The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

"For three men the Civil War wasn't hell. It was practice."

1966 2h 41m IT

🙌

8.5

BANGER

★8.5TMDB · 10,023

Western

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

“For three men the Civil War wasn't hell. It was practice.”

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Cast

Clint Eastwood
Blondie
Eli Wallach
Tuco Ramirez
Lee Van Cleef
Sentenza / Angel Eyes
Aldo Giuffrè
Alcoholic Union Captain
Luigi Pistilli
Father Pablo Ramirez
Rada Rassimov
Maria
Enzo Petito
Storekeeper
Claudio Scarchilli
Tuco Henchman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sergio Leone
Writers: Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone, Agenore Incrocci
Languages: Italian
Countries: United States of America, Italy, Spain, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 161 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $39M — a 32.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: United States of America, Italy, Spain, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sergio Leone, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Eugenio Alabiso shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sergio Leone directs. Tonino Delli Colli behind the camera. Ennio Morricone scores. Eugenio Alabiso cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Italy, Spain, Germany. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 161 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Shot for just $1.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Grossed $39M — a 32.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
460 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5International production across 4 countries: United States of America, Italy, Spain, Germany.
6Directed by Sergio Leone, shot by Tonino Delli Colli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Ennio Morricone. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Eugenio Alabiso shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "For three men the Civil War wasn't hell. It was practice.".
11IMDB entry: tt0060196 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1210,023 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
13Classified under 23 themes, including "gold", "army", "bounty hunter", "hitman".
14Released under 37 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tonino Delli Colli
Original score: Ennio Morricone
Editing: Eugenio Alabiso
Production design: Carlo Simi
Costume design: Carlo Simi
Makeup / hair: Rino Carboni
Stunt coordinator: Benito Stefanelli
Runtime: 161 min · 2h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,200,000
Box office: $38,900,000
Return: 3242% of budget
Original language: IT
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Sergio Leone

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What people are saying

John Chard2016-05-08
★ 9/10
I'm looking for the owner of that horse. He's tall, blonde, he smokes a cigar, and he's a pig! It's debatable of course, since there are legions of fans of the first two films in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trology, but with each film there not only came a longer running time, but also a rise in quality - debatable of course! Here for the third and final part of the trilogy, Leone adds Eli Wallach to the established pairing of Lee Van Cleef and Clint Eastwood, and brings all his tools of the trade to the party. Plot is slight, the three principals are on a collision course to find some buried gold, with each man having varying degrees of scuzziness, so how will it pan out? Such is the genius of the narrative, it's a fascinating journey to undertake. The characterisations are ripe and considered, the various traits and peccadilloes beautifully enhanced, and with Leone being Leone, there's no shortage of cruelty and humour. He also brings his style, the close ups, long shots and some outstanding framing of characters in various situations. The story encompasses The Civil War, which pitches our leads into "The Battle of Branston Bridge", where here we get to see just how great Leone was at constructing full on battle sequences. It's exciting, thrilling and literally dynamite, whilst Aldo Giuffrè as Captain Clinton turns in some memorable support. The Euro locations pass muster as the Wild West, superbly photographed by Tonino Delli Colli, and then of course there is Ennio Morricone's musical compositions. It's a score that has become as iconic as Eastwood's Man With No Name, a part of pop culture for ever more. It mocks the characters at times, energises them at others, whilst always us the audience are aurally gripped. There's obviously some daft coincidences, this is after all pasta world, and the near three hour run time could be construed as indulgent. But here's the thing, those who love The Good, The Bad and the Ugly could quite easily stand for another hour of Leone's classic. I mean, more barbed dialogue, brutal violence and fun! Great, surely! From the sublime arcade game like opening credit sequences, to the legendary cemetery stand-off at the finale, this is a Western deserving of the high standing it is held. 9/10
CRCulver2018-09-06
★ 7/10
Sergio Leone's <i>The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly</i> is a classic Western film. Clint Eastwood is the Good, aka the Man with No Name, a taciturn wanderer who follows his own sense of justice. His opposite is Angel Eyes (Lee van Cleef), the Bad, a brutal mercenary who kills anyone who stands in the way of making ready cash. The film's comic relief is Tuco (Eli Wallach), the Ugly, a Mexican bandit wanted in several states who ends up inadvertently doing some good turns. At the height of the Civil War, as Union and Confederate armies battle each other in the West, these three men vie for an abandoned cache of gold coins. The film is especially memorable for its pace and cinematography. The opening scene, for example, juxtaposes closeups of anxious faces with vast panoramas of the Western landscape, and 10 minutes passes before a single word is said. It is like Tarkovsky transplanted to a vastly different setting. That's not to say it's all so serious, though. In a sense the film is a "two buddies on the road" movie, with Tuco the wisecracker and Eastwood's character the straight man. It is also a war film, with Leone apparently sparing no expense in presenting a realistic image of hundreds of men charging each other on the battlefield. This is not among the greatest films I've ever seen, but it's very well-made. Because this is a "spaghetti Western", an effort in the genre realized by a joint Italian-Spanish production team with American lead actors, the film has some curious qualities. Because of the use of locals, all the faces of Civil War soldiers are so clearly Italian, even though Italian immigration into the US picked up only later. The Mexican bandit Tuco is played by a Jew from New York, and furthermore Leone mocks the character's Catholicism in a way that Americans of the era would, although the faith would be in no way foreign to his Italian audience.
Peter McGinn2020-10-19
★ 10/10
I am not a fan of Sergio Leone. In fact, this movie and Once Upon a Time in the West are the only movies of his that I have seen. But I think they are both classic westerns. He seems to bring out the best in his cinematographer, both for scenery and for his characters. In one review I read, he was criticized for staying with facial close-ups too long, and I would probably agree if he populated his movies with beautiful actors and actresses as many films do, but he relies heavily upon actors with interesting faces. Sometimes I feel he relies on too many shootings, and on having his gunfighters be too damn good. Two, four, six opponents? Doesn’t matter, these guys kill them all and come out unscathed. But that is part of the western movie gunfighter mystique. On a different level, I have owned the soundtrack for this movie: The Good the Bad and the Ugly, for close to 50 years. I write novels in my spare time, and I started listening to this soundtrack (plus others like Thunderball) for background music as I wrote. I moved on to Ambient music, such as Brian Eno, but still listen to this album. As a side note, I heard a great version of this movie music on YouTube, performed by the Danish National Orchestra. Check it out. So the movie works for me on multiple levels, and I own a copy so I can watch it any time the mood strikes me