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:

The Man with No Name Returns!

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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

In the gun store, everything Tuco (Eli Wallach) does with the guns was unscripted. Wallach knew little about guns, so he was instructed to do whatever he wanted. Most of the Storekeeper's (Enzo Petito's) bemused reactions throughout the scene are genuine. The scene where Tuco shoves the open or closed sign in his mouth was also Wallach's idea.

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Goofs

The body in the grave would only have been in the ground about a month, and would not have been reduced to such a state so quickly.

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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

Banned for 15 years in Norway. Finally, on 31 of August 1982, the movie passed The Norwegian Board of Film Classification with a 16 rating.

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Connections

Referenced in BoJack Horseman: Thoughts and Prayers (2017)

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Soundtracks

The Ecstasy of Gold
Written by Ennio Morricone

User Reviews

the greatest of the great!

I wasn't sure if I was going to comment on this film because everything has already been said by the hundreds of other people who have posted their thoughts, but I decided that I should really put my two cents in since this is my favorite movie.

This film, in my opinion, is not only the greatest spaghetti western of all time. It is the greatest movie of all time. Period. Regardless of genre. I could probably watch it every day, and be perfectly happy doing so.

The music is perfection. The way the music drives this movie is absolutely amazing. The musical genius of Morricone and the incredible direction of Sergio Leone is a combination that will probably never be equaled. The theme song will forever be etched in your brain. In fact, it probably already is, even if you haven't seen the movie! The scene where Tuco runs through the graveyard with the song "Ecstacy of Gold" is pure poetry. And the showdown at the end with that great music- just incredible.

The story is riveting. There is not a single dull moment. The movie is long, but Leone's direction is so good that you will love the fact that you can enjoy this movie for three hours.

Lee Van Cleef is my favorite spaghetti western actor, and he is incredible as "Angel Eyes." It is the part he was born to play. Eli Wallach is perfect as Tuco. He really shines in this movie. Some people say he steals the show, and I can see why they think so. Eastwood is excellent as "Blondie," although I don't think Eastwood has as strong of a presence as Van Cleef (I know many will disagree, and that's OK because all three actors are superb in this film so why split hairs?).

This movie is hypnotic. It's operatic. It's sad. It's funny. It's gritty. It's violent. It's art. It's action. It's pure entertainment. The film is just so incredible on so many different levels that EVERYONE should see it, regardless of what kinds of movies they are into. And it's so cool that the greatest flick ever just happens to be a spaghetti western. If you haven't seen this movie, stop what you are doing, and go get it now!!