The Good, the Bad and the Ugly stars Clint Eastwood as Blondie, a professional gunslinger out trying to make a few bucks. Angel Eyes is a hit man who always sees his job through, as long as he is paid. And Tuco, a wanted outlaw only out for himself. These three find out about a stash of gold buried in a cemetery, and must battle it out with each other to see who gets it.

This is truly an epic film in every sense of the word. Fantastic sprawling shots show the isolation that a lot of these people were in, and the music reflects that. Aside from the classic opening tune, it's very minimalistic, sometimes only the wind howling being the only thing on the soundtrack. Occasionally you get a gentle strum on the guitar, and a lone trumpet, which really reflects the loneliness and the vastness between neighboring towns, where people traveling could spend weeks alone before seeing anyone else.

The script is well written, with lots of suspense and action and the acting is superb. I have never seen Clint Eastwood better, his tough, grizzled persona is perfect for someone like Blondie, and Lee Van Cleef is excellent as the menacing, evil Angel Eyes. Eli Wallach is also great as the bandit Tuco, and the three men have fantastic chemistry together as they fight to get to the treasure first.

I can't leave this review without saying something about the ending, which is one of the greatest pieces of cinema I have ever seen. The music is absolutely perfect and ratchets up the pressure as the three men engage in a mexican standoff! Some say the window are the eyes to the soul, and the director Sergio Leone must believe that as he focuses almost constantly on the character's eyes, almost like showing you exactly how each character is thinking and feeling and that exact moment. A lot of directors working now could learn a thing or two from this scene, it shows how to do absolute nail-biting tension incredibly simply, without the need for any unneeded flash or special effects.

It's ironic that one of the most iconic and best Westerns ever made, a genre invented by the Americans, was written and directed by an Italian, composed by an Italian and filmed in Spain.

This is a fantastic film and I urge everyone to see at least once, you won't be disappointed!