The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Sergio Leone’s atmospheric and brilliantly shot Western is actually a prequel to the other two films in his “Dollars” trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More). The movie, set during the Civil War, reintroduces the iconic Man With No Name (“the Good”) and has him acquire his signature outfit as the film unfolds. Lee Van Cleef serves up a menacing performance as the villain Angel Eyes (“the Bad”) but the real star of the show is Tuco (“the Ugly”) — a bandit with a pathos-filled backstory who manages to be hilarious, threatening and pitiful at the same time (a bit like Tom Cruise’s appearance on Oprah…). Many of the movie’s scenes are so overblown that they border on a parody of normal Westerns, yet it also works as a complete tour de force in its own right. A must watch for movie lovers.