--- title: "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly" critics_score: 79 critics_reviews: 10 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): what the critics said Critics' score 79 from 10 reviews: 9 positive, 0 mixed, 1 negative. 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. ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 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 the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-4d6mxv/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/) ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 5/5. 29 July 2008. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2013. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/good-bad-ugly-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 19 April 2021. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-4k-uhd-review-sergio-leone/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Rating 4/5. 1 August 2008. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/aug/01/actionandadventure1) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 July 2008. 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 the review](https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-v9r5mvlfhk7) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 3/4. 2 January 1968. 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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-1968) ## The New York Times — Renata Adler Fi1m's normalised score 10/100 (inferred from the text). 25 January 1968. 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 the review](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 Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 June 2016. 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 the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-at-50) ## The Skinny — Paul Greenwood Rating 4/5. 25 July 2008. 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 the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode 31 July 2008. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly.md