The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (15)

Having carried A Fistful Of Dollars by himself and shared For A Few Dollars More/with Lee Van Cleef, Clint Eastwood was initially perturbed at having a third principal (Eli Wallach) to play off in the third part of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti western series. (“If it goes on this way, in the next one I’ll be starring with the American cavalry,” he griped.) Twinning his Man With No Name with Wallach’s wily bandit Tuco proves the making of this epic, though, their kvetching, suspicious relationship bringing a delicious vein of gallows humour to the generic treasure hunt storyline. The visuals are eye-popping, the score (by Ennio Morricone) magnificent, the Civil War set-pieces both stunning and haunting. If you’re going to end a trilogy, this is the way to do it.

Verdict: NOVERDICT

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