this trilogy package.
Shifting gears just slightly, the Blu-ray versions of these films are the big selling points (outside of the features). The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of the more gorgeous Blu-rays I’ve seen in a while. Certainly it’s no A Star is Born, but the amount of clean up that went on with the transfer from film to HD is nothing short of amazing. There are little to no artifacts in the picture and in some scenes you could swear it was shot in the last five years. For example, towards the end of the film there is a shot of Eastwood cleaning the barrel of his six-shooter. The details from the gunpowder residue shooting out of each chamber is as crisp as you could possibly imagine in HD. There are tons of scenes in this movie that make you happy that you purchased this trilogy.
On the flip side to that coin A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More have tons of artifacts and graininess in the HD video. There is so much there that you have to wonder how long the transfer took with these films and if there were any issues. It’s pretty heavy for films just two years removed from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Had I not seen the quality of HD from movies from the 50s, I wouldn’t be too harsh on these films, but I’ve seen better on films that are older; the first two films should have been better looking by leaps and bounds.
The one constant in all the films is the excellent sound mixing and remastering that went on. I think it’s some of the best when you hear it properly pumping through your 5.1-6.1-7.1 setup.
As for features, here’s what you’re looking at:
A Fistful Of Dollars Blu-ray Disc Bonus Features:
• The Christopher Frayling Archives: A Fistful of Dollars
• Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling
• A New Kind of Hero
• A Few Weeks in Spain: Clint Eastwood on the Experience of Making the Film
• Tre Voci: A Fistful of Dollars
• Not Ready for Primetime: Renowned Filmmaker Monte Hellman discusses the Television Broadcast of A Fistful of Dollars
• The Network Prologue with Actor Harry Dean Stanton
• Location Comparisons: Then to Now
• 10 Radio Spots
• Double Bill Trailer
• Theatrical Trailer
For A Few Dollars More Blu-ray Disc Bonus Features:
• The Christopher Frayling Archives: For A Few Dollars More
• Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling
• A New Standard: Frayling on For A Few Dollars More
• Back for More: Clint Eastwood Remembers For A Few Dollars More
• Tre Voci: For A Few Dollars More
• For A Few Dollars More: The Original American Release Version
• Location Comparisons
• 12 Radio Spots
• Theatrical Trailer 1
• Theatrical Trailer 2
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Blu-ray Disc Bonus Features:
• Commentary by Film Historian Richard Schickel
• Commentary by Film Historian Christopher Frayling
• Leone’s West
• The Leone Style
• The Man Who Lost the Civil War
• Reconstructing The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
• IL Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly – Part One
• IL Maestro: Part Two
• Deleted Scenes
o Extended Tuco Torture Scene
o The Socorro Sequence: A Reconstruction
• Theatrical Trailer
• French Trailer
You get a ton of features with this trilogy, though some are certainly rehashed. Still, it’s a ton of good stuff with a trilogy that’s already epic on its own.