Movie Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo)
Year of Release: 1966
Country of Origin: Italy, Spain, Germany
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Eli Wallach, Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef
Plot outline: Three men seek hidden loot during the Civil War (IMDb).
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is an electric, surreal western that stands out as one of the best ever made. Though it’s set during the Civil War, the movie doesn’t feel like a historical epic, largely because it doesn’t look like one. Rather, watching it is like stepping into an alternate world - a nightmarish, apocalyptic vision of the American west transplanted to the deserts of Europe that mixes authenticity with fantasy to create something wholly original. This is the vision of Sergio Leone: a world without time, caught in Civil War that will never end, and facing a future that will never come. Against this backdrop, Leone follows the converging stories of the three titular characters, each elevated to near mythical status. It’s a very visceral experience, highlighted by majestic yet gritty cinematography and punctuated by Ennio Morricone’s now legendary score. This, more than anything, is why, despite it’s nearly three hour running time, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly holds up so well to repeat viewings and ranks as one of the best western movies of all time. (FML)
My judgement: ***1/2 out of 4 stars
Movie Review: For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in più)
Year of Release: 1965
Country of Origin: Italy, Spain, Germany
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Gian Maria Volontè, Mara Krupp
Plot outline: Two bounty hunters join forces to bring an outlaw to justice (IMDb).
For a Few Dollars More is the second in Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy” following A Fistful of Dollars. Both the leads, Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, manage to make every little thing they do, be it lighting a cigarette or sipping a drink, seem super-cool-badass and the movie is a joy to watch because of it. Unfortunately, Gian Maria Volontè can’t quite match the intense charisma of Eastwood and Van Cleef in his role as the lead villain. It’s a real shame, made even more frustrating by the presence of Klaus Kinski as one of the henchman. Kinski, in his all too brief scenes, easily matches Eastwood and Van Cleef in terms of screen presence and would have been a much better choice for the lead villain. (Granted, you’d have to rewrite the part as Kinski can’t really pass for a Mexican bandit, but that’s not crucial to the story.) Compounding the weak casting is the long running time. At 130 minutes, the movie simply drags whenever Eastwood or Van Cleef isn’t on the screen. Thankfully this isn’t often, but it is enough that you notice. (FML)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
Movie Review: A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari)
Year of Release: 1964
Country of Origin: Italy, Spain, Germany
Director: Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Marianne Koch, Gian Maria Volontè, Wolfgang Lukschy
Plot outline: A mysterious stranger plays dueling families against each other in a Mexican border town (IMDb).
From this tiny germ of a story was established the mythic persona of The Man With No Name who would become indelibly identified with Clint Eastwood and rocket him to stardom. As the prototype of Sergio Leone's westerns, A Fistful of Dollars shows the embryonic growth of Leone's vision, Morricone's scoring, and Eastwood's acting. Leone's widescreen compositions of the bleak and dirty West are decent and the beginnings of his claustrophobic cutting between the characters' eyes can be seen. Leone also switches viewpoints with his lens showing the death throes from the point of view of dying villain Gian Maria Volontè after being shot by Eastwood. Ennio Morricone, sounding heavily influenced by veteran composer Elmer Bernstein, scores an eclectic number of snippets of spare solo instrumentation, ranging from guitar, harmonica, piano, Jews harp, and whistles, occasionally breaking into crescendos of fully orchestrated music. Morricone's efforts resulted in very memorable musical ideas that would be more fully developed in his later works. Eastwood was the only recognizable actor in the bunch, at least from an American viewpoint. Most of the other performances ranged from fair to middlin. As the father of his success, Eastwood dedicated his 1993 masterpiece Unforgiven to Sergio Leone and Don Siegel - Dirty Harry (1971). (GC)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
Movie Review: A Bridge Too Far
Year of Release: 1977
Country of Origin: USA, UK
Director: Richard Attenborough
Cast: Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox
Plot outline: An historic telling of the Allied forces’ failed attempt to capture several bridges in Germany near the end of World War II (IMDb).
There’s a lot of good stuff here. The all-star cast hits (James Caan, Michael Caine and Sean Connery) more often than it misses (Gene Hackman and Ryan O’Neal) and even knocks one clear out of the park (Robert Redford). The production is fantastic, with great location scenery and authentic vehicles and equipment, and the battle scenes are tense, pulse-pounding thrillers. But then there’s that last 30 minutes. For the first two hours or so, the movie is essentially a docu-drama style look at Operation Market Garden, from its initial planning stages to its execution and failure. Small dramatic arcs, like short stories, interrupt the proceedings from time to time, such as James Caan’s rescuing an injured friend, but for the most part we’re a dispassionate observer. Yet, in the final quarter, the director attempts to ground the story through the eyes of a doctor, played by Laurence Olivier and a woman, played by Liv Ullmann, who are manning a makeshift hospital. The thing is, it doesn’t work! We see dozens and dozens of wounded soldiers, but they’re nameless faces. We see the bombed out buildings, but they’re just smoldering rubble. We have no personal connection to this death and devastation so rather than feel the emotional weight it’s meant to impart, we’re just bored. In the end, the movie, like the mission, was flawed from the beginning. It told a story with no end, a mission with a great initial investment that never paid off. (FML)
My judgement: ** out of 4 stars
Movie Review: Viva Zapata!
Year of Release: 1952
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn
Plot outline: The rise and tragic end of the rebel Indian leader Emiliano Zapata (IMDb).
Before Hollywood's acceptance of global cinema producers took no care in regards to accuracy or authenticity when it came to telling history. And the idea of Marlon Brando playing the Mexican revolutionary general Emiliano Zapata is perhaps a head-turner now, but back then, it was common for Americans to put on face makeup and butcher the legacies of history’s great figures. Viva Zapata! is not the definitive historical account of the great 20th century revolutionary, or even a passing resemblance of history, let’s judge the movie as a piece of Hollywood entertainment with the era in proper context. With that said, I don’t know much about Zapata’s mannerisms or personality or looks, but Brando’s Zapata surely retains the nobility, courage and reluctant hero qualities of the real life man. The movie is all about Brando. It was his movie after A Streetcar Named Desire, his mumbling was still pronounced and almost incomprehensive at times. But that’s the fun of watching Brando. He chews the scenery and naturally draws all his attention to himself. From 1951 to 1954, Marlon Brando redefined acting - four movies in four years garnered him Best Actor nominations (A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata!, Julius Caesar and On the Waterfront) and a win for On the Waterfront. Watching his performance is like watching those defining moments in cinema history - the rulebook being re-written right before our eyes. To give Elia Kazan credit, for the most part he does the job admirably, his dramatic compositions, staging for action and fighting are worthy of John Ford’s work. Unfortunately he doesn't flesh out any of the other characters. Despite the acclaim for Anthony Quinn's work, he is considerably underused and is relegated to sidekick only. (AB)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
Year of Release: 1966
