The film The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is an outstanding film that depicts many characteristics of a classic western. Everything from the horses, bounties, and violence point to this movie being a typical western film. However, because of the abundance of twists and turns it would be considered a revisionist western movie. Despite its few traits of a classic western, everything ranging from the unclear heroes to the absence of typical female roles lead to The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly classifying as a revisionist western. A typical western movie has a very distinct and specific portrayal. These things would include the use of horses, glorified gunfights, a clear cowboy/hero, a clear villain, distinct female roles, and a plethora of violence.
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This movie displays mostly revisionistic characteristics like an unclear hero/villain, a lack of female roles, and an absence of the line between “right” and “wrong”. Throughout the entire movie, Blondie was supposed to be shown as the “hero”, and even though we did get this general feel there were many instances where he did not live up to the standards of a classic good guy. For example, in the beginning of the film he is working with Tuco (a wanted bandit) to scam different towns. Blondie would turn in Tuco for the money and then help him escape just before the execution. As a “hero” Blondie is expected to be honorable and a role model, however in this revisionist version of a western he plays by his own rules and does not conform to a classic hero. However, Blondie wasn’t the only reason this film was a revisionist. Another large difference is the use of gender roles. In a classic western, women were portrayed as weak and unable to stand up for themselves. This film, however, only had about one scene with a woman and besides that there was essentially no role of women whatsoever. This could imply that not only are women unable to fend for themselves in a setting like this, but that women serve virtually no role in such an environment where things are “too rough” for them. When talking about a western movie, it is important to
This movie displays mostly revisionistic characteristics like an unclear hero/villain, a lack of female roles, and an absence of the line between “right” and “wrong”. Throughout the entire movie, Blondie was supposed to be shown as the “hero”, and even though we did get this general feel there were many instances where he did not live up to the standards of a classic good guy. For example, in the beginning of the film he is working with Tuco (a wanted bandit) to scam different towns. Blondie would turn in Tuco for the money and then help him escape just before the execution. As a “hero” Blondie is expected to be honorable and a role model, however in this revisionist version of a western he plays by his own rules and does not conform to a classic hero. However, Blondie wasn’t the only reason this film was a revisionist. Another large difference is the use of gender roles. In a classic western, women were portrayed as weak and unable to stand up for themselves. This film, however, only had about one scene with a woman and besides that there was essentially no role of women whatsoever. This could imply that not only are women unable to fend for themselves in a setting like this, but that women serve virtually no role in such an environment where things are “too rough” for them. When talking about a western movie, it is important to