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The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo) is a 1966 spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood (the Good), Lee van Cleef (the Bad), and Eli Wallach (the Ugly). The film is set in the tail end of the American Civil War and details a race to capture some buried gold. It is perhaps best known for its sparse soundtrack, created by Ennio Morricone. And the climax scene featuring a showdown between the principal characters in the graveyard where the gold is hidden is worth mention.
The film contains many of Leone trademarks, such as the sparse dialogue and long scenes that slowly build to a climax. The first ten minutes of the film has no dialogue. It also makes good use of Leone extremely tight close-ups.
The film is considered to be part of a loose trilogy with Leone's earlier films A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. It serves as a prequel to those two earlier films. Unilke the other two films the The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is far more epic in scope. The main character in each of these films is the man without a name, played by Eastwood. Another Leone film, Once Upon a Time in the West, is sometimes considered the final film of this series, with Charles Bronson playing a role very similar to Eastwood's.
The film was mostly filmed in Spain using local militia members as extras. It was released on December 23, 1966 in Italy and in the USA on December 29, 1967.
Since the film's release the good, the bad and the ugly has become a common line.
External links:
- IMDB page for Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo
