Mexican standoff 1966 Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", where the titular characters played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach face each other at gunpoint. Director John Woo, considered a major influence on the action genre, is known for his highly chaotic action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and frequent use of slow motion. Director Quentin Tarantino (who has cited Woo as an influence) has featured Mexican standoff scenes in his films like "Pulp Fiction" (restaurant sequence); "Inglourious Basterds" (the tavern scene features multiple Mexican standoffs including meta-discussion); and the climactic scene of "Reservoir Dogs", which depicts a standoff
Clint Eastwood in the 1960s all three were generally given bad reviews by critics (despite select American critics, who had seen the films in Italy, previously having positive outlooks) and marked the beginning of Eastwood's battle to win the respect of American film critics. Judith Crist described "A Fistful of Dollars" as "cheapjack" while "Newsweek" described "For a Few Dollars More" as "excruciatingly dopey". "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was similarly panned by most critics upon US release. Renata Adler of "The New York Times" describing it as "the most expensive, pious and repellent movie in the history of its peculiar genre". "Variety"