- A brief synopsis of the movie, including its genre (western, horror, etc.) and narrative approach (realist, etc.)
During the midst of the American Civil War three men set out to find buried gold. The three different men set out to find this treasure and this western is full of adventure and thrill. A professional gunslinger, Blondie (The good), who is played by the famous Clint Eastwood is out in the western front trying to make a few bucks pulling in bounties. Angel eyes (The bad) is a hitman that always commits to his objective until the objective is dead. Tuco (The ugly) is a wanted outlaw that tries to make a living with Blondie (The good). The partnership of Tuco and Blondie results in them trying to hunt each other down. After they stumble across a carriage with dead bodies, they learn of a man named Bill Carson. This was significant because they found that Carson had been buried in a cemetery with 200,000 dollars of gold.
- A critical appraisal of the movie, including its historicity and accuracy. What beliefs, national myths, and histories does it engage, confirm, and/or challenge?
Without a doubt, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is the movie that film buffs think of when someone mentions “western”; this movie doesn’t follow the style of a cookie-cutter spaghetti western, this movie is the cookie cutter. There are elements from this movie that have been taken and implemented into modern media, not just western films, but television of all genres as well, such as the score. This film features some of the most recognizable music in film history; if a TV show or movie needs to emulate some sort of strongman standoff, the main theme by Ennio Morricone will more than likely be used (Oo-ee-oo-ee-oo, wah-WAH-wah…). This film has its own style in the way that object permanence is basically nonexistent with every individual living in the time of the civil war, if something isn’t in the frame of the camera, it simply does not exist. For example, one of the final scenes in the cemetery where Tuco was digging the grave of one Arch Stanton under the supervision of Blondie, they should’ve been able to see Angel Eyes from a mile away since the scene was set in a cemetery in the basin of a few hills, yet they were only able to see him when he threw the extra shovel at the grave towards Tuco and Blondie. Other entrances such as this are very common throughout the entire film. Staying true to history is another thing that this movie does fairly well, though after reading many critical reviews of the film, it must be noted that the scene with the bridge being blown up wouldn’t have been possible from a historical standpoint, as dynamite wasn’t invented until a couple of years after the time that the film is set in. Besides this one little slip-up, the dress, weapons, and architecture are pretty much spot on in terms of accuracy to the times. This movie also shows a snapshot of what the New Mexico Campaign of the Civil War was like from the side of the Confederacy. This campaign was very hard-fought by the south, as the securement of many victorious battles against the Union made them almost successful until the wagon train carrying the majority of their supplies was destroyed by the union. Either way, with the occasional battle shots showing an either even or largely victorious confederate army, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is largely accurate in terms of warfare, besides dynamite. Overall, this film is easily one of the most classic of all classics when it comes to western films, and definitely sets the expectations when it comes to historical accuracy and execution.
- Suggestions for relevant reading (including at least one primary source) useful in assessing the film’s historicity and an example of what comparing the source to the movie reveals.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is set in 1862 in the New Mexico area during the civil war. Throughout the movie Union and Confederate forces are seen and have a large influence on the plot line of the movie. One source that is helpful in providing the background for the movie is an article covering the New Mexico Campaign and The Battle of Glorieta https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/battle-glorieta. A primary source from this time period is a newspaper from the Santa Fe Gazette from 1864, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84022168/1864-09-24/ed-1/seq-1/. Comparing these sources to the movie reveals that the movies depictions of the battles was mostly accurate, but it could be argued that the size and effect of the battles that occurred in the West were over exaggerated in the movie. In “The Battle of Glorieta”, it is explained that many of the battles in the West were with relatively smaller numbers of soldiers and were short lived due to logistical issues presented by the location of the conflicts and the harsh conditions. Overall, the movie provides a mostly accurate depiction of the civil war battles fought in the west, and shows era accurate weapons and clothing.
Nice assessment of the movie. Nice catch on the dynamite and battles (would have used gunpowder to blow stuff up.) What’s the significance of a European, Sergio Leone, reviving the Western and making it in Spain??? Given our topic I’d like to see you drill down more on the Civil War aspects. The gold was Confederate payroll. They stumble upon battles and are captured by both camps at times. Angel Eyes is a corrupt Union NCO. You get the sense that loyalties were fluid, especially in the southwest borderland, an area only recently incorporated into the U.S., with its majority Latino and Indigenous populations. In Tuco a white actor is playing a Mexican/borderland person. I like the sources and love that you found a newspaper, but you need three sources.