If the only time you've heard Ennio Morricone's track "The Ecstasy of Gold" from the soundtrack to The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly was the remix in a Modelo commercial, well...I guess it's better than nothing. It's nice that it enjoys some exposure, but it also feels like this incredible piece of music gets cheapened when it's just used to sell beer.

Over a long and respected career, the composer worked in a wide variety of film genres, helping to create an entirely new sound along the way, and Giuseppe Tornatore's documentary from 2021 does of a fine job of stressing the legacy and importance of the man's contributions to film and television. His life story is basically all here, from his early musicianship and first forays into TV advertising, to his groundbreaking work with Sergio Leone and the subsequent inroads into Hollywood. While perhaps best known to American audiences for his spaghetti Western soundtracks, there's a lot more to his filmography than just Clint Eastwood squinting against the sun.

Italian crime films (Revolver), giallo thrillers (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), historical dramas (The Mission), and science fiction horror (The Thing) all benefited from the moods Morricone could create. Another impressive and underappreciated aspect of his life is his 63 year marriage to his wife, Maria Travia. In so many instances, great genius seems to doom supremely talented individuals who sacrifice relationships, intentionally or not, for the sake of their vision. It's no small feat that a man with such skill and imaginative innovation can come across as a relatively humble and stable person! With the use of vintage photographs and footage, along with numerous interviews, Ennio successfully paints a picture of an artist who continues to influence others in countless ways.