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Parents' Guide to

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Potent Italian-Western shoot-'em up/war drama.

Movie R 1967 161 minutes
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 10 parent reviews

LiamFielding
LiamFielding Adult
April 13, 2022
age 10+

Good film, it should be okay to watch with older kids and teens.

I watched this movie with my parents when I was only 10 or 11, and honestly there was no 'uncomfortable' scenes or anything like that, the movie itself might be a little long but I personally think it's one of the best movies I've watched, so go for it. (The only thing that might be too much is swearing)

This title has:

Too much swearing
Eira1
Eira1 Adult
March 23, 2021
age 7+

Great trilogy

Our boys watched the trilogy when they were 8 and 10. They loved all three. I coukdnt believe they sat through them as so long!! It is tame but gripping. To put this in context, our ten yr old found Ghost Busters terrifying after first five minutes so couldnt watch it. But he loved all 9 hours of this trilogy. They are 16 and 14 now and still say these are some of their favourite films. Really not violent at all by today's standards. The rude words made them giggle at times but this is not offensive language by today's standards. To put this in context both boys still refuse to watch Blazing Saddles as they do not find the racially offensive language acceptable. This was considered irony when I was younger but the boys turned Blazing Saddles off after five minutes. Anyway, thoroughly recommend this trilogy! Some kids might find it slow and long. But it's safe.
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What's the Story?

In THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY, Clint Eastwood's character is an opportunistic gunman in Civil War-era Texas who saves grubby bandit Tuco (Eli Wallach) from bounty-hunters -- only to turn Tuco in himself for the reward money, then rescue the condemned man over and over again, for further bounty. Tuco gets tired of this routine and almost kills his partner -- but then they each hear different clues to the hiding place of a fortune in Union Army gold. They must reluctantly keep each other safe while searching for the treasure, against the backdrop of ever-escalating bloodshed between North and South. Moreover, another outlaw, a vicious freelance murderer nicknamed Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef, who, rather confusingly, played an entirely different character in For a Few Dollars More), has already been looking for the gold, and he gains a sergeant's rank in the Union Army as he follows the other two men.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (72 ):

Director Sergio Leone brilliantly displays his flamboyant, larger-than-life filmmaking style here. He puts an emphasis on long, tense close-ups of the actors' faces; widescreen camera compositions; wry humor; quick explosions of action; and surreal music by Ennio Morricone. He also tells a dense, multi-layered story that worked well for a lot of viewers in the Vietnam era as a statement on greed and violence; The treasure hunt between the three main characters gets overtaken by the greater menace, that of the Civil War that chews up so many young lives -- making even the hardened Man With No Name morally repulsed at the slaughter. But not so repulsed that he doesn't still have a plan to get the gold.

Reckoned by some fans as the best Western ever, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the sweeping, stirring finale in a loose trilogy of trendsetting Italian-made horse operas starring Clint Eastwood as the Man With No Name (you actually were told his name in the previous For a Few Dollars More, but never mind). It's unnecessary to see the other movies to follow this one.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what makes The Good, the Bad and the Ugl a Western classic. You can compare it to countless other sagebrush tales in which the good guys and the bad guys were a lot more one dimensional.

  • How does the Man With No Name's feelings for Tuco (or other people) change throughout the story? Does it really seem to concern the Civil War, or do the battle scenes recall more recent military ops you can think of?

  • You might talk about "spaghetti Westerns" in general and the movies they influenced, right up to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

Movie Details

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