The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Italian: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo) is a 1966 Italian epic Spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone, starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach in the title roles. The screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli was responsible for the film's sweeping widescreen cinematography and Ennio Morricone composed the famous film score, including its main theme. It is the third film in the Dollars Trilogy following A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). The plot revolves around three gunslingers competing to find a fortune in buried Confederate gold amid the violent chaos of gunfights, hangings, American Civil War battles and prison camps. The film was a co-production between companies in West Germany, Italy and Spain.

Blondie (The Good) is a professional gunslinger who is out trying to earn a few dollars. Angel Eyes (The Bad) is a hit man who always commits to a task and sees it through, as long as he is paid to do so. And Tuco (The Ugly) is a wanted outlaw trying to take care of his own hide. Tuco and Blondie share a partnership together making money off Tuco's bounty, but when Blondie unties the partnership, Tuco tries to hunt down Blondie. When Blondie and Tuco comes across a horse carriage loaded with dead bodies, they soon learn from the only survivor (Bill Carson) 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 meet with Carson and knows they know the location of the gold...

Directed by     Sergio Leone
Produced by     Alberto Grimaldi
Screenplay by     Age & Scarpelli
Sergio Leone
Luciano Vincenzoni
Story by     Sergio Leone
Luciano Vincenzoni
Starring     Clint Eastwood
Lee Van Cleef
Eli Wallach
Music by     Ennio Morricone
Cinematography     Tonino Delli Colli
Editing by     Eugenio Alabiso
Nino Baragli
Distributed by     United Artists
Release date(s)    

    15 December 1966 (Italy)

Running time     177 minutes
Country     Italy
Language     Italian
English
Budget     $1.2 million

Box office     $25,100,000