Both The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Kill Bill 2 feature soundtrack music composed by Ennio Morricone for Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns. Quentin Tarantino uses music from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly in a confrontation scene in Kill Bill 2 to highlight similarities between the characters and hint that The Bride will survive, like Clint Eastwood's character Blondie. The document discusses how both films reference the Western and thriller genres through the use of close-ups, lighting, locations, and heroic archetypes.

1. Soundtrack Intertextual References
‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ is a 1966 Italian Spaghetti
Western film, directed by Sergio Leone.
The film’s trio consists of;
Clint Eastwood as ‘Blondie’, The Good,
Lee Van Vleef as ‘Angel Eyes’, The Bad,
and Eli Wallach as Tuco Ramirez known as ‘The Rat,’ The
Ugly.
‘Kill Bill 2’ is a 2004 film, directed by Quentin Tarantino.
Following ‘The Bride’ who’s a former member of an
assassination team seeking revenge on her ex-colleagues who
massacred members of her wedding party and tried to kill her.
With Uma Thurman as ‘The Bride’ or Beatrix Kiddo,
David Carradine as Bill,
and Michael Madsen as Budd.
Both of these films feature the
soundtrack from the Spaghetti
Western film scores of Ennio
Morricone.
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ & ‘Kill Bill 2’

2. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
In the finale of the film, the trio gather in a graveyard on the Mexican border, the iconic
hero, ‘Blondie’, takes on ‘The Bad’ and ‘The Ugly.’
The sound of vultures in terms of sound already adds to the
atmosphere; connotations with being a scrounger and only
surviving from using others success.
Blondie, the man with no name, the cool and collected hero of
the film. Where he confronts ‘The Bad’ and ‘The Ugly.’
The soundtrack was composed by Ennio Morricone in 1964. Maurice,
who was hired by Leone, created this score which begins with the
melody of ‘The Ecstasy of Gold.’ Where Tuco, ‘The Rat’, is searching
for the grave which holds gold coins.
This is then followed by ‘The Triple Duel.’ Complementing the famous
climax, the three-men standoff. An epic showdown which is seen by
many film critics to be one of the “most electrifying climaxes ever
filmed.” The music is an integral component to create this tension.
The choice of a deserted, sparse Mexican border graveyard location creates connotations
with the thriller genre conventions.
Similarly to ‘Essex Boys’ this prime-evil landscape with no borders suggests the characters
intentions. That there’s no boundaries to the actions that are occurring. The naturalistic
ambient lighting makes the scene appear realistic and that the audience are watching the
seen unfold in front of them, enhancing the viewing experience.

3. Kill Bill 2
The use of a claustrophobic location when, Beatrix Kiddo, ‘The Bride’
is buried alive links to the thriller convention of entrapment and small
claustrophobic spaces, linking to the thriller genre.
The use of a point of view camera angle also helps emphasise the
tight space, shifting that feeling of uncomfortable claustrophobia to
the audience. Appealing to the human fear of being buried alive, this
builds the tension of Beatrix Kiddo’s actions, making the whole
situation and escape scene even more thrilling.
In the Beatrix Kiddo buried alive scene, the only lighting is her torch. This
character ambient prop creates the audience attention to be focused on
specifics. The emerged viewer can only see what Beatrix Kiddo herself
can see. The use of shadows created, chiaroscuro lighting, makes the
space very dark and intimidating. The fear of the unknown in such a
claustrophobic setting. This single torch light being a ‘normal’ thing, but in
such a tense and dramatic situation references the thriller genre.
With the deserted location already hinting at ‘The Good, The Bad
and The Ugly’ the characters also reference Sergio Leone’s film.
‘The Bride’ (The Good) takes on Bill’s (The Bad’s) trailer trash
brother Budd (The Ugly.)
Budd is represented to be one cunning step ahed of Beatrix when
he shoots her in the chest as she tries to attack him. He later
drags the paralysed Beatrix to a wooden coffin to bury her alive.

4. To those who have made a connection between the two films, may
be able to predict the outcome from certain films. When ‘The Bride’ is
faced with this confrontation, the soundtrack is a clue that she’ll
survive. Linking Beatrix Kiddo to ‘Blondie’ also suggests how this
heroic character will always be victorious.
Quentin Tarantino has chosen to use the Spaghetti Western soundtrack from Sergio Leone’s
‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ when ‘The Bride confront Bud at the beginning of ‘Kill Bill 2’
to highlight certain aspects of both films which link. The hint at ‘The Bride’s’ survival in two
separate scenarios, linking her to ‘Blondie.’
The Soundtrack
This heroic archetype is the comparison between Beatrix Kiddo and ‘Blondie’ also is used in
costume. In ‘Kill Bill 2’ Beatrix Kiddo is buried alive. A close-up of her cowboy-style shoes is
another reference to the Western character ‘Blondie’ which also hints at her survival.
If a viewer recognises this intertextual references they may have a deeper understanding of the
scene and feel flattered at the recognition.
Both films use extreme close-ups, a classic thriller genre convention.
In the confrontation scenes in ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ shows the three men in a
standoff, quick cuts to each of the men keep the pace quick to keep the audience engrossed
and immersed in the film’s action. Similarly, in ‘Kill Bill 2’ in the Beatrix Kiddo shooting scene,
close ups of the faces of characters are used. Use of close ups and zooms are common in
thrillers, the convention helps to enhance or identify important objects / characters in the film.