Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
I’ve been in a state of transition over these past several months since retirement. One result has been my complete inability to write anything in this humble blog. Not because there’s nothing going on, but because there’s too much. These times overwhelm us with the relentless pounding of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
So, in an effort to break out of my writer’s block I’ve decided to reflect with a bit of music for these times.
The Movie
The movie “The Good The bad and The Ugly,” was released way back in 1966. From the totally not bad Wikipedia we have this bit:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Italian: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, lit. ’The good, the ugly, the bad’) is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as “the Good”, Lee Van Cleef as “the Bad”, and Eli Wallach as “the Ugly”. Its screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni, and Leone (with additional screenplay material and dialogue provided by an uncredited Sergio Donati), based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli was responsible for the film’s sweeping widescreen cinematography, and Ennio Morricone composed the film’s score. It was an Italian-led production with co-producers in Spain, West Germany, and the United States.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was marketed in the United States as the third and final installment in the Dollars Trilogy, following A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). The film was a financial success, grossing over $38 million at the worldwide box office, and garnered Eastwood publicity.
Fondly referred to as a “Spaghetti Western” as it was directed by an Italian, with a striking original musical score by yet another Italian. It’s still considered one of the most iconic western movies ever made.
The Music
The score was composed by frequent Leone collaborator Ennio Morricone. The music has proven to be timeless, perfectly capturing the feel of the “Old West” myth of our American image.
I happened to stumble upon a YouTube video of this piece the other day and the music has stuck in my head. This particular live performance was by the The Danish National Symphony Orchestra in 2018. It’s a spectacular performance of an excellent bit of music. I think there is a certain irony that this music, which so perfectly captures the feel of our Old American West, was written by an Italian and now performed by the Danish Symphony.
The Performance
Without further blathering, here is the Danish National Symphony Orchestra performing Ennio Morricone’s musical masterpiece “The Good The Bad and The Ugly.” For those old-timers among us, may this music bring back wonderful memories of a bygone era.
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