Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a western masterpiece.
Following the success of Sergio Leone’s two previous films, For a Fistful of Dollars and And for a Few Dollars More, the executives of the production company United Artists contacted screenwriter Luciano Vincenzoni to acquire the rights to his upcoming projects.
Although he had no intention of directing another western, Sergio Leone agreed to collaborate with him again on a third film, hoping to be financially independent for the rest of his life.
For this opus, entitled The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Luciano Vincenzoni scripts the adventures of three men in search of treasure in the middle of the Civil War. Sergio Leone, who knew the war during his childhood in Italy, is naturally touched by the subject.
Considered the quintessence of the spaghetti western, The good, the bad and the ugly concludes Sergio Leone’s “dollar trilogy” in style. Amoral and baroque at will, the feature film is based in particular on the unforgettable performances of the three main performers: Clint Eastwood (who had initially refused the role!) as a phlegmatic and arrogant bounty hunter; Lee Van Cleef as a ruthless mercenary; and Eli Wallach, newcomer to the filmmaker’s universe, as a clumsy and talkative bandit.
We also remember the cult soundtrack by Ennio Morricone (in particular the two-note main theme), as well as the final scene, a real tour de force of the director, who has fun multiplying the shot values to delay the film as much as possible. kick off of the long-awaited shootout.
When it was released in 1966, The good, the bad and the ugly enjoys great success around the world. In Italy, it brought in more than 2 billion lire, while in France it recorded 6.3 million admissions.
With an average of 4.5/5, this is Clint Eastwood’s film with the best ratings from AlloCiné viewers.
The good, the bad and the ugly by Sergio Leone with Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef…
From 10 years old
Tonight on France 3 at 9:10 p.m.