The Good, The Bad, the Ugly...The Prequel?

[Hitcher187]

Hey peeps,

These factoids are from the trivia section of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from www.imdb.com:

It's obvious that this is a prequel to the first two films - the man with no name slowly acquires his familiar suit of clothes through this film and only wears his familiar poncho for the last 17 minutes of the film.

Even though "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" was the 3rd of the three films, in chronological order, it was the first. This is why you see "Blondie" pick up the poncho from dying man at the end of the film. This was the same poncho that he wore in the other two films. It was also the things that he saw in the Civil War that made The Man with No Name the man we see in the previous two films. Incidentally, the poncho that Clint Eastwood uses was the one that he bought himself.

I had the privilege of checking out this fucking fantastic extended edition of the film at Austin's Paramount Theater last Wednesday and let me tell you it was a blast. Everyone just seemed enthralled watching this classic western and were laughing at all the right parts and cringed at some (Tuco's session w/ Wallace After all the years of watching the Dollars trilogy, I did find that the Man with No Name's characterization seemed a bit different than the first two films. I had always wondered how he appeared in his trademark clothing not until damn near the end of the movie where he magically gets his poncho. He does have that quick draw and chomps the thin cigars, but the gun he uses may or may not be the Colt he's famous for and he doesn't get that until after the Wallace session.

Would you consider this a prequel to the first two movies and if would you one day experiment by watching this one first and then "Fistful" and "For a Few" afterwards and see how the trilogy flows?

[dvdjedi]

Interesting. Gonna have to watch TGTB&TU again. It's the part of the trilogy that I've watched the least. Hmmm....

[mikenyc]

When is this extended version going to be released on DVD ????

[Jordan_E]

Then again, he could have picked up the poncho because it was a familiar outfit for him. I missed the Seattle showing of the restored GB&U because of a family crisis. Man, I would have loved to have seen that movie up on the big screen. Guess I'll have to settle for my projector.

[LBPound23]

Clint's character has a different name in each movie. I have trouble viewing them as a trilogy plot-wise. Like what's the deal with Lee Van Cleef's character going from good to bad without explanation?

[MooglePorn]

Originally Posted by LBPound23

Clint's character has a different name in each movie. I have trouble viewing them as a trilogy plot-wise. Like what's the deal with Lee Van Cleef's character going from good to bad without explanation?

The fact that he uses an alias in each movie and we never truly learn his "real" name, is why it's called the "Man With No Name" trilogy... you can say his real name is William Munny if you want

And I think Cleef played different characters in each didn't he...? Been a while.

[wahlers]

He was playing different characters in the films.

Clint Eastwood was the only "character" that appeared in more than one of the three films.

[Welles and Ford Fan]

I've always assumed it was a prequel. Not only does he get the poncho, but the leather sheepskin vest and hat as well that he wore in the other films.

Also, the Civil War is going on, and is (apparently) over in the other two films. Fistful featured a gatling gun, which would have been difficult if not impossible to obtain in pre-Civil War days.

I've often wondered if Once Upon a Time in the West was meant to be yet another prequel. Was the Charles Bronson character (also a "man with no name") meant for Eastwood originally? Maybe we will find out when the DVD comes out with its special edition documentaries and stuff.

[med]

Originally Posted by Welles and Ford Fan

I've often wondered if Once Upon a Time in the West was meant to be yet another prequel. Was the Charles Bronson character (also a "man with no name") meant for Eastwood originally? Maybe we will find out when the DVD comes out with its special edition documentaries and stuff.

Look in the same trivia section on www.imdb.com quatoed above in the 'Once Upon a Time in America' section. and it will answer some of those questions.

It says that the role of 'Harmonica', played by Charles Bronson, was originally offered to Eastwood. I think it also says somewhere that Bronson was offered the role of Tuco for TGTB&TU, and Fonda was offered the role of Angel Eyes.

I too was confused for a while at Van Cleef's appearence in TGTB&TU, untill I realised it was a different character. Not sure how big a fan I am of Leone's system of not giving many characters anything more than nicknames, and casting the same actors in different roles in what appear to be sequels/prequels.