Few B-movies are more famous than the classic western, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly."
What magnificent directing and storytelling! It's a bit of a masterpiece, if a slightly flawed one. Released in Italy in 1966, it starred a relative newcomer to Hollywood, Clint Eastwood. The vast landscapes and extreme closeups -- who can ever forget them? If nothing else, the movie redefined and blurred the line between "good" and "bad" guys in westerns. Eli Wallach really makes the film for me. He was superb as the ugly guy. Or was he "nasty," "brutal," "criminal," or "gruesome"? The Italian has, "The Good, the Villain, and the Nasty."
The German? "The Good, the Bad, and the Brutal."
The French reads, "The Good, the Cruel, and the Criminal."
While the Norwegians chose, "The Good, the Evil, and the Gruesome."
Anyone who hasn't seen the film should. It is a deep character study of three amoral characters just trying to survive in a brutal environment. If you think we have improved since those days of the wild west, read Paul's description of men in the last days (2 Tim. 3:1-7). It reads like the same old crowd one finds in western movies.
By the way, the 3-way standoff is probably one of the most unforgettable movie scenes in history. And the film comes in awfully handy when explaining the substantival use of the adjective to Greek students!