Everyone is always Team Clint Eastwood, but I believe that Tuco is actually the main character in that film. He's a greater fighter definitely on the same level as the others, but he's not a force of nature like Blondie or Angel Eyes. One example is the scene where Angel Eyes decides not to torture Blondie because he knows that Blondie is the same type of person as he, AKA something different than human. Tuco however didn't endure the torture and Angel Eyes knew he would crack.
Tuco is the sympathetic eye to which we see a multiple ideals and ways of life take place. He just wants his piece of the pie, and does whatever is necessary to get the job done. Angel Eyes and Blondie want the money, but you really get the feeling that no matter how much money it is it wouldn't improve or affect their life very much. They will keep living how they're living for the rest of their lives.
One thing I noticed after a recent watching, Angel Eyes has got to be the basis for the modern truly terrible villain. When he kills the two guys who hired him as a mercenary it really showed that he's about more than just getting paid, about sending a message to the world, for himself maybe. Modern villains like this are characters like Joker and Anton Chigurh.
Blondie many people consider to be the main character and the hero of the story, but he actually seems worse than Tuco. Many points through the movie he betrays Tuco, never respecting him (despite Tuco being a very strong, skilled fighter), and betraying him multiple times. You never really know what motivation Blondie has for anything. Through the movie you see that he has some sympathy for normal humans, in a way that people might have for a dying animal. Blondie understands Tuco's pain after the visit to his missionary brother, and he helps the dying man pass on as easy as he can.
Tuco seems almost genuinely surprised every time Blondie fucks him over. This makes me think that had Blondie been forthright with him that they could have had a lasting friendship and partnership. However this is made impossible by the fact that Blondie doesn't respect him, and considers him to be less than he is. I think however the director makes good comparison visually between them in the shootout in the abandoned town. They are allies, and on the same side, and fight with equal ability, and they're shown regularly on the same level and in similar poses.
Maybe I'm over-thinking it, but it seems to be like, Tuco is a man who acknowledges himself for who he truly is, and could be a trustworthy and good man if given the opportunity to climb out of the filth.
Anyway, I could talk about it all day, it's one of my favorite movies ever and I watch it every other month or so and notice something completely new.
Submitted April 25, 2019 at 10:38AM by Hulawan http://bit.ly/2XJ8z4m