Movie Stats:
Released 1966 (Italy)
Italian, Spanish, & West German, in English (minor, non-translated Spanish)
Director - Sergio Leone
Stars - Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
Plot Summary:
Set against the backdrop of the Civil War, two frenemies — Blondie (Eastwood) & Tuco (Wallach) — form an uneasy truce in order to beat another man, Angel Eyes (Van Cleef), to $200,000 in stolen Confederate gold coins.
Warnings:
Extreme violence; minor gore; minor blue language (including a slur uttered in Spanish).
Bad Stuff:
It’s way, way too long (nearly 3 hours). There were many scenes that felt either superfluous to the story or simply bloated.
It appears that some of the actors spoke in their native language (Italian, I’m guessing) and were dubbed over in English. I found it a bit distracting.
Good Stuff:
Loved the cinematography & costuming.
I appreciated the experimental aspects of the film, such as the unusual camera angles, close-up shots, and the fact that the first 10 minutes have no dialogue. You wouldn’t expect a scene of two men silently eating potatoes to provide a lot of tension, but it does.
It’s got a good bit of humor.
About the Performance:
I don’t dislike Eastwood but I can’t say that I ever feel particularly impressed by him, either. He always seems to play the same character: squinty, tough, stoic. Practically emotionless, really, which isn’t all that hard to convey IMO. Granted, I haven’t seen a ton of his films, but the only one I can think of where I glimpsed a bit of range was "Million Dollar Baby." Anyway, I wasn’t blown away, but I did enjoy his performance. He’s good at what he does.
Other performances of Eastwood’s I’ve reviewed: Million Dollar Baby; Unforgiven.
The Verdict:
I liked it. As Westerns go, it was really complete; it kind of had everything: tough-as-nails characters, the struggle to survive, the desert, lust for money, backstabbing, uneasy alliances, plot twists, violence. I mean, really, you name it. It’s an epic for the ages. I particularly enjoyed the scene at the bridge, which the Confederate & Union soldiers fought & died for fruitlessly, which seemed like a commentary about the futility of war in general, thrown in for good measure. However, it’s too damn long. I got really bored after a while. Just not quite my cup of tea.
I give it 3.75 stars.
2 comments:
Someone once said about Casey Affleck, "He's never impressed me much. I feel like quiet, moody guy is your basic Acting 101." And yep, that's mostly who Casey Affleck plays. But he does it so well!
I'm indifferent about the Clint Eastwood thing. He doesn't bug me. He doesn't inspire me. I tend to like the films he directs that he is not in than films I see when he is acting. But I also haven't seen most of the stuff from the 60s and 70s, so I probably don't have enough to judge on.
I don't think I will start with this, though. So very long, it is.
I feel like Westerns in particular don't need to be 3 (or more) hours long. It's simply unnecessary for the genre.
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