The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) 90/100 – If I only had to rate the first hour and fifteen minutes, plus the final fifteen minutes, I would be hard pressed not to give it a perfect score. On this viewing I really paid attention to Leone’s gift for framing his shots. He was only rivaled by Kurosawa, as both had vision that transcended other directors, and made them in my eyes, artists. It’s true that the western was a dying genre, and for the most part, it was on life support. But I do believe that it was accelerated along in its demise due to Leone making the two greatest westerns back to back. There was never going to be anyone else talented enough to reach the strata that could attain peer level on either of those two masterpieces. This being a re-watch, probably my fifth or sixth time, I did notice the vast difference in the added vocal tracks of Eli Wallach & Clint Eastwood, on the re-inserted scenes which found their way on the cutting room floor, for the American release. I’m kind of amazed that whoever did those tracks, didn’t added a bit of bass boosting to Wallach’s, and the opposite boost in treble to Eastwood’s. They both sounded aged in the delivery of the lines, and both could have used some equalization help to make the tracks less haggard in sound. On this re-watch, I did have a bit of a problem with the pacing, as I found myself fast forwarding through some of the film’s middle section. This section has always been an issue with me, because there are two scenes, which really don’t add anything to the story, and always slow the action down to a crawl. The first is the scene with Tuco’s brother, the priest. It should be there to add some exposition to what made Tuco become the man and outlaw he grew up to be. But it just serves as a way for the brother to admonish him, for not being at their father’s side at the time of his death. The second scene, is probably one of the favorite scenes for most viewers, but has always made me yawn, the bridge. First, Blondie and Tuco get off their horses, and Tuco looks at his tattered map, proclaiming that they only need to cross the river, to get to their destination. It’s quiet; they start to walk a few paces and are then halted by Union soldiers. They are then taken a few more steps, past a small tree to the left, and the shot opens up to reveal an entire army of soldiers and artillery over the expansive vista of the river. They’ve taken maybe twenty steps from the dismounting of the horses, to this spot, and should have been able to see the army ahead of them. They’ve both just spent time in a Union prisoner of war camp, they know the Union army is nearby, and they don’t tread warily at this point? What follows is about twenty minutes of exposition, by a Union captain, as to why both armies are there, and why it would be beneficial to both armies, if the bridge wasn’t there anymore. All, just so Leone can blow up the bridge, which as a special effects scene is dazzling, but not necessary to the storyline. I still love this film, but with each successive viewing, it tries my patience more and more. Ironically, the next film, Once Upon a Time in the West, another investment in extended personal time, just seems to breeze by.