Which Of The Three Leone Films Is Your Favorite & Why?

[Which Of The Three Leone Films Is Your Favorite & Why?]

Which Of The Three Leone Films Is Your Favorite & Why?

Fistful Of Dollars

3 (13%)

For A Few Dollars More

6 (26.1%)

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

14 (60.9%)

Total Members Voted: 20

[KC]

  My bad. You'll have to mark this up.

Oh, I'm keeping score! 

[Moorman]

The three Man With No Name films are all so perfect that I'd rate each of them a 10/10. For Clint to travel halfway across the world to make a severely low budget western in Italy, and transition from the Rowdy Yates character (a wide-eyed naive cowplunk sidekick on a TV western), to perhaps the most iconic figure ever created on film, is remarkable. Where'd that come from? Leone didn't envision Manco that way -- we know this since Clint took the script and removed most of his dialogue, and put together the iconic wardrobe himself. A Fistful of Dollars is lean, making every moment count. The score -- woah. It was magic.  Eastwood, Leone and Morricone would come from virtual obscurity to be among the world's greatest actors, directors, and composers by creating this monumental film that's as significant as A Trip to the Moon, and the first talkies.

Then, they take the magic to the next level....  For a Few Dollars More.  They add in another second complex anti-hero in Mortimer.  It's another epic film, just slightly more epic than the last.  The hat scene not only provides some comic relief, but it builds the mythology between these two characters, and their scenes would inspire films for the next 60+ years. But it's not enough to have two iconic characters in one film, they needed a villain.  So they bring in Indio... how can they make evil look so cool?  How are they able to create a shred of sympathy over a rapist murderer?  Had Westerns ever provided so much character development prior to this film?

But... when we get to the third film ... there's no other explanation.  In God-time, 1966 was the 8th day, and He brought us The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.  God saw the script, and wanting to add a little dash of His humor (He had just had a bit of fun creating Giraffes and Squid and was still in a humorous state of mind), He added this:


And then He saw it was good, and Earth was complete.  If you mute GBU anywhere along the course of the film, and you strain hard enough, you can hear a heavenly choir singing Hallelujah. God is Great.

So I have to go with God on this one... the best Leone film is obviously The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. 

Excellent write up. I almost hate to disagree because your review was soo good.  I disagree that they were perfect films. I AGREE that each was iconic for different reasons.  All three were huge films and rewrote in their own way the art of making westerns. 

[Matt]

God's creations are always perfect, and GBU is no different. But, if it was me, working with God, Leone, Eastwood and Morricone on this... I would put in Gian Maria Volonte as the Captain.



Just because I would have liked to see him in all three films, and since Leone didn't think he was humorous enough to be Tuco (he was right) -- this would have been a good role for him.

[KC]

But Aldo Giuffrè was so good in that part! I don't think Volontè could have done it any better.

[Matt]

He really resembles George Clooney. But, sure -- he's very good in the part. But, I would have enjoyed Volonte being in the cast again.

[Christopher]

God's creations are always perfect, and GBU is no different. But, if it was me, working with God, Leone, Eastwood and Morricone on this... I would put in Gian Maria Volonte as the Captain.



Just because I would have liked to see him in all three films, and since Leone didn't think he was humorous enough to be Tuco (he was right) -- this would have been a good role for him.

Nothing against the actor who played the Captain, but Volonte would have been good in that role!

[Gant]

Totally agree Matt... I love em all.. I love the simplicity of the first and just how different it is/was from the American westerns of the day.. As a kid I couldn't stand John Wayne and hardly ever seemed to see my dads fave Gary Cooper on tv.. When these films showed up they blew me away, they seemed so fresh and modern in a way.... Seeing it again recently that the impact of this film hasn't  diminished at all..

The second takes it it all up a couple of notches and I love the relationship between Eastwood and Van Cleef's characters.. and that ending WOW !!

The third... Perfection.. Tarentino was once quoted as saying his aim was to at least equal The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.. That just aint gonna happen..

[Moorman]

Totally agree Matt... I love em all.. I love the simplicity of the first and just how different it is/was from the American westerns of the day.. As a kid I couldn't stand John Wayne and hardly ever seemed to see my dads fave Gary Cooper on tv.. When these films showed up they blew me away, they seemed so fresh and modern in a way.... Seeing it again recently that the impact of this film hasn't  diminished at all..

The second takes it it all up a couple of notches and I love the relationship between Eastwood and Van Cleef's characters.. and that ending WOW !!

The third... Perfection.. Tarentino was once quoted as saying his aim was to at least equal The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.. That just aint gonna happen..

They were great films, but Leone's best film was Once Upon A Time in the West     I will say this:  Without the previous 3 films, there would have been no Once Upon A time in the West...