Clint Eastwood Movie:

		List Price: $29.99		Label: MGM (Video & DVD) Salesrank: 1682 Released: May 12, 2009
		Our Price: $14.48
		Used Price: $13.95
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
By far the most ambitious, unflinchingly graphic and stylistically influential western ever mounted, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is an engrossing actioner shot through with a volatile mix of myth and realism. Clint Eastwood returns as the "Man With No Name," this time teaming with two gunslingers (Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef) to pursue a cache of $200,000and letting no one, not even warring factions in a civil war, stand in their way. From sun-drenched panoramas to bold,hard close-ups, exceptional camera work captures the beauty and cruelty of the barren landscape andthe hardened characters who stride unwaveringly through it. Forging a vibrant and yet detached style of action that had not been seen before, and has never been matched since, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly shatters the western mold in true Clint Eastwood style.

• Audio: English: Mono, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio / Spanish & French: 5.1 Dolby Digital
• Language: Dubbed & Subtitled: English, French & Spanish
• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen: 2.35:1

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Great transfer
2009-11-10 - One of my favorite movies just got better. The Transfer is great. I was surprised How good of a transfer it was. The audio had its moments. This is the first old movie I have bought on blu. With the result I will buy some more. I am really happy with the transfer I watched the movie 2 times in 2 days. I saw some things I never noticed before. I am really impressed.

If this is one of your favorite movies or any Eastwood fan buy it on blu.

Blu Ray release is worth it !
2009-10-06 - I've now owned 5 versions of the film, 2-tape VHS, Laserdisc, DVD, restored 'full-length' DVD, and now the Blu Ray version...

I'm sure that if I added up the total amount spent on all of the purchases, I'd find that I've spent over $150 on this film...

It's been well worth it !

And, especially since the cost of the Blu Ray edition, is less than almost all the previous purchases... (Available for between $14 and $16).

It contains the restored 'full-length' version of the movie (like the restored DVD edition), but does not come with all of the 'extras' such as the original movie posters and booklet that were in the 'box' for the DVD.

When I played it (Sony BDP-BX2 player, Sony STR-DA3400ES upscaling receiver, Sony KDL-55xbr8 LED tv), it didn't seem to be up to 'true' HD quality, (though, all of the 'close-ups' of faces were perfect, as they always were on the previous editions, due to the high quality of the original film).

I didn't think that much had improved over the DVD release (which looked very good on my 'triple' upscaling video setup), UNTIL I played the DVD version again, and noticed the difference.

There is a great improvement in 'contrast'. Dark areas (in shadows, etc) are now visible (note the stucco wall to the left of the table that Angel Eyes stands next to in his first scene). And, the higher bitrate gives greater clarity to the sky, the ground (pebbles in the dirt, blades of grass) and all of the 'wide' background scenery. Compare the scene after Clint and Eli Wallach cross the river (where the bridge was blown up) climbing the hillside (approaching the camera). The DVD release is all 'jaggy' and 'dark', while the Blu Ray version shows every detail of the bodies strewn about the ground.

You may not notice the enhanced 'detail' if you have a small TV screen, but when shown on the larger models (50" and above) the improvements become much more apparent...

The 'restored' DVD release had added a 5.1 soundtrack, with 'added' sound effects. The Blu Ray goes beyond this, with the DTS-HD format, which (to me at least) sounds less 'added on' and has more 'punch'. The second blast from the cannon, when Eli Wallach attempts to get to the cemetery without Clint was much more pronounced (especially with a subwoofer).

The bottom line is, that any improvement to the film is worth it... I can't wait for the 3D version to be released...

4 out of 5 stars (missing 1 due to the 'bland' inclusions to the packaging).




The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
2009-09-29 - I bought this Blue-Ray DVD for a friend for Christmas. Of course, I have seen this good movie several times myself, and enjoy it. I checked on prices of Blue Ray DVD's in several stores and found the best prices on Amazon for Blue-Ray DVD's for gifts for a long time friend.

Not the classic you remember
2009-07-31 - Before you scream how dare I not give this classic 5 stars, lets get the good parts out of the way. Great video transfer, excellent color and crispness for a movie of the time. All the wonderful music and cinematography are still there. Loved seeing it at full aspect ratio as well. Performances are still excellent (at times). Audio quality is just okay, occasionally seemed a bit muddy but a lot of that is just the reality of a 1967 movie. They ugly part is that they restored all the original footage cut for US release. Normally, that'd be a good thing, and the purists will love it, and I was really looking forward to seeing the entire movie as the director intended but good god this movie now meanders. The tight, tense, character driven storyline is greatly weakened. It builds energy, then gets sidetracked on some pointless exposition for 10 minutes. It tries to jump back into the story, only to lose its focus again. The tone changes scene to scene. Some of scenes seem to be misguided attempts at comedy, others are incongruously melancholy. All of that could be made to work, but it doesn't. It just leaves big weak spots all over spilling out into what would be otherwise great performances. With a limited budget and tight focus, Sergio Leone is unmatched. With a big budget (for the time), as much dialogue as he wants and no one to stop him, he's just okay. There's a great 90-110 minute movie here, lost between footage best left on the cutting room floor.

Classic Clint
2009-07-15 - Worth the extra money for the Blu-Ray Loaded with tons of special features. A great addition to any collection.