The Good, the Bad, the Ugly (1966)

Country: Italy
Director: Sergio Leone
Screenwriters: Age & Scarpelli, Sergio Leone, Luciano Vincenzoni
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach

If you see only one spaghetti western, it must be Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, the Ugly. The plot elements are simple, ultimately unimportant: a wanted man, a stash of gold, plenty of pistols. From this basic moving parts comes a sweeping epic that succeeds because of the peerless score from the master Ennio Morricone; because of the gorgeous cinematography, shots of haunted nature that Malick must envy; because of the iconic image of Clint Eastwood you see above you. Leone's films, this one in particular, made Eastwood what he is today (chair shenanigans aside).

Tarantino calls it one of his favorite movies. Chances are, you will to. —RS