The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Film Review by Paul Greenwood | 25 Jul 2008
Film title: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Director: Sergio Leone
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
Release date: 1 Aug
Certificate: 15

It seems every other review I'm writing these days is loaded with “best such-and-such ever”, but in the case of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, every overstated commendation is entirely justified. Not only is it one of the best westerns ever made, it’s one of the most rousing action adventures ever. And few films manage to carry such a poignant anti-war message while revelling in bloodthirsty carnage. Hyperbolise much? Sprawling and hugely ambitious, it grips effortlessly for three hours as a trio of desperadoes - Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes, Wallach’s Tuco and Eastwood, the ostensible Good, only marginally less brutal and ruthless than the others - search for buried treasure against the backdrop of the US Civil War. Sergio Leone leaves the first two films in his ‘Dollars’ trilogy in the shade with this his masterpiece, laced with devilish humour, beautifully orchestrated shoot-outs and buoyed by an exhilarating Ennio Morricone score that is among the best ever written. There I go again - believe the hype. [Paul Greenwood]