In The Good, The Bad and the Ugly Sergio Leone perfected his epic western. It's key is the trio of main characters who all bring something different to the table and all serve as integral ingredients to a film that might appear a mere adventure film on the surface, but which is both a comedy and character drama as well as a great war movie at the same time.
Clint Eastwood's the Man with No Name, this time called Blondie, continues somewhat on the more ruthless note he took on from the previous film (For a Few Dollars More). However, he's not a truly malicious character but more of jerk-friend who is also extremely observant and at the end of the day doesn't stab anyone in the back so hard that they wouldn't get up again. This creates his rather odd relationship with Tuco.
Lee Van Cleef's Angel Eyes is the very embodiment of evil as far as characters go. He wipes anyone who's in his way, is entirely devoid of any morals and generally manages to create a menacing mood with his presence. This is a stark contrast to the character he played in the previous film and made all the more unsettling by the fact that his appearance is almost identical to this character from the previous film, right down to the pipe.
Eli Wallach as Tuco the Rat is easily the most memorable character from the film. Appearing at first filthy, amoral and without any redeeming qualities he is suddenly thrust into a wavering partnership and later, one could even say, a type of friendship with Blondie. We find out that there is more to Tuco than meets the eye though he never stops being the seemingly greedy scum that he is at the start, by the end of the film the viewer is even able to sympathise with him to a degree.
What truly sets this film apart from other westerns and as well as the rest of the Dollars trilogy is that even in its close-to-three-hour length, the film doesn't feel excessively long. The length is justified. You 'want' to spend the 170 minutes with the main cast of characters.
Clint Eastwood's the Man with No Name, this time called Blondie, continues somewhat on the more ruthless note he took on from the previous film (For a Few Dollars More). However, he's not a truly malicious character but more of jerk-friend who is also extremely observant and at the end of the day doesn't stab anyone in the back so hard that they wouldn't get up again. This creates his rather odd relationship with Tuco.
Lee Van Cleef's Angel Eyes is the very embodiment of evil as far as characters go. He wipes anyone who's in his way, is entirely devoid of any morals and generally manages to create a menacing mood with his presence. This is a stark contrast to the character he played in the previous film and made all the more unsettling by the fact that his appearance is almost identical to this character from the previous film, right down to the pipe.
Eli Wallach as Tuco the Rat is easily the most memorable character from the film. Appearing at first filthy, amoral and without any redeeming qualities he is suddenly thrust into a wavering partnership and later, one could even say, a type of friendship with Blondie. We find out that there is more to Tuco than meets the eye though he never stops being the seemingly greedy scum that he is at the start, by the end of the film the viewer is even able to sympathise with him to a degree.
What truly sets this film apart from other westerns and as well as the rest of the Dollars trilogy is that even in its close-to-three-hour length, the film doesn't feel excessively long. The length is justified. You 'want' to spend the 170 minutes with the main cast of characters.