Sometimes, fate works against a director's vision. Often, this hurts the film. In this case, though, fate worked in its favor. Henry Fonda wasn't available, nor was Charles Bronson, so instead of those iconic actors we have Clint Eastwood as Blondie and Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes, and I couldn't imagine it any other way.
Eastwood is a perfect actor for Leone's extreme close-ups. He acts with his eyes in a way few actors are capable. Clint's now famous squint lends itself perfectly to Leone's style and vision. In a film that puts so little emphasis on dialogue, the action becomes all the more eloquent. Eastwood's way of moving his eyes, squinting or relaxing his squint, looking or not looking at someone, speaks far more than his words do.
We're not watching Once Upon a Time in the West because we don't have enough time and because, as clever as the cinematic choices are, I think The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is the better film, but what I hope you get from Frayling is just how conscious Leone is of the choices he makes and their effects. The man is a craftsman par excellence.
One of the things I most love about The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is the way it breaks down easy categories. From the first moments of the film (the titles, the labels good, bad, and ugly), we’re instructed how we should think of each man. The men themselves construct binary definitions for one another: “There are two kinds of men…” is a refrain throughout the film.
Yet also from the film’s first moments, the categories break down. The first words spoken to Tuco are “You have such a beautiful face, it’s word two thousand dollars”—so is he ugly? Angel Eyes, the “bad,” does not kill out of malice but because he is a mercenary, and in his profession, he seems to behave honorably, always finishing a job. Blondie, the “good,” aids a known felon to escape over and over.
The movie makes it easy to label people while simultaneously showing the labels to be false. The audience is left wondering who defined these people to begin with and by what arbitrary markers. I’m curious to see whether, ultimately, the class thinks all three men are good, bad, and ugly as labeled, or whether none of them are, or whether some are and some aren’t—and if so, which are what?
I wonder too if this the idea of categorization and identity extends into some of the film’s artistic choices. For example, the over-dubbed sound makes it seem as if the character’s voice is coming from something beyond them rather than exactly meshing with their own voices in the same way identity seems at least partially proscribed by some outside, unnamed narrative force. I thought too of the rope, which ties things together in the same way prejudice does but also can kill, leaving each man facing his completely individual demise. (Note: even I feel I’m stretching on this last one.) Better, what about the cinematography? It alternates from extreme close-up to panorama, from the individual to the grouped. (Note: here, I’m being very clever, just as I was when discussing the sound, and you should all be totally impressed with my brilliance.) The fact that many of these men having multiple names (Jackson/Ben Carson, Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez) or no name at all (Blondie, Angel Eyes) also seems to hint at the impossibility of knowing anyone on an individual level.
SUCH a great movie, no? So much packed in to such beautiful images.
and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone can do!
A few of reminders:
1) Don't forget to write about a TEXT. You can write about more than one if you like, but if you do, make sure your focus is narrow. If your thesis does not make an argument about a text, the paper will not pass. If you have any concerns, e-mail me. I'd be happy to chat with you either face-to-face or online to help you refine your thesis.
2) Use Writing about Literature to help you. The essay on "The Yellow Wall-paper" and "The Storm" provides an excellent model. It makes a clear, narrowly focused argument and it supports that argument with quotations and other textual evidence. Remember, writing a literary essay is a lot like being a lawyer: you need to make a case.
3) Don't forget to cite your sources. Your Bedford Handbook gives detailed information on how to cite sources, as do many online sources, such as the OWL at Perdue. If you've looked at the Bedford and you're still confused, e-mail me.
I promised the class I would post this link to the Clint Eastwood v. John Wayne grudge match I found on line while researching the class. This is hardly a scholarly site, but it might be useful to help try to conceptualize what two roles these dominant figures play in the history of the American western genre.
(Note: I do not endorse or condone any of the views held on this site.)
but he does, doesn't he? I mean, I read the infamous 1971 Playboy interview, and I'm sickened by his racism, his homophobia, his paranoia of communism and liberal teachers (that would be me, right?). This is the last person on Earth I want to associate with my country because I love my country. My grandfather and uncles fought for this country and my cousins are actively serving at this very moment. My father immigrated here because he saw the potential of America's ideals of a class-free democracy. I was raised on the yet unrealized ideal that we strive to let all men be created equal as well the belief that you loved your country best by speaking out when things could be improved--that's what democracy is, right? Being active, voting, demonstrating, speaking.
Not, perhaps, if you're John Wayne. For him, those whose views were not his should be silenced. Those whose skin was too dark or whose sexuality was different needed to be suppressed. Those who believed in communism should be run out of his business and preferably run out of the country altogether. To my mind, this sounds a lot closer to dictatorship and imperialism than it does to democracy. And yet, looking at the historical record--genocide of Native American tribes, slavery, institutional racism and Jim Crow, Japanese internment, McCarthyism, the Patriot Act, the continued bans on gay marriage--John Wayne looks a lot closer to what America has acted like than I want to believe.
Is it his charm that lets him get away with this? Hi bravado? His sexuality? Is it America's swagger that allowed it to be a world power even when it didn't act on its own ideals? Teaching this essay yesterday, I was struck by how conflicted we were about his character. At one moment, we want to disown him; at another, he becomes everyone's grandfather--while we don't like what he's saying we admire him for saying it. He's honest. He doesn't hide. He says what we know people are thinking. In a democracy, we need this if open debate is to be possible. Yet it's not debate that Wayne advocates but dogmatism. The brave don't exile those whose views are different from theirs. John Wayne shows little courage in the convictions of democracy.
As troubled as I am by the interview, I think it is important reading because none of the views he holds have disappeared. If we are a democracy, they must be given voice. I only hope that saner voices bring reason and logic to combat the *fear* that ultimately drives so much of this "bravado."
Just a few rough ideas off the top of my head that could be honed if anyone's interested:
Treatment of Christianity--positive or negative? how so? explain.
Racism in Ethan Edwards--how do we resolve it, or do we?
Fair fights--Martin v. Charlie--and "manly" behavior
Evolution of female characters in Westerns--can we get to the "truth" about frontier women or are we always invested in the cultural expectations of those writing the history?
Cultural identity: inborn or acquired? (What do you make of Ethan scalping Scar???)
Ties to Western tradition (dime novels, radio, TV, etc)--trace the evolution of an idea you see carried from one text to another.
Intelligence/Education/Literacy--how important is it in a man in the West? The suitors both seem less intelligent than Laurie Jorgensen--just as her mother seems more intelligent than her husband. Why? (What is the purpose of marriage in this setting?)
What cultures mix and which are excluded? (Mexican, Norwegian, Confederate, Commanche... and what happens to those of mixed race?)
Scar, the blue-eyed Commanche (HUH???)--connection with Alexie's essay "I Always Hated Tonto"?
The impact of The Searchers on future films and why this relationship is important to recognize
Hero: which character is the hero? why? what are the pros and cons of each option we're offered? why this cast of such problematic heroes?
