Comfort Films 86: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Georgia and John finish out their month of westerns hanging loose from the noose with the iconic Sergio Leone-directed spaghetti western The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, as they tag along with Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in their ruthless search across the westernmost front of the Civil War for $200,000 in Confederate gold. We discuss all aspects of this landmark film: casting, cinematography, the indelible Ennio Morricone score, Sergio Leone's directing style that combines opera and silent film, the dangerous stunts, the story's perfect blend of cartoonish humor and violence, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, the anti-war theme, the frenemy chemistry between Eastwood and Wallach, Leone's lasting influence on modern cinema, and what exactly good, bad, and ugly mean in the context of this film and these characters. Ride off with us into the sunset as we go digging for gold!