The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) is Sergio Leone's landmark spaghetti western — watch online on iFILM. Shot largely in Spain on a budget of around $1.2 million, the Italian-American co-production stars Clint Eastwood as the laconic drifter Blondie, Eli Wallach as the volatile outlaw Tuco, and Lee Van Cleef as the cold-blooded mercenary Angel Eyes. Three men. One buried strongbox holding $200,000 in gold. And the American Civil War grinding on around them like irrelevant background noise.

Blondie knows the name of the cemetery. Tuco knows which grave. Angel Eyes is hunting them both. Leone builds the partnership — and the mutual suspicion — across nearly three hours, letting silence and landscape do the work that other directors hand to dialogue. The duel in the final act is less a gunfight than a ritual, stretched into something almost unbearable.

Ennio Morricone's score gave the film its pulse: the main theme became one of the most imitated pieces of music in cinema history. The movie grossed roughly $39 million on a shoestring budget and reshaped what westerns could be. Decades later it remains near the top of every serious all-time ranking. Stream The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) in full online on iFILM.