IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

When most people think of Euro-Westerns, the theme song from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1967) pops in their heads, because both the Sergio Leone film and the Ennio Morricone score are utterly iconic. Consequently, there isn’t a lot new that I can say about the film that has not already been said. However, what is new is that Kino Lorber has upgraded this epic Western to 4K UHD under their Kino Lorber Studio Classics label, and in doing so, they have corrected most of the color-grading issues exhibited in earlier releases. If you just want to know about the quality of this new 4K UHD release, you can skip to the “Video” section below. However, if you are game to indulge me with a few thoughts on the movie itself, you can wade through the following few paragraphs first.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was the third in a trilogy of thematically-linked Westerns, following A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965), which put Italian director Sergio Leone on the map and turned TV actor Clint Eastwood into a certified movie star. While Leone was not the only Italian director making Westerns at the time, it was really the quality of these three films, referred to as “The Dollars Trilogy” or “The Man With No Name Trilogy,” that sparked the International popularity of the Euro-Western genre in the late 60s and early 70s. With each successive film, Leone’s direction became more transcendent, the screenplay became more epic, and the soundtrack (by maestro Ennio Morricone) became more unforgettable. As a result, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a Western masterpiece (albeit one that Leone would surpass with his next film, Once Upon a Time in the West).

The story is set during the American Civil War, but the war itself is just a backdrop for a treasure hunt undertaken by the three amoral protagonists of the title. Tuco Ramirez (Eli Wallach, “The Ugly”) is a wanted bandit with a price on his head, who has an uneasy partnership with Blondie (Clint Eastwood, “The Good”). Tuco allows Blondie to turn him in for the reward money, and Blondie rescues Tuco as he’s about to be hung. After running this scam multiple times and splitting the reward money, Blondie and Tuco, split on bad terms. However, they are drawn back together, when each one learns half of a secret to the location of $200,000 in stolen army gold. If their alliance isn’t tenuous enough, a ruthless killer, known as Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef, “The Bad”), is also on the trail of the money. Alliances shift and the war keeps getting in the way, as the three characters are drawn by “the ecstacy of gold.”

From the savagely beautiful opening title sequence by Igino Lardani, accompanied by the iconic ‘wolf howl” theme song by Ennio Morricone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is an unforgettable cinematic experience. Sergio Leone’s direction and cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli are glorious in their combination of huge panoramas and intense close-ups. The acting by the three leads is perfection. Especially good is Eli Wallach as Tuco, in what is a career-defining performance. Finally, the story is epic, subversively amoral, and darkly humorous. The only thing this Western lacks is the Oxford comma.

One fun item of conjecture is whether The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a prequel to the other two films in “The Dollars Trilogy.” A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More both take place after the end of the Civil War, so chronologically, TGTBATU would come first. In addition, Eastwood’s character picks up various items of the iconic “Man With No Name” costume over the course of the final film in the trilogy. Still, it is arguable whether any of the films in the series are truly related to any of the others. Just because Clint Eastwood wears the same wardrobe in three films by Sergio Leone, doesn’t necessarily mean that he is playing the same character. In fact, John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Randolph Scott all made multiple features for a director, while outfitted in similar apparel, and no one considers any of those movies to be sequels. Eastwood’s character also has different names in each film (Joe, Monco, and Blondie). If he is supposed to be playing the same character in each, he isn’t the “Man With No Name” (a gimmick thought up by the United Artists publicity department). He’s the “Man With Three Names.” The fact that Lee Van Cleef appears in two of the films playing different characters also argues against the movies being sequels. On the other hand, you could imagine that Colonel Mortimer and Angel Eyes are twins with radically different dispositions. Ultimately it doesn’t matter. They’re all great Westerns, whether they follow the same character or not.

For fans of the Western genre, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is essential viewing. I consider it the second best Euro-Western ever made, ranking just below Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West. If you haven’t seen TGTBATU before, Kino Lorber Studio Classics’ 4K UHD release is the best way to view it (outside of a packed movie theater). The film and the new 4K UHD disc are both very highly recommended.

Italy/C-162m./Dir: Sergio Leone/Wr: Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, and Sergio Leone/Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach, Aldo Giuffrè, Mario Brega, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov, Enzo Petito

For Fans of: You probably already know whether or not you like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, because it isn’t exactly an obscure film. However, if you haven’t seen it already, I think most fans of Westerns or action films will find the movie to their liking. It is one of the very best films of its genre.

Video: Most fans of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly will have two questions regarding the new 4K UHD release from Kino Lorber Studio Classics:

1. Which version(s) of the film are included?
2. What does the color-grading look like?

To address the first question, both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs in this package present the original 162-minute U.S. Theatrical release version of the film that was edited down from the 178-minute Italian version by Sergio Leone in 1967. This was the only version that was available in the U.S. prior to 2003, because the 16 minutes of edits were not dubbed into English.

In 2003, most of the missing Italian sequences were redubbed by a much older Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Simon Prescott (substituting for the deceased Lee Van Cleef) and reinserted into the film. This “Extended Version” has its admirers. However, the added sequences add little to the story, and I have always found them distracting, due to the change in vocal tone of the actors and the difference in the sound mix. While I wish that two 4K UHD discs were offered, so that both versions of the film were available in the package, I understand how that would have been cost prohibitive, and it may have made the package too pricey to appeal to most consumers.  The additional scenes are available on the 4K UHD disc in the “Extras” section.

The second question is probably of most interest to fans of the film, because there has never been a definitive release of the movie in terms of picture quality. Early home video releases had not exhibited the sharpness and authentic film grain that the latest technologies can provide, but later Blu-ray releases were marred by a dubious restoration by L’Immagine Ritrovata, which dramatically changed the color palette of the film, giving the picture a yellow jaundiced appearance.

The good news is that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly looks better in this Kino Lorber 4K release than it ever has before on home video. The image is sharp and clean, with authentic film grain. In addition, the skin tones and landscapes look accurate. My only criticism is that the image looks a tad too dark to my eyes, losing a little fine detail during the low-lit scenes. However, that is a minor nitpick. Overall, the image looks superb. By the way, the included Blu-ray disc also features the corrected color-timing.

There are two audio options — English DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround and the original, restored DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono. The latter option is more authentic, but both are robust offerings that beautifully render the dialogue, ricochet sound effects, and Ennio Morricone’s iconic score.

Since there have been dozens of home video releases of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in the past, the new release from KL Studio Classics does not have room to port over every special feature that has been previously produced for the film. Consequently, you may want to hold onto a prior Blu-ray if you have a particular favorite extra. However, the supplements in this package are robust, so the special features are spread between the 4K UHD and Blu-ray discs. Here’s a breakdown…

4K UHD Disc:

• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas: This is an excellent and well-researched discussion of the film, that covers all aspects of the making of the movie and its impact
• Deleted Scenes: Seven English-dubbed sequences from the Italian version (17:58)
• Extended Scenes: Six scenes from the U.S. version with a little added footage from the Italian version (7:29)
• Alternate Transitions: Miniscule differences between versions (0:58)

Blu-ray Disc:

• Audio Commentary by Film Historian Tim Lucas (again)
• Leone’s West: Making of Documentary (19:56)
• Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and GBU Featurette Part 1 (7:49)
• Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and GBU Featurette Part 2 (12:28)
• The Leone Style: A featurette on the directorial style of Sergio Leone (23:49)
• The Man Who Lost The Civil War: A Civil War documentary chronicling events that inspired the story (14:23)
• Reconstruction of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Extended Cut): This is kind of a weird extra to include on this release, since the Extended Cut is not included (11:10)
• Deleted Scenes: These are bits that don’t exist in either the Theatrical or Extended Cuts
  • Deleted Scene 1: Extended Tuco Torture scene (7:15)
  • Deleted Scene 2: The Socorro Sequence – A Reconstruction (3:02)
  • Deleted Scene 3: Skeletons in the Desert (1:04)
  • Deleted Scene 4: Extended Torture Scene (1:04)
• Vignettes: These vignettes are brief reminiscences of Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood regarding the shoot
  • Vignette 1: Uno, Due, Tre: (:41)
  • Vignette 2: Italian Lunch (:44)
  • Vignette 3: New York Accent (:10)
  • Vignette 4: Gun in Holster (1:00)
• Alternate Scene: A brief demonstration of an optical flip that exists in some versions but not in others (:55)
• TRAILERS FROM HELL with Ernest Dickerson
• Image Galleries
• Original U.S. Theatrical Trailer
• Original German Theatrical Trailer
• Original French Theatrical Trailer
• Optional English Subtitles

Streaming: MGM does offer a 4K digital version of the film for rent or purchase on Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes. However, the digital steam differs from the disc in two major ways. First, it is the 178-minute Extended version of the film, and secondly, it still sports the yellow tint throughout the movie. I purchased the 4K digital version on Vudu for comparison, and while it doesn’t look bad, it does look extremely different. Consumers who are disappointed that a 4K UHD disc of the Extended version of TGTBATU is not offered in the new package may want to purchase the digital 4K to go along with it.

More to Explore: All of Sergio Leone’s Westerns are highly recommended (and links to Blu-ray releases are provided below). However, I consider Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) to be his masterpiece. It is also my favorite Western from any filmmaker.

Trivia: Sergio Leone had wanted Eastwood, Wallach, and Van Cleef to return for a cameo in Once Upon a Time in the West (as the group waiting for Bronson’s character at the train depot during the opening credit sequence). However, the idea was scrapped when Eastwood turned down the director. Eastwood was ready to capitalize on his new-found stardom in Hollywood productions.

For More Info: There are several good books on the Euro-Western genre, but the best overview and history is provided in Any Gun Can Play: The Essential Guide to Euro-Westerns by Kevin Grant. If you are looking for a book dedicated to Sergio Leone and his work, I recommend, Sergio Leone: Something to Do With Death by Christopher Frayling.