Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Luciano Vincenzoni (story) &
Sergio Leone (story) ...

Release Date:

29 December 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Western

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Gold | Cemetery | Hitman | Bandit | Honor

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Eli Wallach	...	Tuco
Clint Eastwood	...	Blondie
Lee Van Cleef	...	Sentenza / Angel Eyes
Aldo Giuffrè	...	Alcoholic Union Captain
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

Also Known As:

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (UK) (USA)
El bo, el lleig i el dolent (Spain: Catalan title)
El bueno, el feo y el malo (Spain)
I due magnifici straccioni (Italy) (working title)
The Good, the Ugly, the Bad (USA) (literal English title)
The Magnificent Rogues (UK)
Zwei glorreiche Halunken (West Germany)

Runtime:

161 min | France:186 min (dubbed version) | Spain:182 min | 179 min (2005 DVD Special Edition) | Finland:142 min (1984) (cut version)

Country:

Italy | Spain | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #21520) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (extended version) (2003) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Italy:VM14 | Spain:13 | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1968) | Norway:16 (1982) | Australia:MA (re-rating) (2003) | South Korea:12 | Brazil:14 | Germany:16 (DVD release) | West Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (2008) | USA:TV-14 (cable rating) | France:-12 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:14+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Chile:18 | France:U (orginal rating) | France:U (re-rating) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:15 (re-rating) | Ireland:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:M (video rating) | New Zealand:R13 (Special Edition DVD) | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:M (re-rating) (1969) | USA:R (re-rating) (1989) | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Arturo González Producciones Cinematográficas, S.A

Trivia:

The three man gunfight scene is called either a "Mexican standoff" or a truel (game theory). There are several mathematical papers covering the many complex outcomes of a truel. Other movies that use a truel are Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Blondie kicks the lid off of Arch Stanton's grave, the lid slides sideways along the ground. But, in the next shot, the lid almost hits Tuco in the face, like it was kicked upward.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Stevens: You're... from Baker... Tell Baker that I told him all that I know already. Tell him 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. 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. I can't tell Baker what happened to the money; go back and tell him that!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Orion's Cloud (2002)

The good, the better, the best.

This is without a doubt my all-time favorite western.

The beginning of the film is so memorable, with the young, rough good-looks of Eastwood being labeled "The Good", the absolutely evil look of Lee Van Cleef being labeled "The Bad", and a dirty, unkempt, desperado Eli Wallach with booze and food flying being labeled "The Ugly". The ending fight scene with its 3-way showdown is one of the most memorable pieces of film I have ever watched.

Leone did a great job with the camera direction in this movie and the acting is impressive. Eastwood, Van Cleef, and Wallach are absolutely fantastic.

The only thing that might scare some viewers off is the length of the film. It is long, but you just don't seem to notice it when you are watching the film - you are just too damn busy watching the best classic western of all time.

Do yourself a favor and rent this movie if you haven't seen it. If there was ever a perfect western, this is it.