+Epsilon The music certainly helps. Music can elevate any scene, and give it an emotional impact. Try watching the best movie scenes in history without music, and a huge element of them is lost (almost like it loses its soul). But I would also say apart of it isn't just the camera spinning as a man runs in circles. It's also the context of the scene. The scene starts with a wide shot of rows upon rows of graves, it's both epic and disturbing. One of the subtext (and I guess subplot) running throughout the film, is the civil war that is going on in the background (that our characters don't want to be apart of). And the toll its taking on its soldiers, and the idea the these soldiers lives mean nothing. So the end of our journey -- this "race for Gold", is in a cemetery with all those dead soldiers. And Tuco and the audience only care about the gold. So when the camera starts spinning and it becomes dizzying, I feel like that perfectly works with the idea that we have tunnel vision for the Gold, and all the graves and dead people don't really mean anything. The setting with which this takes place literally becomes a blur, as the focus is purely on the gold. I mean, it's no coincidence that the director chose an "unknown" or "unmarked" grave as the spot where the gold was buried. There was symbolic reasons for having the gold buried in a grave of a soldier, that no one could identify. I mean, that's why Tuco is called "The Ugly". He's supposed to be the Ugly in all of us. Our greed, that will ignore and look past the horrors around us to satisfy it. The idea that an individuals "pursuit of happiness", overrides caring about anyone else. And the movie also doesn't pander to the audience. Because it doesn't wag the finger, or condemn the ugly. Tuco is actually a complex character, and you could argue that he is what he is, due to the circumstances forced on him by society (poverty etc.)
Thats the fundamental reality of humans. Tuco blinded by the greed and running for the earthly pleasure but not realizing the real destiny of a humans surrounding him.
Completely agree. This scene and the climactic shoot-out are the greatest scenes in the film (and in all of cinema imo), and could you imagine either without Morricone’s fantastic score? It’s as pivotal as the actors. Arguably even more. Okay, yeah - definitely more!
Also partly because this is one of the last scenes of the film and a culmination of the whole plot. It would not feel that epic if it did not conclude the long journey on which the main characters were on from the beginning of the movie.
And Sergio Leone too! As well as Tonino delli Colli, the Photography Director. It was a big mistake not to prize this film in 1967 Oscars. I think all the critics and all the cinephiles think this is an excellent film and milestone in movie history.
I remember I went to this "amateur and experimental short-films festival" in Paris... one of the participants used this very same scene, but in this sort-off black-and-white and without the song... it was boring as hell !
This scene goes from understanding the brutal world Tuco lives in that’s surrounded by so much conflict and death (the overwhelming amount of graves) to him slipping through death’s grip many a times (running through the graveyard) in desperate search of the thing that has kept him and his family alive. This isn’t just a scene of an outlaw looking for gold; it’s his life in its entirety. It reflects a man’s vulnerable, despicable, and primal instinct: his desire to live. If you think about it that way, the music isn’t overdramatized at all. It’s perfect.
I saw a video revisiting the site. Apparently it's not really a graveyard; all those "graves" were built for this outdoor set. -I think the circle is real, though.- Circle is overgrown, or more likely gone. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-q2tKfBOv9Xs.html
@@claudiomiklasevic9468 "Underrated" is the most overused word on RU-vid. Who's rating it? No one. Is it true? Almost never. Maybe it's a word bots use, or an attempt to start an argument? If you're not a bot: STOP USING IT.
This is the moment that I realized that tuco was the main character. This scene is an almost celebration of those outside of society’s code of good. It’s the most heroic song for an “unheroic” character
Yea getting older i noticed Tuco was more or less the protagonist because of how much it spent on his journey and when you see the deleted scenes they are with him
Absolutely, Damian! I believe that TGTBATU is about the Devil (Angel Eyes - The Bad) and God (Blondie - The Good) battling over the Soul of Man (Tuco - The Ugly). 😎
Man, the emotions at the end where you aren't sure if Blondie is gonna let Tuco live are intense. Throughout the movie he has wronged the "hero," yet for reasons hard to explain, we want him to win. We cheer when he finds the cemetery, and the movie wants us to we cheer when both he and Blondie shoot Angel Eyes. Watching him nearly choke to death is actually brutal, and the relief when Blondie comes back around is amazing; he is the "good," after all.
I like how Tuco crosses himself at the start when he realises he's fallen onto a gravestone but then immediately afterwards runs directly over dozens of graves without hesitation in his greed
Yeah, Gian Maria Volonte did a great job in the movies he played the bad guy in, but Eli Wallach hit a perfect pitch between sinister, deadly and comic.
This scene ....along with the music "The Ecstasy of Gold" really embodies how a man, who gives himself over to his greed, will mindlessly do things that he shouldn't do and/ or normally wouldn't do.
To all the people saying he is running like a girl: If you had the chance to get a chest full of gold how do you think your body would respond. I think his running captures his obsession and desperation, truly making this scene better.
Ben Harder In addition to your observation....(to all those who say he's running like a girl)....he's running on an uneven landscape, without watching the ground in front of him because they are glued to the grave markers as he passes. His arms are away from his side to help maintain his balance while running desperately in search of Arch Stanton.....
Ben Harder I agree , & he's running in cowboy boots which were not design for that function. Plus he looking for Andersons gave which he give him that "Stand offish" Gait.
I watched the movie for the first time like 1 week ago, you are damn right, i love the guy, legendary performance, at the beginning you hate him, and then you miss him
He’s close and he knows it. His lust for gold and the sheer hope leaves his body almost weightless, giddily scattering in the old graveyard, filled with ecstasy.
@@jcald47 Yeah, that’s well put dude. He’s gleeful but carefully, hesitantly so* and the manner in which he moves, from furtive to giddy, coupled with _that_ score is just so damn…poetic. I could happily watch this on a loop for a ridiculous amount of time. *Until he makes it to the centre, where he gloriously abandons himself completely
Yep. Just saw them past friday in st louis for the fist time since 1992 and i dont remember them opening with this movie clip then. I do remember the song though
I’m a huge Metallica fan…they somehow fused hard metal with a clean sound that turned their music into art. But, honestly, besides hearing the intro to Ride the Lightning live, I would want to see Metallica mostly for the Ecstacy of Gold opening that starts their concerts…
Notice how he immediately runs to the middle, looks around and thinks, then starts moving consistently counterclockwise except when he starts moving further from the center. He's not running wild, he is being cunning and systematic. Also, those shots where he is perfectly in focus but the background is total blur while the camera spins. Wow. The first time I saw this I thought it was a guy running around a graveyard with great music, but rewatching it's altogether brilliant.
You know a film is excellent when upon rewatch you notice these things that tie it all together. Also the final showdown scene is to be rewatched multiple times to get the interactions going on
The best part is him hitting the grave and the music starting EXACTLY when he is realising where he is. That’s the best cinematography I’ve ever seen in my life. And the pure ecstasy of him running in circles is just perfect. This part of him hitting the grave is the big Katharsis of the movie. The journey was long and hard, for the characters and even the viewer as he was on the edge on the seat waiting, everyone involved nearly died several times and as a viewer you are like: „when the fuck are they gonna find it?“, you are completely absorbed by the scene with the canon and don’t even think about the gold anymore AND THEN THE MUSIC HITS. With perfect timing the viewer feels exactly the same as Tuco. „Just give it to me, where is the grave???“ and then the big stand off after that. I watched this movie for the first time in the first lockdown and there was a part of me thinking: „this movie is good but maybe people are just nostalgic and it’s a bit overhyped“ I completely changed my mind after this one second. It hit my head like a cold stone grave
It’s great that you gave it a second chance. I’d say every time you watch this film you discover something new. Last time I found out that when Angel Eyes arrives and threatens Blondie with his gun Tuco stops digging and turns to look at him menacingly. And then when they start positioning themselves for the shootout and Angel Eyes watches Tuco drawing out his gun Blondie stops briefly to be ready to protect Tuco - as he knew his gun was not loaded.
... WELL SAID , OL MATE ... I COULDNT OF SAID IT ANY BETTER , & THANKS .....BUT ,, il GO ONE BETTER ... IV LOVED THIS MOVIE , FROM DAY 1 ,, AND HAVE GOT THE FULL SET ON DVD ,, AND HAVE PLAYED IT .... ? 300 TIMES , ..... IT WAS A ERLY SUNDEE MORN , IN WAGGA , ( N.S.W. , AUSTRALIA ..) .. I WAS LOOKING FOR MY GRANDFATHERS GRAVE , ? .... WHEN I REALIZED ... ( ... HELLO ? .. IM THE ONLY ONE HERE ??? .. )... SO.. TO DO , THIS GREAT MUSIC ... TRUE JUSTICE ,, AND ME,, ..LOVING IT SO MUCH ...... I , CRANKED UP THE SOUND TRACK ,,, IN ME UTE .. ( REAL LOUD ,, oops , ) ......... AND WENT RUNNING THRUE THE GRAVES .... LOOKING , FOR MY ,, GF,, GRAVE ...? ..... DOING A , ... "TUCO ",,, FULL , TILT , ... CD , SOUNDING .. VERY LOUD , , TOTALLY PUMPED ..... AND .... BANG ... BANG ... THERE HE WAS , DEAR OL GRAND DAD .... ( BLOODY HELL ,,& F... ME , I SED ) ... ( SHORT WINDED , ) .... OUTA BREATH,.... I FINALLY STOPED ,, AND REMEMBERD THE MOVIE , AND THE SCENES , ...THANKS TUCO ,.. & HI , GRAND DAD ,,,FOR GIVING ME, THE INSPIRATION ,, ... TO DO ..YOU, & THE GREAT MOVIE .... AND MY GRAND DAD JUSTICE ,, TO FIND IM.... .. BLOODY PISSA ... CHEERS , MATE , AND THANKS , & ..... ( R.I.P .) ....... LENNY ...
@@lenyoung4217 first off why writing in all caps. second whyd u spell 65% of the words wrong. and third wagga is in south america not australia also by how you described it it seems youve never watched the movie once
@@mikalgangmark I once showed this scene to my cousin who hadn't seen this movie and he equally enjoyed it without knowing what he was looking for. It was Wallach's acting that made him feel the greed and excitement of that character.
This scene of a desperate man runing in circles with Morricone's score .... It brings a lump to my throat every time I watch this masterpiece. Its just exquisite.
Anthony A. The movie is not the greatest movie of all time, but it is one of the greatest. As for the theme music, it is one of the greatest to have been created. Is the movie the greatest Western of all time ? The answer is yes. Sergio Leone was very lucky with his chief actors, as nobody could have beaten Clint Eastwood, Lee van Cleef and Eli Wallach, who were perfect for their roles. The movie turned Eastwood into a star. However, the performance by Eli Wallach was just brilliant, probably outshining that of Eastwood. Finally, the movie made history. It was made in 1966. Until then all Westerns had clean cut actors, who were clean, clean shaven and wore remarkably clean clothes. The truth was somewhat different, as back in those days houses did not have bathrooms, its inhabitants using portable tubs. Cowboys in those days would go for weeks and months without taking a bath. The reason why you had so many casualties in the US Civil War was inadequate medicine and poor higene, with many troops dying from infection. Well, Sergio Leone turned all that, creating a new, realistic image of people who lived in the West. The scruffy look appeared. This new image was subsequently copied by Hollywood directors.
Eli is on another level in this movie and scene. The way he runs (says a man who is uncomfortable with running as he usually never needs to) is sublime. His facial expressions is so real, and fulfills his characters greed. A master performance from Eli.
Ben Jerry damn. You posted what I was going to post. And you said it even better! I absolutely felt, who on earth at the time could have done a better job than Eli in this particular scene? I couldn’t come up with one. Bravo Eli !!!🙌🙌🏾
I saw this move when I was young now I am an old man of 70 years but still the running of Ele with background music is legendary and still very attractive and beautiful to listen
I believe that Tuco made this movie unique. Eli played the character brilliantly, he gave it so much... flavour, the way he fidgeted with his fingers before the showdown... Long live Tuco!
I’ve always said you could watch this film without dialogue and know the mood of every scene because of Ennio Morricone’s score. It’s takes the form of a narrator. A character in itself. He was a master of his art. RIP
Can only imagine what the first moviegoers were going through in 1966, watching this scene play out. They must've been on the edge of their seats, breathless, ready to pass out.
The driving tempo and melody, the cinematography, the desperation, the focus. Morricone captured the essence of a man's mind when he is fixed and obsessed on one goal and one goal only. In that moment, no obstacle can stop him; he is single-minded. That's a rare gift for a composer.
Man, talk about turning a scene which could have been boring following a guy running through a graveyard and making it one of the most memorable in movie history
Being an immense James Bond fan, my favorite songs are nearly all from those movies. Numero Uno probably being the theme (completely instrumental) from .... ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. Live and Let Die theme is way up there also. But yes, Ecstasy of Gold ranks very, very high.
I think it's not that surprising. Pirates and Cowboys are often beating their own path away from society, cities, and the Church right? Well, what better frame of reference point to start looking for how to tell that story than to start at Rome, or Italy, and work your way out from there until you reach Texas and California? By way of Paris and the Count of Monte Cristo eh? Gold buried in a graveyard sea of crosses. It really doesn't work to try to write the story any other way. Do you pick the gold? Or the cross? Both? Neither? Putting them next to each other gives the mind the most to think about, and you don't need to be prescriptivist at all. You just need to underline in clear bold strokes: here's your choices, man. Now which one are you going to make? I'm used to the hero picking the right way but you could have a very powerful movie with Blondie doing something different at the end. I think the most interesting question in the history of fanfiction is to ask "What If The Bad or The Ugly won the duel?" How does that look? Who is more interesting, Blondie or Tuco? That's an interesting question itself!
@ML8593wy You are mistaken. Neither western changed the other. It is clear that the spaghetti western is as different from the American western as vanilla ice cream is from chocolate ice cream. No one confuses one for the other.
My Dad brought me to this movie when I was like 4 or 5 yrs old....I still remember it....54 years later. My favorite all time Western. Ennio Morricone was a musical genius. His beautiful music fit the movies so well. They are timeless classics.
My father Who died 4 years ago loves this film, i am 42 and i remember, too young, watching this film with my brothers and father just wonderful film 👍👍👍💞
Similar to my grandpa. I remember he used to smile to this scene and said "That's one son of a bitch" XD. I still miss him and this movie just brought back all the memories.
@@17gcold 👍,for me too, the same,memories of my father and Tuco this is Tuco👍👍👍,don t forget of course the great Clint and Lee,the music,just a legend film, which should be seen once in a life i think. Sorry if i made mistakes lol
You know Ennio Morricone is a musical genius when you can watch a scene like this and be mesmerized by it the same as the first time you ever watched this film.
I saw this movie in 1967 and pay $ 4.00 dollars at the paramount theatre in miramar puerto rico when i was only 16 years old...never gets old...love it
+roger salsa I saw it for the first time in 1997 :D, It was showing on my local cinema as a classic film and I thought I'd go and see it, having already seen Fistfull and Few. I think people area actually missing something with this scene, because on the big screen it's so crazy and disorientating, like you're really there spinning around in the graveyard. It looses a little bit of the impact on the small screen - but that makes me appreciate the original vision all the more, it was designed for the big screen. It's still my favourite film of all time, due to that first cinema showing.
This is something movies today are lacking. A musical score that drives the movie. Music is so bland and generic in modern movies. Ennio Morricone makes a man running through a cemetery the most epic scene ever. Can you imagine what movies like Rocky, Star Wars, or Conan the Barbarian would be like without their music?
Love the music and even more the symbolism and irony of this scene. Chasing materialism and wealth hidden in a realm of dead souls, who no longer have use for them.
He’s supposed to remind you of a rat/rodent. He holds his hands out while running with his fingers bent in order to remind you of rat’s limbs with claws. It’s also why Wallace plays the role with protuberant teeth in this film. To subliminally remind you of a rodent’s gnawing teeth. See? guycounseling.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/scary-rat-teeth.jpg
We’re talking about the same morons who wouldn’t give Star Wars a nomination because they put the credits at the end of the movie. I don’t think their thing is intelligence
This is one of those scenes in which you just turn off your analytical mind and just feel the epicness of the movie. It's like the movie is telling you "Relax, we're getting to the end. Just sit there, feel, think about all we've been through to get here, and then we'll go back to the story".
KOSTAFLEX i agree. I was waiting the whole movie for what scene could match up with this epic score. I was disappointed. I thought maybe the duel was about to start and some cavalry was gonna come riding over the hill in slo motion or something. Like in the LOTR: two towers
Phil Mcahkiner Leone spent days and tons of money to have this cemetery constructed, obviously this scene meant a lot to him. This is THE pivotal scene in the movie, the thing they have been looking for for the better part of the movie. The headstones represent the horror and sheer numbers of wasted life due to the civil war and the cemetery itself represents the fact that we are all mere mortals and our ultimate destiny. And right in the middle is the slimy rat, Tuco running around blinded by greed and the hope that he will find the ultimate prize before blonde catches up with him. The music fits the scene perfectly.
This is the sound of getting everything you ever wanted. And that realization that it is happening. I know tuco in the movie doesn’t know the right grave, but man that ecstasy of realization of that they reach the finality is beautiful.
@@donalde3227 When finding the note Angel Eyes left them, Tuco was able to read three of the four words : "See you soon ..." The only word he had trouble with was "Idiots" and he was even almost able to read that. So he wasn't entirely illiterate.
This a MASTERPIECE - a gold standard of directing, cinematography and soundtrack. I use this in my English high school classes to teach symbolism, situational irony and theme, but to also introduce students to the above elements. Man's eternal search for wealth in a world where we all end up equal - how kick ass of a theme is that!!!!!!
@@jeashillelal7805 .... ... HEY ,, you got me ... LIKE , LIKE ,LIKE , LIKE ... hows that ? ..... but really .... I LOVE THAT MOVIE , .... & LIKE again ...... cheers ..
And here we have it, cinema showing us exquisitely in less than 4 mins the fascination, magnetism, obsession and crushing pull of Gold on man. Only cinema is able to show it so clearly, elegantly and rapidly.
Bingo. Most people don't grasp the deeper meaning of this scene...... this is Tuco's life long dream ( escaping poverty and becoming rich) coming to fruition.
This movie is from 1966?!?! 1966!!!! Nineteen Sixty Six !!! This is the proof that cinema is art. Special Effects don't matter - technology doesn't matter. Some people were born geniuses and seems that geniuses are rare...
And it took GENIUS ITALIANS! Leone and Morricone. These guys were pickled in the incredible art and music of their culture and both had unique visions that Hollywood couldn't compare with.
Eli Wallach was a masterpiece!! Look at the hand positioning when he's looking for the grave. Greed, desperation, joy and anticipation all in one. He's saying "I'm so close and it's all mine!!" This is just awesomeness at it's best!!
The blurring of the background like a carousel while running just heightens the anticipation of finding the prize, and of course, with the legendary music... is Magnifico!!
Hasan x he ( or she ) would rather have a bone. It must have been thinking, ..what the bejesus are all these humans doing in my playground and crapper!!??
Fun fact: the director Sergio Leone let the dog run into the set, to surprise Eli Wallach. He didn’t want the scene to be TOO melodramatic, so he added that bit of unscripted detail. The jump of surprise Tuco gives is Eli’s actual reaction.
I love this scene and how it puts the whole movie in perspective. The nation is caught in the throws of the American Civil War, hundreds of thousands dying at the hands of their own countrymen in a desperate struggle... and three men fight over a few bags of money.
Raguleader This movie's been considered a satire of the Western genre. While earlier Westerns focused on romanticism and heroic deeds, this one shows the dark side, that is, greed, war, and violence.
I can't even imagine this scene without Ennio Morricone's iconic music composition. People would have forgotten it very long back. The music composition makes even the new generation to watch it even till today.
I personally love the Western genre. And I love spaghetti westerns. Sergio Leone is a absolute genius. Ennio Morricone is also a genius. The dollars trilogy is a masterpiece in filmmaking.
whitout to think that Django is an italian Invention too.The first to use a machine gun for minutes in a movie was franco Nero in Django..and not Arnold in Predator.
I always love how calculating Blondy is. Letting Tuco search for the grave, knowing he would go for it like a man possessed. Then still having that Ace up his sleeve for when Angel Eyes turns up......
