The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Sergio Leone (1966)
Much like Once Upon a Time in the West, which was released two years after this film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is best described as “sprawling.” Clocking in at nearly three hours, Sergio Leone’s tale of three bounty hunters — Blondie (Clint Eastwood), Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), and Tuco (Eli Wallach) — who are searching for a stash of stolen Confederate gold takes it own sweet time from beginning to end. And yet, I just don’t know what you could possibly cut from the film to “speed it up.” Perhaps the Civil War battle sequence where Blondie and Tuco join the Union Army, but even that has some important character moments. Best just to settle in, ride along with the film for its entire length, and enjoy the sort of ambitious, cinematic filmmaking that just doesn’t exist any more, not to mention the steely eyed performances, grim humor, and of course, Ennio Morricone’s iconic score.
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