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View Full Version : The Good, The Bad, and The Divine?



Rowanomicon
2007-11-19, 05:08 PM
I just finished watching The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly for the second time in my life.
It's an excellent movie and I recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it, even if they're usually not a western fan, but that's not the point of this discussion.
Basically, I get the feeling that Clint Eastwood (his character doesn't have a name besides the nickname Blondie), Tugo, and Angle Eyes have some sort of supernatural nature to them.
Obviously this is not explicitly stated anywhere in the movie, but I still can't shake the feeling that they are something akin to fallen angles.
I have to run out the door right now, but I was wondering if anyone else agrees with me, or at least thinks that there's more to it than meets the eye. I'm also interested in whatever thoughts people have on the subject.
It should be noted that there are other movie where Clint Eastwood plays a character that is pretty widely accepted to be the same character as from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. GB&U is generally accepted to be the "origin" story of that character as it shows him finding the signature hat and poncho.

Chunklets
2007-11-19, 05:13 PM
It's been awhile since I saw The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, but I wouldn't necessarily disagree that there's something quasi-supernatural going on in it. It's certainly not as explicit as in, say, High Plains Drifter, but you're right that there's something odd going on.

If you haven't already seen them, I'd heavily recommend For A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More.

Semidi
2007-11-19, 06:33 PM
Love the film. I don't see where you're coming from with the divine aspect though. Specific examples could be helpful.

Rowanomicon
2007-11-20, 02:40 AM
I have seen all those movies, but the only one (other than GBU) that I've seen recently is the High Plains Drifter. Definitely a more explicitly supernatural movie. It's been at least 5 years though since I saw the Dollars movies and originally saw GBU and I don't really remember them much.

I'd love to give some examples, but it might be hard as I actually watched it in three parts over the course of a month and watched the last part about a week ago. My memory's a little bit fuzzy on specific examples, but I'll try to think of some.

It's more just a general feeling though, like Blondie, Tugo, and Angle Eyes all have some power and/or know something that no one else knows. None of them seem particularly afraid of death, even Tugo if you think about it. Tugo, definitely the most fearful, still readily puts his neck in a noose (both figuratively and literally) on a regular basis.
Perhaps they know what will become of them when they die.

I am well aware that this was probably not the writer or director's intent, but it a way to interpret the film that I find makes it more fun for me to watch. I'm basically looking for evidence that can be used to support this view and seeing if anyone else in the playground looks at it similarly.

Freshmeat
2007-11-20, 06:41 AM
I wouldn't really say any of the characters in GBU have something 'divine' or 'supernatural' about them. They've just got guts and a lot of skill with revolvers.
As for 'not fearing death' - if you deal with people who can gun down half a dozen gunmen in a matter of seconds, you'll quickly realize which moves are lethal and which aren't.

At the end of the movie, if Tuco had made a move, Blondie would have shot him in an instant. Instead, he put the noose around his neck and hoped for mercy, which he got.
Same rationale for when the situation was reversed back at the hotel (when Tuco threatened Blondie). The only thing Blondie could do was go along with Tuco's plan and hope for the best, because not doing what Tuco wanted would certainly have resulted in his death.

Rowanomicon
2007-11-20, 03:43 PM
And yet, at the end of the movie Tuco (thanks for correcting me) yells after Blondie that he's an SOB, despite the fact (that Tuco is well aware of) that Blondie could easily gun him down from that distance.

Also throughout the movie Blondie knows that Tuco wouldn't kill him, he's too driven by his greed and he needs Blondie to find the grave.