This classic adventure film from 1948 has been described as “one of the greatest achievements in Hollywood history” and as such is the top rated Western on Rotten Tomatoes. Believe it or not, it’s not The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
John Huston’s classic neo-Western The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is based on B. Traven’s novel of the same name from 1927 and stars Humphrey Bogart, with Walter Huston, Tim Holt and Bruce Bennett in support.
The story follows Dobbs and Curtin who are constantly bickering until one night Dobbs shoots Curtin and decides to take all the gold. Curtin survives and decides to flee in the middle of the night. Upon finding Curtin gone, Dobbs leaves but is ambushed at a waterhole by Gold Hat and trouble ensues.
The Rotten Tomatoes synopsis reads: “In this classic adventure film, two rough-and-tumble wanderers, Dobbs (Bogart) and Curtin (Holt), meet up with a veteran prospector, Howard (Huston), in Mexico and head into the Sierra Madre mountains to find gold. Although they discover treasure, they also find plenty of trouble, not only from ruthless bandits lurking in the dangerous Mexican wilderness but from their own insecurities and greed, which threaten to bring conflict at any moment.”
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre was filmed in Mexico and the United States, with most of the filming taking place in the Mexican the states of Tamaulipas (Tampico), Michoacán (Jungapeo) and Durango.
So well received was The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, that it received a 100% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, exceeding The Good, the Bad and the Ugly receives only 97% from the critics.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) stars Clint Eastwood and is an Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone.
It’s synopsis reads: “In the Southwest during the Civil War, a mysterious stranger, Joe (Eastwood), and a Mexican outlaw, Tuco (Eli Wallach), form an uneasy partnership – Joe turns in the bandit for the reward money, then rescues him just as he is being hanged. When Joe’s shot at the noose goes awry during one escapade, a furious Tuco tries to have him murdered. The men re-team abruptly, however, to beat out a sadistic criminal and the Union army and find $20,000 that a soldier has buried in the desert.”
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly makes the top spot in many people’s vest films of all time so it is quite shocking that it’s been pipped to the post by Rotten Tomatoes critics.
The critics consensus of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly reads: “Arguably the greatest of the spaghetti westerns, this epic features a compelling story, memorable performances, breathtaking landscapes, and a haunting score.”
One reviewer said: “Sergio Leone made the greatest western of all time. Every sequence is perfectly constructed and the iconic moments are pure cinema.”
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’s critics consensus states: “Remade but never duplicated, this darkly humorous morality tale represents John Huston at his finest.”
“John Huston has turned out the best picture that has come from Warner Brothers’ studios since the war,” said one reviewer on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.
But with an audience rating of 97% in comparison to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’s 93%, the choice of which is better is certainly up for discussion.