The Final Duel: Rarely Seen Behind the Scenes Photos From the Making of “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” (1966)

Sergio Leone’s 1966 cult masterpiece The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is well known for its final standoff in a circular cemetery (created especially for the film). The final shot of the film was intended to be a long helicopter shot of “Blondie” (probably Clint Eastwood’s double/stand-in) riding into the wide open countryside. However after the footage came back with too much bounce and shake, the shot was discarded (a static shot from the ground was used instead).

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was marketed as the third and final installment in the Dollars Trilogy, following A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). The film was a financial success, grossing over $38 million at the worldwide box office, and is credited with having catapulted Eastwood into stardom.

Due to general disapproval of the spaghetti Western genre at the time, critical reception of the film following its release was mixed, but it gained critical acclaim in later years, and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential westerns of all time.