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Good, The Bad &
The Ugly, The - Special Extended Version Collector's Set
(1966)
Starring:
Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach
Director:
Sergio Leone
Rating:
NR
Distributor:
MGM Home Entertainment
Release
Date: May 18, 2004
Review posted: May 24, 2004
Spoilers:
None
Reviewed by
Dennis
Landmann
SYNOPSIS
Three gunmen set out
to find a hidden fortune. Who will walk away with the cash?
CRITIQUE
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly is
Sergio Leone's
classic Spaghetti western, and third in the Dollars Trilogy,
following A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars
More, though it's also the prequel to the first two films. For
me, the film defines what's so great about westerns. But let's not
forgot it was Leone who reinvented the genre by not adhering to
the rules.
TGTBTU is tells a revenge and adventure story
over the course of three hours; that's the case with this extended
and restored version that incorporates previously deleted footage.
Three hours might seem like a long time, but not in this film. I
admit there are a few slow scenes, especially the first ten
minutes that plays without dialogue, but each scene serves its
purpose; to entertain and advance the plot.
There are many
things I love about this film, but that's probably because I love
a great western. Leone shoots the film with exceptional detail and
style; as I said, he reinvented the western. The story is of epic
proportions and the mystery of the hidden fortune keeps the film
interesting. The script is not without humor, which is refreshing,
and English translator Mickey Knox creates many memorable lines.
The acting defines the film, too. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and
Lee Van Cleef are simply terrific, their characters memorable and
interesting. Also, Ennio Morricone's wonderful and famous score is
one of the best I've ever hear, plus he's one my favorite
composers. Well, I could be more specific of the things I like, I
could go on and on, but the film speaks for itself. Just know I
highly recommend it, and that it's my favorite western after
Once Upon a Time in the West.
However, TGTBTU
is not for everybody, especially those with short attention spans.
Yet it's a film to be discovered, and this DVD is perfect for it.
THE VIDEO
MGM presents
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly in 2.40:1 anamorphic
widescreen. Colors look pretty good, they're well saturated and
bright. Sometimes they're a bit soft, but usually quite clear. I
didn't notice much edge enhancement, if any at all.
Image quality is still a
little rusty in parts when compared to MGM's original 2000
release. There are many dirt spots throughout the presentation,
but that's due to the print's age and preservation. Light grain
appears in more than a handful of areas, but I didn't notice
compression artifacts. Also, a few small lines run across the
print.
Dark tones and black levels
look good but don't have much depth. Sharpness and detail look
relatively good, though, with some scenes looking a bit more
exceptional than most. Overall a pretty good presentation of a
classic, but nothing all too special.
Optional subtitles
include English, French, Spanish, and Chinese.
THE AUDIO
MGM presents
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly in English 5.1 Dolby
Digital Surround
Sound. Ennio Morricone's kick-ass music score is a blast of an
experience in this presentation. It's effectively loud and
clear, yet it's centered in the front almost the entire time.
The rear speakers give a bit
of a reinforcement, which works okay. The surrounds handle the
sound effects pretty well, though it's the front speakers that
get most of the workout in the entire presentation. Dialogue is
clear and easy to understand, except for one or two instances.
Channel separation works
pretty well, and there is some dynamic range present also.
Despite being front-heavy for more than several occasions, the
presentation still offers a good sound experience. The DVD also
offers a 2.0 Dolby soundtrack. The commentary is two-channel
audio as well.
THE EXTRAS
The packaging for
this two-disc Special Collector's Edition DVD is pretty cool.
It's kind of like a box. Open it and you'll find both discs
stuck to the inside. There's neat bonus material inside the box,
specifically five collectible mini-posters from various
countries (Spain, Germany, France, China, America), a
soundtrack card, and a cool eight-page booklet
containing Roger Ebert's movie review, a list of special
features, and scene selections.
The commentary
by film historian/critic Richard Schickel is the sole extra
on the first disc. Schickel offers a wide variety of stories and
notes on the film, the production, the actors, the director, and
countless other things. While mostly informative, the track is
also slow and dry in terms of delivery. It's somewhat of a mixed
bag, but still a decent listen. It depends on the individual's
patience and interests.
Disc two holds all
the other extras, naturally, and let me say it's a pretty sweet
disc.
Leone's West (19:53) is the film's making-of documentary. It
features interviews with Richard Schickel, Mickey Knox (the English
version translator), producer Alberto Grimaldi, Clint Eastwood, and
Eli Wallach, covering briefly the background of the production,
western as a genre, the film's main characters, collaboration between
the actors, filming on the set, the English translation of the Italian
language track, and various other topics. Film clips support the
interviews.
The Leone Style (23:47) documentary focuses on the director's
visual style, such as the wide shots, extreme close-ups, and prolonged
scenes. It also mentions Lee Van Cleef, specific scenes (Clint tells a
great story behind the bridge explosion), and historical accuracies.
Wallach tells three great stories while on the set, including his near
decapitation in the scene where he's chained to a soldier and ducks as
a train whizzes by his head. Schickel briefly discusses the film's
morals, and the last minute here is pretty nice.
The Man Who Lost the Civil War (14:22) documentary chronicles the
true conflict of the American Civil War that provides the background
for the treasure hunt of Blondie, Tuco, and Angel Eyes. It's narrated
by Morgan Sheppard and directed by Peter Spirer. This is a
semi-interesting historical profile of the main events, and in a way
is a nice companion to the film.
Reconstructing The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (11:08)
is a documentary on the audio re-recording and the film restoration
process, specifically the adding of previously deleted footage. The
interviews are informative and interesting, as is the footage of the
cutting of the new print. Clint and Wallach were brought in to record
lines for the new footage sometime in October 2002, and Simon Prescott
filled in for Lee Van Cleef. The restoration team also improved the
sound effects and synchronized audio. Cool stuff.
Il
Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
(7:48) is a
featurette on the composer. Film music historian Jon Burlingame offers
background information on Morricone and the film, but he also
discusses the score. I don't understand why the producers couldn't or
wouldn't get Morricone for an interview, but he's greatly missed here.
It's one thing for a person to talk about another person, but it's
much better, even cooler to have the person actually present. Instead,
we only get a black and white photograph of Morricone. So yeah, I'm a
little disappointed with this featurette, but it's still good. After
it ends, you have the choice of an audio-only feature (12:29)
where Burlingame provides in-depth analysis of the score. Images
support the dialogue. This is decent stuff, but curiously this feature
cannot be accessed from the main menu. Morricone fans might want to
give this a listen.
The deleted scenes are in decent shape and offer some good
footage, but they don't add a great deal to the already extended
version of the film. The extended Tuco torture scene (7:15),
taken from the original premiere version, appears here because it
couldn't be restored due to negative damage. The audio is in original
Italian, and the scene itself is a little more brutal than what's
shown in the film on disc 1.
The Socorro Sequence: A Reconstruction (3:02) reconstructs from
existing materials the basic outline of the missing sequence that was
never finished in any version of the film, but snippets appear in
production stills and the French trailer. I didn't know of this
sequence before, but it's nice to know it exists in parts. This is a
well-done featurette. The last item in the deleted scenes menu is the
French trailer (3:30), presented in widescreen, that shows
footage of the Socorro sequence as well as alternate angles from other
scenes not in the final cut of the film.
Rounding out the extras is the poster gallery that you can
navigate by remote, the film's original theatrical trailer, and
bonus trailers for Escape From New York: Collector's Edition
and Windtalkers: Director's Edition, as well as the MGM
Means Great Movies promo reel.
The 179-minute feature is organized into thirty-two chapters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
A classic western, a
great collector's edition DVD. Get your hands on it now, it's worth
it. The extras are very nice, and the video looks cleaner than
before. Here's hoping the first two films in the Dollars Trilogy
will receive the same special edition treatment very soon.
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