Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
Three gunslingers navigate a web of betrayal and shifting alliances while searching for a buried cache of Confederate gold during the American Civil War.
The story
Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War, the story follows three gunslingers who form shifting alliances and betrayals in their search for a buried cache of Confederate gold amid the chaos of the conflict. The narrative follows the interactions between 'the Good', 'the Bad', and 'the Ugly' as they navigate the dangers of the war-torn landscape. They must contend with the physical hazards of the battlefield and the moral complexities of their own greed as they pursue the legendary treasure. The film highlights the tension of their uneasy cooperation, where each man's survival depends on the information held by the others regarding the location of the hidden gold.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In the American Southwest during the Civil War, a mercenary named Angel Eyes seeks the location of a stash of Confederate gold. He learns of a man named Bill Carson who knows the location. Meanwhile, a bandit named Tuco Ramírez is captured by a drifter named Blondie; they eventually team up to find the gold. After a series of events, including Tuco being captured and Blonded being left in the desert, both men learn that Bill Carson has died but revealed the location of the gold in Sad Hill Cemetery. The two, along with Angel1 Eyes, eventually find themselves in a tense standoff at the cemetery. They must decide who will claim the treasure. In the final confrontation, Blondie outsmarts both Tuco and Angel Eyes, securing the gold for himself while leaving the others behind. The film portrays the characters as anti-heroes driven by greed in a landscape scarred by the brutality of war.
- Original title
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- First release year
- 1966
- Runtime (minutes)
- 174
- Production countries
- Italy
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sergio Leone
- Writers
- Age & Scarpelli · screenplay; Luciano Vincenzoni · screenplay; Sergio Leone · screenplay; Luciano Vincenzoni · story; Sergio Leone · story
- Cast and characters
- Clint Eastwood · Blondie; Lee Van Cleef · Angel Eyes; Eli Wallach · Tuco
- Genres
- Western; Spaghetti Western; Epic Western; Revisionist Western
- Themes
- Violence; Deconstruction of Old West romanticism; Greed; Anti-war; Moral ambiguity
- Tone and mood
- Operatic; Tense; Stylized
- Premise and plot tags
- Treasure Hunt; Western; Civil War; Anti-hero
- Content notes
- Violence
- Reception
- Initially met with mixed reviews due to its violence and status as a spaghetti Western, it has since been critically re-evaluated as a masterpiece of the genre, noted for its operatic scale, visual composition, and iconic score.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 90 · scale: 100 · review count: 7
- Production trivia
- The film's title was originally 'I due magnifici straccioni' (The Two Magnificent Tramps).; The score by Ennio Morricone was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2009.; The film was filmed primarily in Spain, including the Tabernas Desert and a purpose-built Sad Hill Cemetery.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…