Review of Good, The Bad and The Ugly, The (Special Edition)

Introduction

It`s got that iconic Morricone aa-ee-aa-ee-aa wa-wa-wa theme tune, it`s got Clint Eastwood being the coolest damn cowboy ever. It`s got Lee Van Cleef being the baddest BMF in the history of the Western and Eli Wallach as the sleaziest Mexican West of the Pecos. Sergio Leone`s "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" is the all-time archetype of the spaghetti western, and MGM`s two-disc special edition does the old movie proud.

The picture has been given the full 007-Special-Edition treatment, with a slew of top-rate documentaries, an audio commentary by a top film historian and a full restoration which has for the first time resulted in an English language version of the film that matches the director`s Italian Premiere version.

Yep, like so many great pictures, the Studio at the time wanted the 3hr+ movie trimmed so they could fit more screenings in per day.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is the spaghetti western - perhaps the western - by which all others are judged. It has inspired a whole generation of filmmakers, not least Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez (whose El Mariachi trilogy is an homage).

Video

The movie has been fully restored and looks amazing. Colours are rich, contrast is harsh - as it should be for action taking place under the burning Mexican sun. There is some wear and tear, but considering the age of the picture and its history the restoration is nothing short of amazing - and is featured in one of the supporting documentaries. "Ugly" was shot using a half-frame, two-perforation non anamorphic process called Techniscope which requires special lab handling to print it up. Techniscope, having a negative area half the vertical height of standard 35mm, but the normal width, was photographed with standard lenses rather than the restrictive Cinemascope/ Panavision lenses. In the printing process, the image was enlarged and anamorphically compressed to generate a final standard anamorphic print (2.35:1). The process has been superceded by Super35, which does more or less the same thing but uses the full 35mm frame so it doesn`t require specialist handling.

Audio

The originally mono soundtrack has also undergone a quite amazing restoration at the hands of the film conservators. The result is a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that will satisfy a modern audience without upsetting cine purists. The movie is, of course, scored by the legendary Ennio Morricone.

Certain restored sections of the movie have been redubbed into English by surviving members of the cast (Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach) and specially selected voice artistes. These sections had been cut from the movie prior to both the US premiere and the English language redub. Remember that "Ugly"`s native tongue was the Italian of its director.

Features

On the main movie disc, there is a full-length audio commentary by film historian Richard Schickel, who also appears in the supporting documentaries on disc two. The documentaries are all in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen.

"Leone`s West" (20 min) is a pleasing in depth making of documentary of the variety seen on the 007 collection discs. "The Leone Style"
expands on the theme for a further 24 minutes.

"The Man Who Lost The Civil War" is a fascinating background material piece on the Sibley campaigns of the Civil War which are the backdrop against which the story unfolds. (15 min)

"Reconstructing The Good The Bad and The Ugly" is eleven minutes of technical heaven as the movie`s restorers go over the lengths taken to bring the movie back to its original running time.

"The Socorro Sequence" uses title cards, stills and odd snippets of surviving footage to put together a lost sequence.

Also included is an extended version of the Tuco Torture scene at the hands of Van Cleef`s "Angel Eyes". Due to the technical variance between the footage as restored and the rest of the film it could not be cut back into the movie.

There are two pieces, one documentary and one audio piece about Ennio Morricone and his music.

Rounding off the extras are the French release trailer (from which the Socorro sequence was largely pieced), and a 32 second poster gallery.

Conclusion

Quite a package to wade through, but tremendously rewarding for film buffs and western fans alike. A classic movie given classic treatment.