The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
For three men the Civil War wasn't hell. It was practice.
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.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 23 December 1966 |
| Genre | Western |
| Director | Sergio Leone |
| Starring | Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef |
| Runtime | 161 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.8/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 97% · Metacritic 90/100 · IMDb 8.8/10 · Letterboxd 4.5/5 · TMDB users 8.5/10 |
| Budget | $1 million |
| Box office | $39 million worldwide |
Where to watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is streaming on Fubo in the US.
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Rent or buy
You can rent The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home and Spectrum On Demand. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 4 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Australia | Binge $19.00 AUD, Foxtel, ARD/ZDF |
| Italy | Skygo, Now TV, Max €11.99 |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| South Korea | Watcha |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Sergio Leone directs a 161-minute Western where the Civil War is background noise to a gold heist. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef spend the runtime chasing a strongbox, trading insults, and outwitting each other. The film trusts its audience to sit still while three men circle a buried treasure. It is a slow burn that ends in a gunfight you have likely heard about. The tagline calls the war practice. The duel feels like the real thing.
What the critics said
Critics eventually agreed on the verdict, though it took a while. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 97% positive score based on 76 reviews, with an average rating of 9.2 out of 10 as of January 2026. Metacritic sits at 90 out of 100, a score it labels universal acclaim. The consensus praises the story, performances, and landscapes. Early dissent focused on the violence and the "spaghetti" label. Renata Adler of The New York Times called it "repellent." Roger Ebert later admitted he initially withheld a fourth star because it was a "spaghetti Western," a bias he eventually corrected.
How it did with audiences
The production cost $1 million. It brought in $39 million worldwide, with $25 million coming from the United States. That kind of return turns a lean budget into a serious profit. In Italy, it was the second-highest-grossing release of the 1966–67 film season. Audiences agree on its value, giving it an 8.5 TMDB user score and an 8.8/10 IMDb weighted average as of February 2026.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Sources
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q41483 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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