The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.
Directed by Sergio Leone · Western · 161 min · 1966
Trailer
Director
Sergio Leone
Studio
PEA
Release
1966-12-23
Runtime
161 min
Genres
Western
Full Plot
During the American Civil War, three men set off to find $200,000.00 in buried gold coins. Tuco and Blondie have known each other for some time, having used the reward on Tuco's head as a way of earning money. They come across a dying man, Bill Carson, who tells them of a treasure in gold coins. By chance, he reveals the name of the cemetery and the name of the grave where the gold is buried. Now rivals, the two men have good reason to keep each other alive. The third man, Angel Eyes, hears of the gold stash from someone he's been hired to kill. All he knows is to look for someone named Bill Carson. The three ultimately meet in a showdown that takes place amid a major battle between Confederate and Union forces.
Cast & Characters
Blondie
Clint Eastwood
Tuco Ramirez
Eli Wallach
Sentenza / Angel Eyes
Lee Van Cleef
Alcoholic Union Captain
Aldo Giuffrè
Father Pablo Ramirez
Luigi Pistilli
Maria
Rada Rassimov
Stevens
Antonio Casas
a member of Angel Eyes' gang
Aldo Sambrell
the gun shop owner
Enzo Petito
Baker
Livio Lorenzon
Elam, a one-armed bounty hunter
Al Mulock
a blonde bounty hunter
Sergio Mendizábal
Captain Harper, prison camp commander
Antonio Molino Rojo
Clem, a member of Angel Eyes' gang
Lorenzo Robledo
Corporal Wallace
Mario Brega
Pedro, Mexican peon
Claudio Scarchilli
Jackson / Bill Carson
Antonio Casale
Chico, Mexican peon
Sandro Scarchilli
a member of Angel Eyes' gang
Benito Stefanelli
a friar
Angelo Novi
Did You Know?
Made on an estimated budget of $1.2M, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has grossed $38.9M worldwide — about 32.4x its budget.
Source: TMDb API · verified 2026-08-02
Sergio Leone has directed 4 films in our catalog, including Once Upon a Time in America, For a Few Dollars More.
Source: theIReview.com catalog · verified 2026-08-02
Clint Eastwood appears in 5 films in our catalog, including Unforgiven, Gran Torino.
Source: theIReview.com catalog · verified 2026-08-02
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was originally titled I due magnifici straccioni (The Two Magnificent Tramps) before being changed to Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Sergio Leone considered Gian Maria Volonté for the role of Tuco but chose Eli Wallach instead, based on his comedic talent in How the West Was Won.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
The iconic Mexican standoff scene was accompanied by Ennio Morricone's "The Trio" and featured a close-up style of filming that mixed extreme face shots with sweeping long shots.
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
The film's score was composed by Ennio Morricone, who also created music for the final Mexican standoff scene in the cemetery, where it felt like "the corpses were laughing from inside their tombs".
Source: Wikipedia · verified 2026-08-13
Critical Assessment
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly holds 8.5/10 on TMDb (9780 votes). (OMDb had no record for this title — sourced from TMDb instead.)
Not enough independent critic/audience score breakdown available.
Ratings as of July 30, 2026
Where to Watch
United States
United Kingdom
India
Streaming data from JustWatch via TMDb. Availability changes often — confirm on the provider before watching.
AI Verdict
AI-generatedBased on TMDb's aggregated score (8.5/10 on TMDb (9780 votes)), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly good? What are critics saying?+
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly holds 8.5/10 on TMDb (9780 votes). (OMDb had no record for this title — sourced from TMDb instead.)
How long is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?+
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly has a runtime of 161 min.
Who directed The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?+
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was directed by Sergio Leone.
Where can I watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?+
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is available to stream, rent, or buy on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex, Sky Store.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The public reaction to the movie "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" is largely positive, with many praising its iconic scenes, performances, cinematography, and influence on the Western genre. Critics argue that it's a transcendent film that sets the standard for Spaghetti Westerns, while others find it an odd but enjoyable entry in the trilogy. Reviews range from 4 to 5 out of 5 stars, with some critics stating that it's one of the best westerns ever made and others calling it a "legend".
Viewer Reviews (TMDb)
I'm looking for the owner of that horse. He's tall, blonde, he smokes a cigar, and he's a pig! It's debatable of course, since there are legions of fans of the first two films in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trology, but with each film there not only came a longer running time, but als…
John Chard · 9/10Sergio Leone's <i>The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly</i> is a classic Western film. Clint Eastwood is the Good, aka the Man with No Name, a taciturn wanderer who follows his own sense of justice. His opposite is Angel Eyes (Lee van Cleef), the Bad, a brutal mercenary who kills anyon…
CRCulver · 7/10I am not a fan of Sergio Leone. In fact, this movie and Once Upon a Time in the West are the only movies of his that I have seen. But I think they are both classic westerns. He seems to bring out the best in his cinematographer, both for scenery and for his characters. In one rev…
Peter McGinn · 10/10There is one word to define The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. And that word is “transcendent”. This movie is not only the pinnacle of the Spaghetti Western, but it transcended into the pinnacle of the Western genre in itself. It’s safe to say it transcends that too, and can be cons…
DrewBlack · 10/10Solid western, which generally isn't a favorite genre of mine, with great performances and some well shot scenes and landscapes. Been a long time since I saw A Fistful of Dollars or For a Few Dollars More, but this is a great entry in the "Man With No Name" Trilogy. **4.0/5**
JPV852 · 8/10Very good no doubt about it, even if I feel it's an odd fitting third installment of the Dollars trilogy. In case this review sounds negative at any point, I wanna explicitly state for the avoidance of any doubt that <em>'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'</em> is very good! Any con…
r96sk · 8/10Not as bad as the other Leone Westerns. Still, that is not saying much at all. At 3/10, this is better than his totally ridiculous ones. It's still a dull movie with non credible one dimensional characters who have no motivation for a single thing they do. Three homicidal maniacs…
drystyx · 3/10**One of the best, most famous and most iconic Westerns ever. More than a classic, it's mandatory.** I'm not an expert nor do I want to sound like one, but I think this is one of the most famous western films ever made, despite being shot by an Italian director and being more Eur…
Filipe Manuel Neto · 10/10People tended to treat Sergio Leone's work with a considerable degree of disdain, but watching this in 2020 it is still amongst the very best of the genre. A good-looking, calculating Clint Eastwood ("The Good"), is the itinerant bounty hunter who has an uneasy partnership with a…
CinemaSerf · 8/10When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk. 70% (ish) This is the third in a so-called ‘trilogy’, a framing which I expressed doubts about in my review for the second in the sequence, “For a few dollars more”. So, from my perspective it’s a matter of complete indifference as to ho…
dfle3 · 7/1097/100 Amidst the US Civil War, an assassin, a bounty hunter, and a bandit are on a collision course to obtain a box of gold. Simply the best Western ever made ...except possibly another Sergio Leone classic, "Once Upon a Time in the West" - still not sure which one I like better…
Dr Nostromo · 10/10
From the trailer's comments
From a man who only directed 7 films…Sergio Leone. Yet his influence is felt beyond those 7 movies.
@FilterFreed · 414 likesOne movie is enough to become a legend. Sergio Leone made seven legendary movies and Ennio Morricone composed legendary music for even more movies. These two men became history.
@1337fraggzb00N · 519 likesGOATED film; this was my grandfather’s favorite film and we saw it a lot of times, now that he’s gone I remember him with this masterpiece.
@GodwinBaxter · 164 likesOne of the best movies of all times!
@DanyTV79 · 190 likesBest Western Movie Ever
@SalehAlbuhairi · 921 likesOne memory I always have about this legendary movie is laying my tiny head back then on my late dad's shoulder and having that statement resound in my head "If you wanna shoot, you shoot, don't talk...".
@Baioski · 27 likesOne of bestest movie I ever watched..
@a007raj · 24 likesa movie that was made in my days
@lennyhamilton9320 · 114 likes
