MovieChat Forums > Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1967) Discussion > How did Angel Eyes and Tuco and Blondie ...

How did Angel Eyes and Tuco and Blondie knew each other?

posted 8 years ago by wildj7
5 replies | jump to latest

When Tuco and Blondie arrived at the Union POW camp, they were lined up with other prisoners during roll call.

Tuco saw Angel Eyes and said to Blondie: "Hey, that's Angel Eyes".

How did they know each other?

Angel Eyes did see Tuco at the end of the rope during the 2nd hanging scam at the beginning at the movie and he also saw Blondie nearby on a horse with his rifle.

But unless there is a scene missing (or a scene that wasn't filmed) showing the three of them interacted with each other in that town prior to the 2nd hanging, there are no other parts in the movie prior to the POW camp showing that their 3 paths have crossed each other.

p.s. I've seen this movie over 2 dozen times including original Italian version in Italy, US version here on VHS, then Italian and US restored version and just now, the extended 2 hours and 58 min version.

[–] mgtbltp 8 years ago

From the clues we get in the film we can surmise that Angel Eyes is a competent hired gun of some high repute who "always gets the job done" and that he has been in operation in West Texas, Mexico, New Mexico and "Arizona". I include Arizona because it's the most lawless and plausible area where Angel Eyes, Tuco and Blondie would probably have been operating and the most likely area where they would have seen or met up with him prior to the events depicted in GBU. As I mentioned above (in the FAQ) it was the most lawless and remote area in the Southwest at the time, El Paso & Mesilla being slightly more civilized.

[–] simonxlong 8 years ago

I always figured they had "worked" together in the past. At the very least, they were all outlaws of some repute in the area and most likely had crossed paths several times in the past.

[–] cassbtt 8 years ago

These excuses are all inventions.

It's a bug. Maybe something was lost in the translation. Along with several preposterous coincidences, these would sink any other movie.

But this one? 11 out of 10, any day of the week.

And a 12 for the 'cool' factor. Guys like Tarantino are good, but are still trying to catch up to Leone.

[–] simonxlong 8 years ago

I don't think they're inventions. I think it is a pretty obvious inference from the context of the film.

[–] cassbtt 8 years ago

Yeah but I'd say this movie is about anything but inference. It's what so many people love about it.

I still think an explanation for the OP's query is somewhere on a cutting room floor. Maybe in a 100th anniversary great grandchild of the director's version!

I did think of one thing: It could be that Leone's 'teasing' us. Like how he brings back actors from the earlier movie(s) after they've been killed/dead/kaput. (I'd have loved to have seen Klaus Kinski's Hunchback make a recurrence)

So I could see Leone throwing in a line like "Hey, it's Angel Eyes" as a connection to Van Cleef and Eastwood in Few Dollars More, where they had sort of an alliance - just for the fun of it. Personally, as I watch this movie, I continually wish there were some connection - just for the fun of it!

What I watched last night was the extended one, with the voice dubbed parts. They were noticeable, but still fun. I can see why they were left out of the original, though. None were critical to the story. But still fun to see, and hear - yeah, the voices were distinguishable as 'older'.

Great flick though.