Film Listology: #98 - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Send us Fan MailWith the holiday season in full swing, hosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry step away from the dinner table long enough to partake in an alternative pastime, cultivating our Film Listology season on Special Topics in Media. In this episode, the dialogic duo revisit the recently invoked "Dad Movie Hall of Fame" to inaugurate what many consider the apex entrant to the spaghetti western subgenre, director Sergio Leone's 1966 Spanish production The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. While universally associated with its rising star Clint Eastwood--once again portraying "the man with no name" (aka "Blondie")--Leone's epic picture splits time between three characters, with special emphasis placed on character actor Eli Wallach's performance as "Tuco".  The film functions as a capper to Leone's "Dollars trilogy", a deconstructive approach to antihero revisionist storytelling. Of note, the cultural placement primarily takes place south of the border, which joins a host of late westerns that shifted lenses to consider the intercultural tensions between Eastern American migrants, post-Civil War ex-militants, soldiers of fortune, and a confluence of Mexican and Mexican American LatinX players (often portrayed by Spaniard locals hired by the film's Italian director).  The result is a bit of film magic and a time capsule into an explosive age of masterful cult filmmaking. Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurryProducers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.Ways to Connect with us online:Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics."Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.   Support the show