The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Luciano Vincenzoni (story), Sergio Leone (story)

Stars:

Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef

Top Rated Movies #9 | 1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Eli Wallach	...	Tuco
Clint Eastwood	...	Blondie
Lee Van Cleef	...	Sentenza / Angel Eyes
Aldo Giuffrè	...	Alcoholic Union Captain (as Aldo Giuffre')
Luigi Pistilli	...	Father Pablo Ramirez
Rada Rassimov	...	Maria
Enzo Petito	...	Storekeeper
Claudio Scarchilli	...	Mexican Peon
John Bartha	...	Sheriff (as John Bartho)
Livio Lorenzon	...	Baker
Antonio Casale	...	Jackson / Bill Carson
Sandro Scarchilli	...	Mexican Peon
Benito Stefanelli	...	Member of Angel Eyes' Gang
Angelo Novi	...	Monk
Antonio Casas	...	Stevens

Storyline

Blondie (The Good) (Clint Eastwood) is a professional gunslinger who is out trying to earn a few dollars. Angel Eyes (The Bad) (Lee Van Cleef) is a hitman who always commits to a task and sees it through, as long as he is paid to do so. And Tuco (The Ugly) (Eli Wallach) is a wanted outlaw trying to take care of his own hide. Tuco and Blondie share a partnership together making money off of Tuco's bounty, but when Blondie unties the partnership, Tuco tries to hunt down Blondie. When Blondie and Tuco come across a horse carriage loaded with dead bodies, they soon learn from the only survivor, Bill Carson (Antonio Casale), that he and a few other men have buried a stash of gold in a cemetery. Unfortunately, Carson dies and Tuco only finds out the name of the cemetery, while Blondie finds out the name on the grave. Now the two must keep each other alive in order to find the gold. Angel Eyes (who had been looking for Bill Carson) discovers that Tuco and Blondie met with Carson and knows ...

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Plot Keywords:

spaghetti western | new mexico territory | sonora mexico | arizona desert | arizona | 

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Taglines:

They formed an alliance of hate to steal a fortune in dead man's gold

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy Spain West Germany

Language:

Italian English Spanish

Release Date:

29 December 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Good, the Ugly, the Bad

Filming Locations:

Mini Hollywood, Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$25,100,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,252,481

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Europee Associate (PEA), Arturo González Producciones Cinematográficas, Constantin Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

161 min 186 min (dubbed) 179 min (2003 extended English) 142 min (1968) (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital (2003 Extended English version)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the bridge is blown up, and Tuco and Blondie are hunkered down behind sandbags waiting for the explosion, Clint Eastwood's career came within two feet of ending prematurely. A fist-sized piece of rock shrapnel from the explosion slams into the sandbag right next to Eastwood's head (watch it in slow motion to see the rock flying in).

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Goofs

Tuco examines a Belgian 10.4mm Galand revolver in the gun shop. This gun was not invented until 1867.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stevens: You're... from Baker?
[Angel Eyes is silent, eating a bowl of stew and staring at him]
Stevens: Tell Baker that I told him all that I know already and I want to live in peace, understand? That it's no use to go on tormenting me! I know nothing at all about that case of coins.
[Angel Eyes stops eating and looks interested]
Stevens: Now that gold has disappeared, but if he'd listened we could have avoided this altogether. I went to the Army court; there were no witnesses. They couldn't uncover any more....

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Alternate Versions

The 2003 restoration of the film is the most complete Italian premiere version possible under current restoration techniques, although a couple minutes of Tuco's beating have been left out, apparently because the film was too damaged to include in the restored print. Additionally, the premiere version had an intermission placed after the scene where the dehydrated Blondie spills coffee on Tuco and then calls him his friend.

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Connections

Referenced in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001)

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Soundtracks

The Ecstasy of Gold
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

For a girl who doesn't enjoy westerns much, this was one of the greatest films ever!

Gosh, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, I finally saw this film! Who hasn't heard of it? First off, may I say that Clint Eastwood... what a hottie in his day! :D Sorry, had to get that off my chest. Sergio Leone from what I understood was a huge western film fanatic and in the 60's pretty much most folks had moved onto other genre's. I mean, I would agree that most western's are pretty much the same and stereotypical.

Sergio however took a story and added some elements to it such as comedy, drama, and war. The story flows so well and just compliments all of it's characters. By far my favorite character was The Good, played by Clint. He is a bounty hunter who captures The Ugly numerous times just to free him before every hanging and splits the winnings with him. When they learn of a coffin in the desert that has $200,000, they go for it. Of course we have the Bad who is a ruthless killer who also wants in on the doe.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is a terrific film and I thank all the IMDb users for their useful comments and that pushed me to finally rent this western classic. Let's give it up for Sergio!

10/10