The Good The Bad and The Ugly ︻┳═一

Genre

The film is set in the wild wild west. It fits the stereotypical Spaghetti Western genre but will always bring a sense of magic to the film community, being a well known classic. The genre is easily determined straight from the offset, through old gun sound effects and pictures capturing conventional western characters and scenarios. For example, the group of cowboys gathered around the encampment performing various actions such as playing the flute. As a fan of Westerns, I would say the film meets my expectations in both plot and the way it is filmed.
     

Style

The film has a very unique style. It follows three main characters which link with key words of the title "The Good" , "The Bad" and "The Ugly". To help communicate the important characters to the film there are several moments when the screen freezes. In freezing the screen the audience is able to take in different features being displayed, such as costume, characteristics and the characters present scenario.

     
A key moment in the film that conveys the thought that has gone into filming is when one of the characters is standing in a doorway. There is a large amount of light that passes through the doorway which casts a silhouette of the man in a tall dominant pose, when compared to the seated man at the other end of the hallway. This helps show who is in control of the situation and the more feared character. In doing this also draws the audience to the character, making him the focus of the frame.
      

Throughout the film many moments of high suspense are created. This is accomplished through the use of the slow soundtrack, eery environment, long pauses and the actions of characters. An example of this is in one of the beginning scenes. Two cowboys ride into an isolated abandoned town at the same time as another cowboy, who is located directly in front of them on the other side of the road. They dismount from their horses and begin to move to each other slowly which helps build the suspense by causing the scene to last longer. This also allows the audience time to take in all the features, and the spooky atmosphere generated from the high dust being kicked up from the ground.

     
The entire film feels Western, and one of the main contributors to this is the lighting and colour used. The desert appears to have a yellow glow conveying the hot intensity of the sun. This is met by a calm blue sky creating a contrast. In doing this allows the desert to become a place of relaxation, peace, suspense and action depending upon the situation.

         
Messages and Values

In my opinion the film has several messages and values to be considered and applied to modern day life. In the world there are good, bad and ugly people. However, good people are capable of bad acts and bad people are capable of good acts. What matters is what path you choose to pursue and the ratio of good deeds to bad deeds that determines whether or not you are a villain or hero.

It also gives us an insight into the time period it is set, displaying large amounts of historical content. It becomes apparent that society had less laws and was more chaotic. The film shows how people were violent and often used this type of behaviour to achieve what they wanted.
       

Themes

A very large theme throughout the film is the desire for money and wealth. This is shown through situations such as the pursuit for the gold, and all the gold the bad character collects in the beginning prioritising his job first over all else. At one point we even see the good protagonist falling victim to greed after betraying the ugly character and leaving him in the desert. There is also reference to the civil war which conveys a cynical theme of violence throughout.