The Good, the Bad and the Ugly told by its screenwriter, Luciano Vincenzoni

Sergio Leone's cult western was on the cover of Première Classics No. 2. We are sharing an excerpt to keep you going until it is rebroadcast on France 3.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, of Sergio Leonewill return to television tonight. This is the second role of Clint Eastwood at the Italian filmmaker's. He plays the good guy, Eli Wallach the crook and Lee Van Cleef the thick brute who has no scruples. All three are looking for a chest full of gold coins. If the good guy and the crook need each other to get the money, the brute intrudes and intends to have his share of the loot.

The master of the western delivers here the biggest success of his trilogy called the “dollar”. This one is composed of two other films: And for a few dollars more And For a Fistful of Dollars assimilated to this one because of many common points in their scenario. Previously revealed on France 3, they leave their place tonight to the most popular film of the “saga”.

Waiting to find Clint as director for his trial film Juror #2which does not yet have a trailer, but which should be released before the end of the year in theaters.

Clint Eastwood soon to return to the cinema: Juror #2 has a release date

Let yourself be transported by the inimitable music of the great Ennio Morricone with this spaghetti western mixing violence and humor. Once again, Leone proves his technical mastery and his sense of rhythm. He aptly alternates scenes of great violence and long silences. The opening sequence is the perfect example: you have to wait 10 minutes to hear the first sentence of the film. A classic.

Besides, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was on the cover of the second issue of Première Classics (January-March 2018, available in our online kiosk). In our special file dedicated to the film, we published an interview with its screenwriter, Luciano Vincenzoni, who died in 2013. Here it is to (re)read, to learn about the behind the scenes of this western, before watching it again this evening.

Dollar Trilogy: How Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood Revolutionized the Western

Luciano Vincenzoni screenwriter of And for a few dollars more and of Good, the Bad and the Ugly looks back at the birth of this masterpiece.
“I was friends with almost everyone at United Artists, and seeing the success of the And for a few dollars moreI called Ilya Lopert, the vice president of United Artists, who was in Paris. I told him: “Come to Rome, the film I just made with Sergio Leone is a triumph.” He had to be begged, so I told him that if he didn't come, I would have to call Paramount and Warner Bros. (I was in charge of foreign sales), and that if anyone bought the film, and it became a success in the United States, which was inevitable, he would be fired for letting the dollars slip through his fingers. He finally arrived in Rome with all the bigwigs from United Artists. Instead of inviting them to a private theater, I took them to the Supercinema, the largest movie theater in Rome. I ordered the theater manager to reserve six seats, and to use the police to make room if necessary. The movie was always a sellout. We finally found six seats and attended a crazy screening, where the audience screamed, laughed, and applauded wildly.

As I was leaving, the people from United Artists turned to me and asked me “How much ?” I ask for $1 million for the whole world, except Italy, France, Spain and Germany, the film being a co-production. It is literally three times more than what the producer Alberto Grimaldi hoped for. They tell me “All right” and we go to sign the contract at the Grand Hotel. And there obviously, at the time of signing, the first question is: “What will be the next movie?” Sergio Leone is taken aback. He has no idea, so he turns to me and says: “Well yes, what is it? Come on, tell us.” I have no idea either, so I improvise. I tell it to be about three crooks who are looking for $200,000 during the Civil War. They don't care about politics or war and are only interested in money. It's actually the story of another movie I wrote, The Great Warwhich is set during World War I, which I'm just transposing live to the meeting during the Civil War. The people at United Artists haven't seen The Great War, so they're completely clueless and they say to me: “Very well, it works, we finance it. How much?” I turn to Alberto Grimaldi, who is flabbergasted. He is signing a million-dollar contract, and at the same time he is being offered another contract. He can't believe his eyes and ears. “So, how much?”I ask him. “How much what?”he answers me without understanding. “How much would the story I just told cost? – Um, $800,000?” I retort: “It’s a war film, which requires bigger resources, let’s say $1 million and $100,000.” United Artists approves, and has the contract drawn up, which we sign on the spot. And that's how The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was born, while not a single line of script had yet been written!