The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) is the most prestigious Western in the "Dart Trilogy" directed by Sergio Leone (Red Dead Redemption, Twilight Double Dart, and Golden Three.
"The Golden Three" tells the story of a treasure chasing during the American Civil War, a good guy, a bad guy and an ugly guy staged a big drama of intrigue for a treasure, showing the survival dilemma in the chaotic world to the fullest.
The famous American scholar Pete Hammel pointed out: "Leone, like the Italian artists of his predecessors, has developed the Western into its Baroque period, so that there is little room for this style to develop." "
Indeed, the film transcends the simple themes of right and wrong in the first two parts of the Darts series, digging deep into human nature and deeply reflecting on war, achieving extremely high artistic achievements.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the troubled world: either be a bandit or a priest</h1>
The Western depicts a Western society with no laws but guns, no order and only power, which is essentially a myth about the history of the development of the Western United States, thus reflecting the national character and spiritual tendencies of the American people.
Leone's "Macaroni Western" is unique in its narrative style, stylized vocal (soundtrack) treatment, and explosive violent performances. With his unique understanding, he dispelled the myth of traditional Westerns.
The translation of the film is "Dart", although it is more relevant to Chinese thinking and easy to understand, but such a translation is not very accurate to some extent. In fact, the whole trilogy is about the "bounty hunter" story.
1. When the bounty hunter appears, it is the time when the wicked are in charge
Bounty hunters are a special profession in the Western United States that earn bounties by hunting down fugitives. Bounty hunters are an integral part of the U.S. judicial system and, in a way, become the face of the law.
"When life is worthless, death pays off, which is why bounty hunters appear."
The Westworld in the film is an orderly society, with a variety of crimes, criminals often at large, and the local police can do nothing about it.
The "ugly guy" in the film is a person who is rewarded with $2,000, and before the death sentence is pronounced, he reads more than 10 crimes such as murder, robbery, and abduction.
There are many such criminals, bounty hunters are not worried about having no work, of course, such a high-paying job is also a very high risk factor, at any time there is a danger of death.
2. What are the options for ordinary people?
The hanging of someone like "Ugly Guy" doesn't arouse sympathy, but as the plot develops, when "Ugly Guy" meets his brother, it gives us more understanding and understanding.
In a chaotic world, everyone has their own unspeakable secrets. The "ugly guy" left the family relatively early and never returned home for nine years, even when his parents died. He did not fulfill his duty as a Son of Man, but he also had unavoidable grievances.
In a harsh environment, if you want to survive, you must either become a bandit or a priest. He chose the harder path – to be a bandit.
Seeing this, I think of Jean Valjean in the classic "Les Misérables", who also stole a loaf of bread in order not to starve to death, and was permanently branded as a "criminal". Fortunately, a benevolent and generous bishop generously touched Valjean, purifying his soul and eventually transforming him into a helpful and good man.
The "ugly guy" didn't have such good luck, he could only wander the brink of death with difficulty, and his path to banditry was indeed much more difficult than the path of his brother's priest.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > two, the way to survive in a troubled world: three choices for good guys, bad guys and ugly guys</h1>
In a troubled world, how to survive is the top priority. Through the choice of three main characters, the film presents the chaotic survival methods of different people.
1． Boy
"Good Guy" is played by Collint Eastwood, who is known as the "City Cowboy", the most popular tough guy star in the American film industry, and he rose from obscurity to fame precisely because he played the protagonist of the "Dart Trilogy".
Good guy is a bounty hunter, and his "goodness" is reflected in having principles and bottom lines. Under the framework of legal permission, he acts in accordance with the value principles of the Western cowboy tradition, talks about credit, has a temperature, and will not be exterminated for the sake of monopoly interests.
In "Red Dead Redemption", he single-handedly eradicated the two major gangsters in the town and rescued the separated family; in "Twilight Double Dart", he hunted down the thieves to obtain valuable bounties; and in "Three Golden Darts", he also engaged in "fraud" with the "ugly guys", "cheating" the bounty by repeatedly capturing and rescuing criminals.
Putting on a coat for the dying soldier and letting him take one last puff of his cigarette is the softness of his heart; the treasure that he still keeps to the "ugly guy" half of the treasure in the case of taking the initiative, which is where he keeps his promises; and controls the direction of events and the whole situation, which is a manifestation of his cleverness and wit.
2． scoundrel
"Bad Guys" is played by Lee Van Cliff, who is described by IMDB as "One of the great movie villains" by IMDB.
The bad guy is also a bounty hunter, and his "bad" is manifested in the fact that there is no principle and no bottom line.
The bad guy appeared on the scene with only one murder to portray his image perfectly. On the grounds that he "must complete the task as long as he receives money", he kills both the person who hired the killer and the target of the killing, and earned the money of both sides.
The bad guy is a man who is completely devoid of moral shackles, and he can ignore rules, emotions, and everyone else for the sake of profit. So, when his "friends" good guys and ugly guys got in his way to riches, he didn't hesitate to decide to get rid of them.
3． Ugly guy
"Ugly Guy" is played by Eri Wallach, an Oscar winner for lifetime achievement, who puts the ugly guy to the point.
The ugly guy is a heinous bandit, and his "ugliness" is reflected in the small pattern and lack of attention.
The ugly guy appears with a bottle of wine in his hand and a piece of meat bone breaking out of the window, a villain who is not elegant in order to survive.
Ugly guys don't have the moral principles of good guys, nor are they as fierce as bad guys. But he is an authentic villain: he sees money and opens his eyes, he plays all kinds of careful thoughts for money; he will repay his eyes, in order to retaliate against the good guys who have thrown him in the desert and tortured him to the point of not being human; he bears the burden of humiliation, and when he is weak, he can endure bullying, and the situation will be reversed and he will settle the account with people.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the dilemma of war: only death, no winner</h1>
Although the film tells the story with the help of a traditional western treasure hunting shell, it contains a profound exploration of human nature and war reflection, which greatly sublimates the theme of the film.
It is precisely because of the existence of the Background of the American Civil War that the whole film changes from simple humor to seriousness, and the theme is sublimated from a simple treasure hunting story to a reflection on the war.
The Civil War was one of the largest civil wars in American history, a struggle between the emerging capitalism of the North and the great slave owners of the South. The war killed 750,000 soldiers, maimed 400,000 soldiers, and affected a large number of civilians.
The film repeatedly presents the image of war and expresses the cruelty of war. For example, when the bad guy asks for news from the veteran who lost his leg, he arrives at the barracks according to Tu Suoji, only to find that it is a ruin, and these soldiers can only live here, and can only eat some sticks without corn kernels to fill their hunger, and the disabled soldiers can only resign themselves to fate.
In prisoner-of-war camps, the mistreatment of prisoners of war is commonplace. The film focuses on the scene when the bad guy uses violent means to obtain intelligence from the ugly guy. Inside the house is a terrible cry, and outside the house is an "emotional" symphony playing.
The tears of the violinist became the most powerful indictment of the war, the warmest light of humanity. Such expressions were borrowed and carried forward by later films, such as "Schindler's List", the outside of the house is the sound of gunfire to execute Jews, and inside the house is the beautiful piano sound of Nazi officers, forming a powerful irony, impressive, long-lasting.
The bombing of the bridge is an important plot arranged by the director, depicting the absurdity of the war. In a place as insignificant as fly droppings, the north and south gathered on the positions on both sides of the bridge, and countless young soldiers threw themselves into it. The captain, who was always drunk, was unusually sober, and he felt that the war was meaningless, and it was even more pointless to let his soldiers die here.
His wish was to blow up the bridge and save his soldiers, and when the bridge blew up, he closed his eyes safely.
At the end of the film, the climax of the film, the three protagonists come to the treasure site, the cemetery. This dueling arena is very symbolic, and these people, named or unknown, are buried on this land.
Just like the "Good Song" in "Dream of the Red Chamber", "The world knows that the gods and immortals are good, and only the name of merit cannot be forgotten." Where the ancients will be, the mound is a pile of grass. The world knows that the gods and immortals are good, and only gold and silver cannot forget. In the end, there is only hatred gathering, and when the time comes, the eyes are closed. "The people in this cemetery have become victims of war, and they have also become victims of fame and fortune, and later people will still die here for these things."
After an unusually tense competition, the good guys defeated the bad guys and the ugly guys with their wisdom, the bad guys paid the price of their lives, the ugly guys were reprimanded, and the good guys won the final victory.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
With a wonderful soundtrack, perfect composition and expressionist narrative style, "The Golden Three Darts" shapes a unique western world, telling a tragic story of chaotic survival. Although the director has a certain praise and criticism in the title, but more fundamentally, he strives to present a kind of survival dilemma, the characters are especially understandable for good or bad, and he leaves the final judgment to every audience.
The theme of the film is not as grand as "Once Upon a Time in the West", but it has made an active exploration in the excavation of human nature and the reflection of war, which is far more profound than the general Western, and can be regarded as a classic Western.