The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (theme) 80's R & B band Cameo used the theme's opening whistle in their singles "Word Up!" and "Single Life". Las Vegas, Nevada-based band Sin City Sinners always walk onto stage with a recording of the tune playing in the background. In the film , the character Jacob Moore, played by Shia LaBeouf, had a mobile cell phone ring tone of the opening tune of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", the film coincidentally also starred the actor who played the "Ugly", Eli Wallach. In the film "Faster, "the character "Killer" also had a mobile cell phone ring tone of
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Ugly" received criticism for its depiction of violence. Leone explains that "the killings in my films are exaggerated because I wanted to make a tongue-in-cheek satire on run-of-the-mill westerns... The west was made by violent, uncomplicated men, and it is this strength and simplicity that I try to recapture in my pictures." To this day, Leone's effort to reinvigorate the timeworn Western is widely acknowledged. Critical opinion of the film on initial release was mixed, as many reviewers at that time looked down on "spaghetti westerns". In a negative review in "The New York Times", critic Renata Adler said that