--- title: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" year: 1966 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly" fi1m_id: "the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly" imdb_id: "tt0060196" tmdb_id: 429 wikidata_id: "Q41483" fi1m_score: 92 critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 10 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:08.483503+00:00" region: "SA" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) Directed by Sergio Leone · 2h 41m · Western ## Identity The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly - **IMDb ID:** tt0060196 - **TMDB ID:** 429 - **Wikidata ID:** Q41483 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060196/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/429, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q41483 **Fi1m score: 92** · Critics 79 from 10 reviews *In a sentence:* We came for the gunfights and stayed for the competitive staring > Sergio Leone makes a gold hunt worth every long stare, with Eli Wallach supplying the grubby humour and Ennio Morricone the excitement. A wandering middle stretch tests our patience; the film more than earns it back. ## Synopsis During the American Civil War, three gunslingers pursue Confederate gold while fighting spreads around them. Clint Eastwood plays Blondie, Eli Wallach is Tuco Ramirez and Lee Van Cleef plays Angel Eyes, rivals drawn towards the same fortune with little reason to trust one another. Their search crosses a landscape in which the war keeps intruding on private business, bringing the violence of the gold hunt alongside that of the wider conflict. Sergio Leone directs a Western about men intent on getting rich while the country around them tears itself apart. ## Review *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* is a superb Western, and we would recommend it even to someone usually unmoved by men with guns. Sergio Leone gives three fortune hunters a Civil War to get through, then allows their greed to occupy an unreasonable amount of our attention. The attraction is how thoroughly he understands their selfishness and how much amusement he finds in it. Nobody has to become respectable for the film to become absorbing. At 161 minutes, it does take longer than it needs. Eastwood plays Blondie with a restraint that makes every small change in his expression worth watching. Lee Van Cleef’s Angel Eyes has a more forbidding presence; his stillness seems to discourage questions. Between them, Eli Wallach’s Tuco Ramirez is a welcome disturbance, full of appetites and grievances the others would rather keep out of sight. Wallach lets us enjoy Tuco’s shamelessness while keeping his vulnerability in view. He is the strongest reason to care about where the hunt takes these men. Tonino Delli Colli’s cinematography allows the open country to fill the frame, then comes close enough to make a face feel inescapable. The scale of the landscapes makes the close-ups feel almost rude, as though we ought to step back and give these men some space. We were gripped by those stares, because the framing makes a small movement seem capable of starting the violence. Editors Eugenio Alabiso and Nino Baragli prolong those pauses, making us wait for a movement before allowing the release of a gunshot. The gunfights benefit from all the looking that precedes them. Ennio Morricone’s music is allowed to be as conspicuous as the men, and the film is much more exciting for it. It gives the violence a scale that the gold hunt, described on paper, could scarcely justify. Carlo Simi’s production design and costumes make the film’s roughness convincing, even when Leone is being extravagantly theatrical. The men look as if they belong in these barren surroundings, which gives the elaborate confrontations some much-needed weight. The war matters because Leone allows suffering to interrupt the fun of watching criminals at work. He can enjoy the ingenuity of violent men and still be appalled by a conflict that makes such men seem ordinary. The anti-war passages give the film a compassion its title hardly promises, though the relish with which some cruelty is staged can make that compassion harder to accept. At times Leone lingers over brutality after we have understood what he wants us to feel. The greater weakness is the length. Leone is so good at building individual encounters that he seems reluctant to leave any of them behind, and the middle stretch loses some forward pressure. The screenplay, credited to Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone, has a simple pursuit to sustain through all these detours. Some are rich enough to justify the time; others make us conscious of how much further there is to go. Leone’s Western makes little room for the comfort of a dependable hero. That can take some getting used to, especially when the cruelty stops being funny. We would recommend it well beyond the usual Western audience, provided the appetite for rough humour and prolonged menace is there. Give it an uninterrupted evening, with the phone out of reach. *Fi1m score 92, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics respond warmly to Sergio Leone’s western, praising its visual storytelling, dark humour and Ennio Morricone’s score. The reviews repeatedly single out the wide landscapes, extreme close-ups and carefully staged confrontations, finding more than stylish violence in the hunt for gold. Several identify compassion and an anti-war message beneath the gunslingers’ ruthlessness, while Time Out gives particular credit to Eli Wallach’s Tuco for keeping the spectacle human. The main reservations concern pace, length and brutality, though these produce sharply different readings. RogerEbert.com admires the individual scenes but finds the film roughly half an hour too long; other favourable reviews acknowledge a meandering story without treating it as a serious obstacle. The New York Times stands apart in rejecting the violence as sadistic and the plotting as thin. The spread is therefore wide, but the disagreement is concentrated in one strongly negative response rather than an evenly divided consensus. ## Straight answers **Is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly worth watching?** *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* is worth watching for almost anyone with an evening to spare, and we scored it 92. Sergio Leone's gold hunt runs long at 161 minutes, and the middle stretch loses some forward pressure, but Eli Wallach's shameless Tuco and Ennio Morricone's music make the wait pay off. **How long is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and what is it rated?** *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* runs 2h 41m. It is a western film. **Where can I watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Saudi Arabia?** *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* is not on any streaming or rental service in Saudi Arabia at the moment. It is available in 18 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How violent or frightening is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and is it suitable for children?** *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* is an 18 certificate in the UK and not suitable for children. The violence is prolonged rather than constant, built from long stares and sudden gunshots, and Leone lingers over some cruelty after the point has been made. The war passages show real suffering; the squeamish should expect menace throughout. **How does The Good, the Bad and the Ugly compare to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre?** *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly* is the more extravagant film, a gold hunt staged at operatic length across a Civil War landscape, where [*The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*](https://film.one/film/the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre) is tighter and more frank about how men excuse their own greed. Leone's is the greater spectacle; Huston's is the sharper study of character, and the shorter evening. **What should I watch after The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?** After *The Good, the Bad and the Ugly*, try [*The Treasure of the Sierra Madre*](https://film.one/film/the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre) (1948, Fi1m 88): Greed makes rough travelling companions even less dependable in this gold hunt. Then [*Yojimbo*](https://film.one/film/yojimbo) (1961, Fi1m 88): A calculating outsider exploits other people’s greed, with humour sharp enough to sting; and [*The Proposition*](https://film.one/film/the-proposition) (2005, Fi1m 79): Family loyalties complicate a brutal bargain in a Western with little comfort. ### Reviews we read (11) - **Radio Times**, David Parkinson (5/5): The concluding part of Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy surpasses its predecessors in graphic nature, compassion and dark humour while paying homage to the Hollywood western. It features stylised violence and a superb Ennio Morricone score, proving the benchmark for spaghetti westerns. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-4d6mxv/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/) - **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (5/5): One of the monumental achievements in narrative filmmaking and a masterclass in movie storytelling. Eli Wallach’s Tuco steals the show as the archetypal pitiable villain, with the film featuring many iconic sequences and an intimate vision that never loses sight of humanity amidst the carnage. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly) - **Empire**, Kim Newman (90/100, inferred): The film is damn good and far more than a cool exercise; it is a covert condemnation of American hypocrisy with anti-war sentiment and deep compassion beneath its amorality. The extended cut is applauded for letting the leathery, quasi-comic-book dream roam further in search of the gold. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/good-bad-ugly-review/) - **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Sergio Leone's capstone to the Dollars trilogy for its compelling take on western archetypes like stoic outlaws and moral divisions. He singles out the director's flamboyant visual style, dreamlike Spanish landscapes, and Ennio Morricone's evocative score for particular acclaim. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-4k-uhd-review-sergio-leone/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (4/5): The critic calls the re-released three-hour cut of Sergio Leone's 1966 classic a grisly-brilliant story of three amoral gunslingers hunting Confederate gold. The extended length clarifies the civil war backdrop as a nightmare of panic during the South's retreat. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/01/actionandadventure1) - **The Times**, Kevin Maher (80/100, inferred): The re-released 1966 film is described as an iconic ultra-violent treasure-hunting western that made Clint Eastwood an international star and influenced modern action movies, with a memorable theme tune. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-v9r5mvlfhk7) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (3/4): The film succeeds through its understanding of the ruthless Western bad man and its barren Italian locations populated by memorable faces. Leone creates memorable self-contained scenes, though the picture runs about 30 minutes too long. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-1968) - **The New York Times**, Renata Adler (10/100, inferred): The reviewer calls the film the most expensive, pious and repellent in its genre, criticizing its slow pace, excessive brutality and sadism over two and a half hours with a thin plot about three criminals hunting gold during the Civil War. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1968/01/25/archives/the-screen-zane-grey-meets-the-marquis-de-sade-the-good-the-bad-and.html) - **Paste**, Kenneth Lowe (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as the platonic ideal of the Spaghetti Western and a mythic masterpiece that remade the genre. He singles out its epic scale and operatic tone, achieved through wide landscapes, extreme close-ups, and Ennio Morricone's score, despite a meandering pace and simple plot. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-at-50) - **The Skinny**, Paul Greenwood (4/5): It is one of the best westerns and most rousing action adventures ever made, carrying a poignant anti-war message amid the carnage. Leone's masterpiece features devilish humour, orchestrated shoot-outs and an exhilarating Morricone score. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode: The critic calls it a must-see masterpiece and the one western everyone should watch, praising its jaw-dropping sequences, sweeping visuals, and perfect direction by Sergio Leone along with Ennio Morricone's score. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Details - **Director:** Sergio Leone - **Director:** Sergio Leone - **Screenplay:** Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone, Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli - **Story:** Luciano Vincenzoni, Sergio Leone - **Cinematography:** Tonino Delli Colli - **Editor:** Eugenio Alabiso, Nino Baragli - **Music:** Ennio Morricone - **Production design:** Carlo Simi - **Costume design:** Carlo Simi - **Producer:** Alberto Grimaldi - **Cast:** Clint Eastwood as Blondie; Eli Wallach as Tuco Ramirez; Lee Van Cleef as Sentenza / Angel Eyes; Aldo Giuffrè as Alcoholic Union Captain; Luigi Pistilli as Father Pablo Ramirez; Rada Rassimov as Maria; Enzo Petito as Storekeeper; Claudio Scarchilli as Tuco Henchman - **Runtime:** 2h 41m - **First release (Italy):** 23 December 1966 - **Genres:** Western - **Budget:** $1 million - **Box office:** $39 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFNUGzCOQoI ## Where to watch in Saudi Arabia Not streaming, renting or buying in Saudi Arabia at the last check. Also available in: AU, BE, BG, CA, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IT, JP, NL, NO, NZ, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* (1948), Fi1m 88: Greed makes rough travelling companions even less dependable in this gold hunt. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-treasure-of-the-sierra-madre.md) - *Yojimbo* (1961), Fi1m 88: A calculating outsider exploits other people’s greed, with humour sharp enough to sting. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/yojimbo.md) - *The Great Silence* (1968): A harsher Western for anyone drawn to the cruelty beneath Leone’s jokes. - *The Proposition* (2005), Fi1m 79: Family loyalties complicate a brutal bargain in a Western with little comfort. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-proposition.md) - *The Good, the Bad, the Weird* (2008), Fi1m 74: Three rivals pursue treasure through action scenes with a rather quicker pulse. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-the-weird.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly