6. Eli Wallach as Tuco (The Ugly)
Eli Wallach was happy to take on the role as 'The Ugly', portraying Tuco RamÃrez - a sniveling, vicious and self serving bandit. As well as providing the film with much of its comic relief, Tuco isn't a character to take for granted. Despite his frequent bouts of stupidity, he's also often able to double-cross and trick those foolish enough to work by his side as well as having no qualms with committing acts of violence and sin. It'd be easy for Tuco to become a mere stooge, but Leone gives him a fascinating back-story as well as giving Eli Wallach the room to make the character both despicable and amusingly dumb. Wallach also
put his life on the line in several occasions during the making of the film, for the filming of many dangerous sequences which Leone forced the actor to do multiple times. Tom Cruise might think that he's tough jumping from mountains and skyscrapers on a safety harness, but he hasn't nearly been decapitated by a moving train.
7. Quote - Advice To Live Your Life By
"If you have to shoot, shoot.... Don't talk" - Tuco
8. Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone's score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a vital part of why the film is so majestic and epic, and it's easily one of the all time greatest scores in the history of film. Over the course of his expansive career in scoring film, he has composed music for over 500 movies and TV shows, including films as diverse as Brian De Palma's 'The Untouchables' and John Carpenter's 'The Thing'.
9. Music : Il Buono, Il Cattivo, Il Brutto (Main Theme)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG-Y1GYoGfE What's left to say about the main theme for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ? It's one of the most distinctive pieces of music ever composed for a film and even spent weeks on the music charts as a hit single. If that wasn't enough, the theme music has become a synonymous calling card for the entire Western genre, only challenged by Elmer Bernstein's majestic theme for
'The Magnificent Seven'.
10. The Extreme Close-ups
One of Leone's trademark directorial flourishes can be seen in its full glory in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Scenes are frequently punctuated by extreme close-ups of eyes and faces, or even simply a hand slowly reaching towards a holstered gun. These distinctive shots help build tension and suspense by allowing us to really savor the performances and character reactions in close-up as well as giving Leone the freedom to construct sequences that are as astonishingly cinematic as the final showdown.