I found this DVD set at a local thrift store for a dollar. I’ve seen all of these movies multiple times but The Good, The Bad and The Ugly stands out from the rest. Are you a Clint Eastwood fan? Do you enjoy Spaghetti Westerns? GRADE: A for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, B for the rest
Saw all these when they hit theaters here back in the 1960s, when I was in my impressionable late teens. Probably why I turned out so badly.
Dan, I saw these Clint Eastwood films in the 1960s, too. But, apparently, I turned out differently.
We watched all those Spaghettt Westerns as students in the late 60s. There was a small cinema where students paid half price for the last show after 9 pm.
So we often had a few pints before that and it was really funny.
But I didn’t wach any of the movies again later.
Wolf, I have to been in the mood to watch these movies. But, I have seen THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY a dozen times.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY is a great flick, almost as good as theme music.
My appreciation of the movies Eatwood made as he aged quickly abated — even before the time he had that political discussion with a chair. I thought THE UNFORGIVEN was very overrated. EVERY WHICH WAY BUT LOOSE and ANY WHICH YOU CAN left me cold. I had no desire to see MILLION DOLLAR,BABY, GRAN TORINO, or THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY. I enjoyed the Dirty Harry flicks, but they were never high on my list of favorites; the same with PALE RIDER, whose plot and premise I found murky. For my money, Eastwood’s best work was in his early films. THE BEGUILED (IMHO) remains his best film, and I have a fondness of PLAY MISTY FOR ME.
For my money, Eastwood joins another actor whose films usually turn me off — Kevin Costner.
(And, no, I never watched RAWHIDE. My parents had the channel switched to other programs during that time slot.)
Jerry, I tend to agree with you on the arc of Eastwood’s career. I, too, I have a fondness for PLAY MISTY FOR ME. Diane loves Kevin Costner in THE BODYGUARD. Apparently Costner made a ton of money on YELLOWSTONE.
MILLION DOLLAR BABY, though not brilliant, has its points, and UNFORGIVEN (no article, that’s another film) and GRAN TORINO are amusing-enough codas to his gunfighter and Dirty Harry films…those characters in their late years. UNFORGIVEN and THE QUICK AND THE DEAD made a nice double feature when released or now.
The best Morricone soundtack for Leone-directed westerns by me is still FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. Might be my favorite of their Eastwood trilogy.
Everyone seems to have minted money on YELLOWSTONE.
Is my favorite. No doubt, really.
Todd, I love Morrcone’s music! And I love DIRTY HARRY. The sequels…not so much.
Have never seen any of these.
Patti, I highly recommend THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY!
Even with the awkwardness of dubbing, and some edits…any of the Sergio Leone-directed westerns are worth seeing, and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE is most classic of tragedies, in its way. HANG ‘EM HIGH isn’t in the same league.
Todd, I agree with you on FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE.
And it’s notable that in FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE that Eastwood’s nameless character never learns much of what drives the story, albeit he’s certainly active in its resolution. (Also amusing that his coda character in UNFORGIVEN is named Will Munny.)
I’m with Patricia here.
The only Clint Eastwood movies that I’ve seen are Tightrope and Play Misty for Me.
Most of my memories are from his stint on Rawhide.
Beth, I watched RAWHIDE as a kid. Loved Eastwood’s Spaghetti Westerns! PLAY MISTY FOR ME is a very moving film.
I’ve seen THE GOOD< THE BAD… but not a favorite and no fan of spaghetti westerns. Some of his movies are worth seeing for the performances he got out of other actors, like THE UNFORGIVEN. I loved PLAY MISTY FOR ME when I first saw it. I even got a kick out of BRONCO BILLY.
Jeff, I’m impressed with Clint Eastwood’s range in the movies he was in and directed.
Italian westerns aren’t just one unitary thing. Most I’ve seen are pretty dire. Sergio Leone-directed ones with Ennio Morricone’s brilliant scores are something else again, and launched Eastwood’s career in a way RAWHIDE hadn’t quite (though I bet even RAWHIDE money was better at first).
I’ve enthused particularly about Morricone’s score for FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE at any given opportunity…it’s genuinely impressive.
I hope that cheap disc has good transfers of the films, but wouldn’t bet the farm.
Todd, I found this set priced at a dollar…irroestiable! I’ll have to watch them and see if the transfers are good…or mediocre.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is my favorite western of all time. I also like The Unforgiven and Mystic River.
I would have chosen Outlaw Josey Wales over Hang Em High.
UNFORGIVEN (no article) is the Eastwood film…MYSTIC RIVER was ruined for me by Sean Penn’s wretched overacting.
WALES (or THE BEGUILED) would be a better choice, I agree, but suspect there wasn’t a handy Public Domain print handy to the packagers. Also, HANG ‘EM HIGH might still be more popular than WALES by a thread.
For A Few Dollars More | Soundtrack Suite (Ennio Morricone)
https://youtu.be/NrNyE4tD-BE?si=tFvNLFEAsUh8AVP9
Or, live, but a bit less chopped up, the man theme: https://youtu.be/DT1NJwEi6nw?si=4_5XHQRFEJC2ndZk
I saw all three Man with No Name movies in a row at an art house theatre circa 1973! I was fast asleep before the last one ended but I’d seen them all before so it was no problem!
Bob, I used to binge on movies in my youth, too. But now, I watch one movie at a time.
I’m also a fan of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. A Fistful of Dollars is interesting as the first of many remakes of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo.
Given his prolificness as a director and actor, there’s quite a few of his titles I haven’t seen, but a list of favorites would include The High Plains Drifter (a much more successful weird western than Pale Rider), The Eiger Sanction, the first two Dirty Harry movies, Play Misty for Me, Two Mules for Sister Sarah, and Unforgiven.
As I recall, there is some puzzling chronology in terms of the duration of events in the original theatrical release of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly which an extended version on DVD explained.
Randy, I have that extended version of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY but haven’t watched it yet. After your comments, I want to!