The Ecstasy of Gold: The Collector's Set DVD Review.

"The real West was the world of violence, fear and brutal instincts. In pursuit of profit there is no such thing as good and evil, generosity or deviousness; everything depends on chance, and not the best wins but the luckiest." - Sergio Leone, director of "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly."

There are two kinds of people, my friend: those who have understood why THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (unrated, but containing violent content, strong language and brief nudity; 178 mins.; MGM/UA; released 12/29/67) was a masterpiece when it came out, and those who didn't catch onto it until later. Back in 1966/1967, nobody in the critical press was hailing this third installment of the Sergio Leone-directed "Man With No Name" spaghetti westerns as a milestone of film. In fact, many of them out and out despised the film for its violent content and discriminated spaghetti westerns as being a lesser genre of film. Even Roger Ebert admits in a 2003 essay on the movie that he scoffed at the film upon its initial release and, despite a three-star rating, later realized he had misjudged a great film. "It was a 'spaghetti western' and so could not be art" is the direct quote used. For shame, Roger.

But maybe the fact that this movie was perhaps not as good as it could have been at the time was due to one distinct flaw: when THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY came out, it was excised of much footage against the intentions of the film's director, who favored a complete movie over 3 hours in length and with a balanced narrative. But with at least 19 minutes of material chopped from the original cut for American audiences, it was then this version of the movie which found its way through U.S. theater, video and DVD releases. It wasn't the first time Leone would see a film of his hacked up to bits by the insistence of the distributors: "Once Upon A Time In America" went from 225 minutes to 139 in one fail swoop, and just recently has a restored version found its way on special edition DVD. It was imperative that a complete cut of THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY eventually get released to American audiences used to seeing the cut version of the film.

But even if the film was edited or no, there was no excuse for Sergio Leone's epic movie to be spat upon and misunderstood upon its original release. This is easily the most vital film of its time, a masterpiece of style, force, bitterness, dark humor, and strict storytelling. Both Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino endorse the film as being very strong influences on their craft, and even today cinema houses will play this movie every now and then as a faithful form of nostalgia. THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is a treasure of a movie, an all-time classic that deserves to be appreciated now in this brand new, painstakingly restored uncut print which is the feature platter of a new collector's edition release from MGM DVD.

Clint Eastwood was a few steps away from becoming a Hollywood icon, but at the time he was still relegated to B-movies and independent releases. Sergio Leone's movies seemed the most troubled of all: the original "A Fistful of Dollars" was budgeted on a $200,000 cost and the movies were loaded with technical goofs. The films also had to be shot on the spot with no means for loud speaking because the cost could easily be cut if they simply went into the ADR studio and added dubbing and effects later on. And the movies, being foreign productions, were bolstered by a desperate and dopey need to make them look more Anglo-Saxon. Sergio Leone had his own moniker "Bob Robertson," which is more ridiculous than Lucio Fulci being called "Louis Fuller." Musical score composer Ennio Morricone, whose legacy would be capped by this film's particular soundtrack, went by the pseudonym "Dan Savio." Easily, the pedigree behind this film seemed likely to disappoint, but the filmmakers were working with a somewhat better budget and better clout thanks to the involvement of representatives from United Artists Pictures, who had seen a packed screening of "A Few Dollars More" with producer Alberto Grimaldi and decided to buy the rights to the that film, its predecessor, and the developing third installment. And the budget had greatly improved to about $1.3 million, which was paid off in a hefty $19 million theatrical return. These were good things for the creators of the film, who ended their trilogy with a supreme bang.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is set during the Civil War, when the Sibley Brigade were making their way in the American southwest. The war becomes an intrusion into the lives of its characters, just like how nowadays when the movie "Gangs of New York" was set during an old New York struggle between the poor Irish and the elite who wanted them in the draft, as well as the racial tensions and anti-Lincoln attitudes that created additional hostility. In one particular moment, The Man With No Name (Eastwood), referred throughout the film as "Blondie" despite his hair having a more dark brown-ginger like color to it, is held at gunpoint by his old friend turned enemy Tuco (Eli Wallach), a greasy Spaniard bandit, who instructs him to hang his head in a noose in a moment deathly familiar to what Tuco used to do to earn easy money. However, before Blondie can fall to his death, a bomb goes off behind them and the Man escapes before Tuco can rise above the debris and finish the deed. This is a very bizarre moment of luck, one that seems to be topped later on when Blondie escapes certain death again when a wagon full of dead soldiers arrive with the information of where a cache of gold is hidden. Tuco only gets half of the information: the location, the Sad Hill Cemetery. Blondie knows which of the graves to dig where the $200,000 of gold is hidden under.

And as these two men stumble across the location of the gold, they are not the only ones in hot pursuit. There's Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), a hired killer who always sees the job through whenever he gets paid. He's on the pursuit of Bill Carson (Antonio Casale), the Yankee who knows the exact location of the gold, and the person who dies in the carriage when Tuco and Blondie stumble onto him, confessing the information he knows about the gold. Tuco has to take on the identity of Bill Carson in order to save Blondie, whom he had previously captured and forced into a long, 100-mile walk through the desert bereft of any nourishment or respite. However, the two end up at a POW camp, where Tuco has a run-in with Angel Eyes, who has the information literally beaten and bled from him. Blondie goes with Angel Eyes until he reunites with Tuco and they end up once again unwilling allies in pursuit of the gold. The volunteer as Confederate soldiers at a bridge seize in order to save their necks, but then the trio finally meet at the cemetery, where they stand-off in a expertly-filmed showdown where they find themselves in a spacious circle, ready to draw their guns and settle who gets the gold.

The movie develops perhaps the best dual-character relationship between Blondie and Tuco, who have their partnership and detestation defined by the image of a swinging noose. As con artists, Blondie would take Tuco in for reward money, then rescue him from the gallows at the right time so that he can escape, and then the money would be split between the two. But Blondie has a sudden change of heart, and leaves Tuco behind in the desert, tied up and miles away from the nearest town. This sets off Tuco's bitter side, and immediately its he who gets the upper hand on Blondie, who torments him until they discover mutual dependence based upon the need for the lost gold.

The movie's character hierarchy goes a little something like this: Blondie is the Good, which seems to be an ironic name for this man. He is not exactly a man of truly worthy moral quality, because he has engaged in con activities and has also abandoned Tuco to be left to die alone in the desert. He even tries to continue the con with a new partner, but is met by his old enemy before he could shoot his accomplice free from the rope that eventually hangs him out to die. There's no heroism in the Man's actions and he is just as much of a self-serving human being as the Bad and Ugly fellows. But he is the most detached and aware lead character of them all, one who understands compassion for the fallen soldiers and also the most iconic and clean slated of the bunch. He is never seen killing anybody who doesn't deserve it, although the first time we see him he has to protect his scheme with Tuco by offing a trio of cowboys who plan to turn in Tuco for the money themselves. Blondie never murders any innocents, or never gets his kicks doing so. When he rescues Tuco, he wastes his bullets shooting the hats of those standing by the gallows.

Eastwood is truly iconic in the role, as I said. He is a man of very little speech, usually resorting himself to brisk, short comments. The script was actually written by four individuals, Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, and Sergio Leone, and they seemed satisfied to give the character as little lines as possible for a main character. But the most of the times he says more than five words, he gets across with some of the most quotable lines from this film. When Tuco runs into whom he believe are a group of union soldiers, he shouts out Confederate insults out loud to get their attention. "God is on our side because he hates the Yanks!" Tuco shouts. But when Blondie notices that the soldiers are really Confederate troops caked in white dust, Blondie answers back with a zinger: "God is not on our side because he hates idiots also." The man just is the embodiment of morose cool whenever you see him in a contemporary classic film, and surely on his way to being a superstar.

Both the cold-eyed and wide-smiling Van Cleef and the hyperactive, tongue-in-cheek Wallach relish their respective roles as the Bad and the Ugly. The Bad is a man of absolute malice, a ruthlessly driven monster who is not above shooting bystanders or assaulting women in order to get his job done. There seems to be no redeeming value to this man whatsoever; he has all the tender sweetness of a seething cobra snake. There’s more compassion to the character of Tuco, who is a really sleazy man whenever provoked. He has committed a long list of offenses that we're not sure whether or not are true, but we do side with him when Blondie leaves him alone to die. He is justified in his means of vengeance, but he is such a cruel man, perhaps as much as Angel Eyes, that he is simply a nasty, talkative runt. However, Tuco has one great moment where he realizes the life he chose after visiting his brother in a shelter area, who is now a minister. Both actors are at their prime with this movie.

The same can be said of director Sergio Leone. Shooting this film in panoramic widescreen and with Techniscope Technicolor, Leone utilizes the vast presentation to his full advantage by capturing brilliant, serene shots of the west that seem straight out of a fine painting, and also focusing on the sweaty, open-pored faces of our heroes, and the gestures they convey in their eyes that are as expressive as any form of distinct verbal chatter. These shots are often used in extended shots that are quite breathtaking and glorious, and are accompanied by Ennio Morricone's vast musical compositions, which lend additional weight and drama to the situations. There's so many memorable instances of the moments, the greatest occurs in the final moments of the film which are set in the graveyard, particularly in the "Ecstasy of Gold" and "Trio Showdown" sequences.

Morricone will perhaps be remembered essentially for this movie's unforgettable main theme, an evocative, groundbreaking barrage of plunking surf guitar, gorgeous whistles, lulling vocalizations, wind instruments, and mariachi-style trumpets that are mostly inspired by the sound of coyote howls. When the movie opens up with perhaps the best opening titles sequence of any film I've seen thus far, the theme song is immediately enthralling and full of unparalleled beauty. The soundtrack has become a classic in and of itself thanks to the timeless work of Morricone.

Leone, aside from being an operatic purveyor of the art of making art, also has a real sense of dark poetry in the images he captures throughout the movie, especially in terms of violence and war. There is one awesomely disturbing moment where we see a man forced to haul a coffin to some spot by a building and then ends up placed against the wall and executed, and then placed in the very coffin he carried. Even one of the lead characters dies and ends up falling into an open grave to his doom. It's moments like these where Leone really pays off on a visual level outside of technical details, and reinforce his stature as a great cinematic visionary. He was also the first director to defy censorship by showing gunshots show off and also revealing the sight of those hit to fall to the floor and die. It was a few years before Western violence reached a brutal peak with Sam Peckinpah and his "Wild Bunch," so it's hard to forget the impact of this one.

However, there is some brutality that is somewhat off-putting. When Angel Eyes has Tuco over in order to talk about the location of the gold, he sics the ruffian Corporal Wallace (Mario Brega) and is graphically beaten and broken whilst the orchestral band of prisoners outside are forced to play a dirge. Romanticized on American legend, Leone interprets the senseless slavery and murder as the result of a war that was not just seen as an act of liberty and independence, but also a yellow act of warfare pitted over inconsequential pieces of property and plundered Army payroll. Leone also spared no expense in having authentic extras cluttering up the scenery, most of whom are the most believable hole-in-the-wall denizens of any Western film to date. There's even one character who has lost his torso region and below in war and is referred to as "half-soldier" by Angel Eyes.

The movie became indelibly restored as a labor of love, with 19 minutes of remastered, salvaged footage from source material such as the original Italian print edited back into the film. The movie's overall quality has improved very well. The depth and breadth of which Leone and cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli shot the vast Spanish landscapes looks even fuller and more realized with the anamorphic widescreen transfer (at an estimated 2.35:1) and digital makeover that was overseen by Tirage, a service that had done their absolute greatest to make sure the film looked its best. They didn't disappoint at all.

Previously clocking in at about 160 minutes before, it now runs 178 minutes, but the way the movie is paced is hardly boring nor alienating. Leone works with his story in a precise, effective manner, carefully etching out the plot and providing a lot of instantly engaging conflicts, as well as basking in the glory of his various scenic shots and artistic leanings.

The movie also boasted a new sound mix which had to be completed with the participation of Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Simon Prescott (doing Lee Van Cleef) dubbing new English over the original Italian dialogue from available soundtracks. For the 5.1 mix, a lot of the sound effects had to be polished up or added altogether as new in order to give a better sense of the use of surround spectrum space. And Ennio Morricone's score benefits entirely from a very crisp and delicate new fidelity that brings out the best in the presentation.

Presented in a home theater environment, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is fairly decent in all respects. It's 2.35:1 aspect ratio has been enhanced for 16:9 televisions. First, let me just say that the picture is as splendid as it is ever going to be for a movie like this. The colors and tones throughout the film are very dry, but always rendered spot-on throughout. One only need look at how accurate the flesh tones are in various close-ups to appreciate the depth of the picture quality. Detail for a shoestring movie of 1966 is as solid as hoped for, as are the black levels and contrast. There is the occasional softness due to haloing, and grain is prominent as it is going to be for a movie over 30 years old, but there's a small amount of defects in the transfer. The slight appearance of stains, nicks or at one point hair hardly interferes with the presentation, but they do pop up.

In a Dolby Digital 5.1 home theater mix, the quality is not as cracked up as it should be, but nonetheless serviceable. The best thing about this mix is the score by Ennio Morricone, which works supremely well in a wide surround atmosphere despite an admitted thinness that is bound to arrive with its era. However, the effects, whilst popping up far less often than anticipated, are awkwardly thrown about the spectrum and have a certain low-key quality. Even with the addition of some great low-end in the battle sequences, it's those particular scenes that get the most out of the rear surround speakers. Dialogue is always understandable when spoken in dubbed English, but the mishmash of many other voices is cluttering when placed squarely from the front speakers. The attention-receiving ADR re-recording seems fairly harsh, and seem to have the most problem with synchronization. But the movie is too good you might be able to forgive the movie for its hastiness. It's just one more part of its age. You might also get a kick out of the Italian monaural 2.0 track, and, if you appreciate them, optional subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Mandarin and Cantonese.

The first disc contains one basic extra feature, a full-length audio commentary by Richard Schickel, film critic for Time Magazine and author of a biography on Clint Eastwood. The man clearly sounds a bit too dull in his voice and often tends to stutter and/or become slow in his speech, although he provides a surprisingly strong three hours of commentary, even if he tends to lose his train of ideas by the end. At one point, he makes the unforgivable mistake of jumbling who's Bad and Ugly, which frustrated me to the point of anger. However, his detailed criticism and historical analysis remains admirably sufficient throughout, as he comments on the production, the distribution, the bond between Leone and Eastwood, Leone's cinematic style, anecdotes about how the film was picked up by United Artists, the violence quotient in the film (he quotes in particular comments from Renata Alder, a critic for the New York Times), several different themes, motifs & character quirks, the occasional plot description, and also where the restored scenes fit into the movie.

Disc one is housed on a spindle located under the top part of the film's box, the second below the many piles of additional bonus knick knacks. Five international mini-posters are housed in a protective wrap case, and they are about the size of a postcard. They include the respective theatrical posters from America, Italy, Germany, Japan and France. Also, an eight-page color booklet contains a list of chapter titles, credits, color photos of each lead character's eyes, and the Roger Ebert essay I had previously mentioned. Both discs contain animated menus with sound that provide a nice little desert background.

Disc two begins with two great little featurettes that are highly informative and fun to watch and hear, even if their content just seems to be haphazardly arranged. The first is Leone's West, a 20-minute program that features new interviews with Richard Schickel, producer Alberto Grimaldi, English language version translator Mickey Knox, and actors Clint Eastwood & Eli Wallach. It starts off well focusing on the European tradition of Westerns and how Leone developed his pictures, then also touches down on issues such as budget, the precautions and holdovers Eastwood took for the sake of his character, how he and Wallach worked together as actors and as language barriers with Leone, and also some of the bizarre instances of dubbing and direction that took place with the movie.

The Leone Style runs about 24 minutes and is a much more consistent retrospective piece which focuses more on Leone and his artistic choices. Eastwood comments on the film's length, the influence he retained from Leone, and also recalls the particular incident where the bridge was set to blow up and how there were explosions surrounding him whilst the camera was supposedly not rolling. Wallach remembers doing the torture scene as well as the stunt with the train where he had to break a chain, and recalls almost getting his head knocked off by the passing train. Mickey Knox focuses on the artistic style Leone used in developing shots for the movie, as well as Leone's narrative style. Grimaldi recalls the drive of Sergio Leone and how vital Lee Van Cleef was to the movie. And Schickel comments once again on the movie’s violent content and Leone's use of panorama. Both features play well together as behind-the-scenes nostalgia from the remaining living primary sources.

The Man Who Lost The Civil War runs about 14:22 and contains more historical background on the events which conspired during the particular moment in the Civil War when Confederate General Henry Sibley led a brigade along the Texas/New Mexico border on a victory-seeking trek that would reach to Colorado and then finally their destination in California. They would eventually fall due to the Union ransacking their supply wagons and Sibley's detachment from the events at hand. This particular time in history was what happened in the background during the events in THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, and this quickly-paced, contextual biographical piece is a very excellent documentation.

Reconstructing The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is 11 minutes and focuses on Triage Labs and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's attempts to completely restore the movie. Wallach and Grimaldi return for comments, and the bulk of the interview segments go to Triage owner Paul Rutan, Jr. and MGM Tecnhical Services Director John Kirk. They go through the details of Techniscope, the new ADR looping sessions, the print sources used to help locate lost footage, and also the remixing and re-recording needed for the film's 5.1 mix.

Finally, Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly runs 7:44 in visual documentary form, as historian John Burlingame runs through some of the basics about the film's score and Ennio Morricone's earlier work in film score composition. The documentary is informative enough for its length, but Burlingame shows up for an additional 12-minute audio supplement tailing the documentary, which goes even further in-depth about what Morricone achieved in the score and how he worked with Leone. He also sounds a lot more loose and jovial for this particular feature, which makes for a great listen.

In the deleted scenes gallery, we actually only get one complete excised scene from the movie, which is an extended version of Tuco's torture at the hands of Cpl. Wallace that runs a full 7:14. It had to be excised, as stated in one of the documentaries, because some shots were unable to be fixed and would throw off the quality of the film if it had been restored. The French theatrical trailer runs 3:28 and contains mostly snippets of footage and alternate camera angles not seen in the American version. Finally, there is a reconstructed version of the "Socorro Sequence," which was completely lost except for brief clips seen in the trailers as well as some promotional stills. Some helpful text narration describes how the scene played out and where it fit into the film.

Finally, a poster gallery with 8 slides of international theatrical promo art and the original theatrical trailer follow on to conclude the supplements. You also get promos for the special edition DVD releases of the films "The Great Escape," "Escape From New York," and "Windtalkers" as well as a general reel called "MGM Means Great Movies," which looks several odd years old and does not include a vast majority of the distributor's recent titles.

Look for a quartet of easter eggs on the main menu of disc two, where you'll find interview outtakes from Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY is the quintessential spaghetti western, and Clint Eastwood reigns! The new 2-DVD set should enthrall devoted fans of the film, while those who have yet to see the film should definitely pick up this bountiful collector's edition, which has a standard retail price of $29.98 but is DEFINITELY worth picking up for any film freak.