The movie constantly underscores the senselessness of violence. Each of these characters is attacked by nameless gunmen throughout the movie who are quickly dispatched. Innocent third parties are shot down without a second thought. Meanwhile, soldiers on both sides are slaughtered and no one on either side seems to have any purpose or cause they are fighting for. This is especially exemplified by the drunk Union captain, who's philosophy is whichever side "has the most liquor to get the soldiers drunk and send them to be slaughtered. . . he's the winner." Towards the end of the movie, there is a giant battle between both sides over a bridge that neither of them particularly want but can't live with the idea of the other side having. Both sides are under orders to keep the bridge intact, but two of the main characters manage to destroy it, causing the fighting to stop long enough for the two armies to go somewhere else to continue their senseless destruction of each other. Despite all this killing, nobody really feels any remorse or sorrow at either killing people or witnessing the death of their comrades. We never really learn the names of two of the three main characters. As the Union captain says, "It's easier with no names."
There is one contrast to the senseless violence. Mexican missionaries have a monastery and have opened their doors to anybody who is injured by the war, no matter what side they fight on. Each army is more than content to dump their wounded on the monks and the monastery is filled with such a crowd of soldiers that they have to share beds, even when one wears blue and the other gray. The peace of the monastery is nearly upset when Tuco discovers his brother who had become a priest. They briefly came to blows, but Tuco eventually leaves and goes back to what he knows: violence and theft.
Each of the characters is labeled on screen with the title Good, Bad, or Ugly. However, the morality of this world is so gray that it is not always clear what makes one character good or bad. The Bad seems to be more violent than the others, but all double-cross each other and deal violence. The Good seems to have earned his title merely by virtue of not killing those he double-crosses. But at the end of the movie, he rides off into the wilderness with the treasure he has managed to double-cross the others to get.
Rating: 4.5 stars
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is the iconic spaghetti Western and it is easy to see why it is so highly esteemed. Despite the high amount of violence, it is truly a beautiful film. Sergio Leone is famous for his juxtaposition of extreme close ups with long shots. Nowhere is this put to better use than the final three-way showdown, which alone makes the movie worth watching. Combined with great performances from Eastwood, Wallach, and Van Cleef and the wonderful Morricone score, this is a true film masterpiece. My only real objection is that it feels over-long, clocking in at just under three hours long. This isn't the kind of film that I would just put on and watch for fun, but I would say that everyone should watch it at least once in their lives.
If you don't feel like this is the kind of movie that you want to spend three hours on, you have to at least check out the stand off scene at the movie. It's got that iconic Morricone theme and Leone's extreme closeups of the actors eyes and their guns cut with long shots that show the entire circle. You can find it on YouTube or elsewhere on the internet. It's masterful film-making.
Caveat Spectator
This movie definitely earns its R rating. While the violence is not terribly graphic, it is still pervasive and there is blood throughout. There is also a fairly intense scene where one of the characters is being tortured by having his eyes poked by somebody's thumbs. There is language throughout, although not as much as I would have expected in an R rated movie. A man's naked rear end is seen for about a second. It is implied at one point that a prostitute was raped, although nothing is ever seen or really mentioned.
