Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blu-ray Movie Review

Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti western, one of the titles that seared Clint Eastwood into international consciousness, dusts off well in 1080p.

Reviewed by Greg Maltz May 15, 2009

As good as MGM's films are, sometimes their efforts on Blu-ray have been lackluster compared to other studios. Older catalog titles can be especially spotty. So it was with great concern that I evaluated two of the most legendary films ever made, which MGM released on Blu-ray the same day. Fargo got off to a rough start but quickly redeemed itself as a solid transfer with good resolution and a lush audio track. But what of the much older and rougher The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, originally produced in Techniscope in the mid-1960s with postproduced audio? My last experiences with westerns from the '60s had been mixed. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid showed signs of damage and wear, and the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track was a mess. However, How the West Was Won was a phenomenal transfer--clean, vibrant and detailed. How would The Good, the Bad and the Ugly look in its Blu-ray debut? Thankfully, it's not too bad, falling somewhere in between the aforementioned Blu-rays. The fabled Clint Eastwood classic shines through in 1080p and the audio, featuring the famous composition by Ennio Morricone, is passable. It won't win any audio/video awards. Even so, the Blu-ray offers the the complete, extended version, fully restored by Paul Rutan looking better than I've ever seen it.

Clint Eastwood and director Sergio Leone redefined the western genre.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the third film in Leone's classic spaghetti western trilogy, following A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. Dovetailing with the Civil War, the story follows three gunslingers, the "ugly" Tuco (Eli Wallach), the "bad" Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) and the "good" nameless wanderer (Clint Eastwood) as they jockey for various payoffs and a chance at a fortune in Confederate gold. After Eli and Clint stand off against each other numerous times, with Tuco often coming out on time, they enter into a reluctant partnership when Tuco finds out that the treasure is buried in a cemetary but only Clint's character knows the exact tombstone to find. Meanwhile, Angel Eyes is closing in on the loot using his own formidable resources. Will the men find it? Who will take it and who will die? In a game of high stakes, against a backdrop of barren badlands and untamed towns, the characters and action of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly influenced nearly every western that came after it.

Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli worked with Leone to develop the characteristic wide "Technoscope" look of the film in 2.35:1. The vistas and scenic shots may seem like the epitome of the "Wild West" in the US, but The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was actually filmed in Spain. Cultural historian Christopher Frayling, who contributes one of the Blu-ray audio commentaries, quotes Eastwood as saying that the Spanish liaisons "would care if you were doing a story about Spaniards and about Spain. Then they’d scrutinize you very tough, but the fact that you're doing a western that’s supposed to be laid in southwest America or Mexico, they couldn’t care less what your story or subject is." The main advantage of filming in Spain was the inclusion of 1,500 Spanish militia soldiers who portrayed the Civil War armies. Leone wanted his film to show the lunacy of the US Civil War, as well as the ruthlessness of the bandits and bounty hunters that were his main characters.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

I would go so far as to call the appearance of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly a revelation in 1080p. No, it's not perfect--and it never will be. But the detail and realism far surpass any NTSC production of the film. From far off trails of dust stretching out behind lone riders to closeup shots of the main characters where their visage and clothing shows good detail, MGM's encode is the real deal. There are few overt signs of DNR and I question whether noise reduction was used at all by talented film restorer Paul Rutan. See the featurette entitled "Reconstructing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" for more information. There are signs of film damage and wear, particularly gentle strobing and flickering that can be distracting. Grain and dirt specs to a lesser degree are also visible. Given the age and condition of the source material, none of this is surprising. What we get is a maximized representation of what is "right" with the source material with minimal signs of what is "wrong". Regardless of what you think of the definition and anomalies, fans will be heartened to see that earthtones and skin tones appear lifelike and the color palette was done right. Black level and shadow detail is not quite as good, but not terrible, either.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like Leone's other spaghetti westerns, all audio for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was produced after shooting the film, and dubbed in later. This presents an audiophile's nightmare. The sound quality is constricted and flat, although I firmly believe that is the fault of the source material and that MGM did its due diligence in restoring and transfering the film. Even Clint Eastwood was none too happy about the prospect of dubbing in his dialog after filming, although that was mainly because Leone changed the script. He refused to read the new lines because it did not fit his acting or the movement of his mouth. Good for him. But the audio is still nothing to get excited about, with a boxed-in feel, pinched and rolled-off.

The trademark Ennio Morricone track might be high resolution enough for a ringtone but it just doesn't cut it compared to the best Blu-ray scores out there. Not even close. The sound of horses, gunshots, yelling--it all sounds congested and grimey. I'm of the firm belief that audio should be honest. Actors should be recorded with mic'ing techniques that are as simple and straightforward as possible...during their actual acting performance. So suffice it to say that I have real problems taking The Good, the Bad and the Ugly seriously. But Leone might say that's fine. He never really intended the "dollars" trilogy to be much more than stories in the tall tale tradition and spoofs of earlier westerns. For the lack of presence, I am tempted to rate the audio below average, but really it's no fault of the Blu-ray itself, which I am tempted to rate above average. Therefore, an average score will suffice.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

In addition to the fully extended and restored version of the movie, the Blu-ray comes with a bevvy of bonus features that go beyond previous DVD versions. The standout material is the audio commentary tracks--one by film historian Richard Schickel, who published a biography of Eastwood in 1996, and the other by cultural historian Christopher Frayling, an expert on Leone. The inclusion of both their commentaries in and of themselves will justify the purchase of the Blu-ray for serious fans of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. But there are many other worthwhile featurettes, prompting MGM to declare on the back cover, "The grittiest western ever made strikes gold on Blu-ray!" The additional content includes the following.

Leone's West--A making-of documentary featuring interviews with cast, crew and other notables.

The Leone Style--A look into the director's approach to filmmaking.

The Man Who Lost the Civil War--A well-produced, feature length civil war documentary that focuses on focuses on one of the lesser-known Confederate generals of the American Civil War, Henry Hopkins.

Reconstructing The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--The most important supplementary content when it comes to understanding the restoration for Blu-ray of the full length movie, supervised by film expert Paul Rutan.

Il Maestro: Ennio Morricone and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly--Arguably the most recognizable soundtrack in any western is Morricone's classic score, which sounds lonesome and plaintive (though I do prefer the "Do Not Forsake Me" theme from High Noon as my all time favorite western music). To this day, the piece remains the Italian composer's most famous work.

Rounding out the supplementary material are deleted scenes as well as the original trailers for the US and France.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A raw and gruff production by today's standards, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly offers a glimpse into Leone's work at its peak, showcasing all the signature signs of the spaghetti western. I find it interesting that some of the most influential directors who tackled the western were not from the west at all--nor even from America in the case of Leone and Akira Kurosawa. The Japanese director had perhaps the greatest impact on the genre with The Seven Samurai and related films. How intriguing that the wild west is also in the far east and elsewhere around the globe. The west is more a state of mind than states of the union, and directors like Leone understood that and knew how to build characters and action around that mindset. While it is difficult for an audio enthusiast like myself to buy off on a movie where all dialogue and sound was dubbed in after production, there is no denying the power and important scope of Leone's third film in his "dollars" trilogy. Nor is there any denying that this new Blu-ray edition from MGM is the best way to see it. I would call this Blu-ray essential for even casual fans of the western genre.