Saturday, January 7, 2006

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, Sergio Leone's 1966 spaghetti Western, starring CLINT EASTWOOD, LEE VAN CLEEF and ELI WALLACH made it to Time Magazine's 100 Best Films of all-Time. Yuri German of the New York Times describes the now 40 year old film--
In the last and the best installment of his so-called "Dollars" trilogy of Sergio Leone-directed "spaghetti westerns," Clint Eastwood reprised the role of a taciturn, enigmatic loner. Here he searches for a cache of stolen gold against rivals the Bad (Lee Van Cleef), a ruthless bounty hunter, and the Ugly (Eli Wallach), a Mexican bandit. Though dubbed "the Good," Eastwood's character is not much better than his opponents -- he is just smarter and shoots faster. The film's title reveals its ironic attitude toward the canonized heroes of the classical western. "The real West was the world of violence, fear, and brutal instincts," claimed Leone. "In pursuit of profit there is no such thing as good and evil, generosity or deviousness; everything depends on chance, and not the best wins but the luckiest." Immensely entertaining and beautifully shot in Techniscope by Tonino Delli Colli, the movie is a virtually definitive "spaghetti western," rivaled only by Leone's own Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The main musical theme by Ennio Morricone hit #1 on the British pop charts. Originally released in Italy at 177 minutes, the movie was later cut for its international release.

The scariest thing about Gloriagate is that no one is sure what rules, if any, the players and the spectators can expect. By exercising power without authority, there is a Rule BY Law that feels a lot more like the old West in rightly-called "Partly-free" Philippines. Hey, and if it takes THREE PRESIDENTS to fix what devastation ONE PRESIDENT has wrought...Tweedo weedoooh TAH num tummm..Tweedo weedoooh...

Maybe they should show this movie at the upcoming STATE COUNCIL MEETING to which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has invited Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada. Might set a good mood...

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi DJB,

Set a good mood - but for what?

In the scheme of things and using Sergio Leone's trio, here's who I think should be good for the starring roles:

The Good: Cory ("Though dubbed "the Good," Eastwood's character is not much better than his opponents -- he is just smarter and shoots faster." )
The Bad: Gloria (Because she is baaaad and when she tries to be 'good', she becomes seriously horriiiiid)
The Ugly: now that's a toss between Erap and FVR!