Although The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is arguably the greatest Western ever made, it doesn’t always provide an accurate depiction of life in the Old West. It’s just as prone to the same old genre tropes as any other Western, especially when it comes to the iconic final shootout at the cemetery.
Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy mythologizes the Old West, rather than trying to recreate the era as faithfully as possible. Like many other “spaghetti” Westerns, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a few steps removed from genuine American history, so its influences are filtered through several layers of myth.
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’s Final Showdown Wasn’t Realistic At All
The ending of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly sees the three main characters finally meeting face-to-face for a fateful shootout over a stash of hidden gold. It’s a breathtaking climax, with Ennio Morricone’s score and Leone’s direction working in perfect harmony, but an Old West historian has criticized the scene’s accuracy.
In a YouTube video for Insider, Michael Grauer assessed several popular Westerns from throughout history, and he found that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly‘s final showdown hard to believe. According to Grauer, revolvers were notoriously inaccurate at the time, especially in a quick-draw scenario. It’s incredibly unlikely that Blondie would be able to hit his target at such a distance with one shot.
“So this whole idea of the quick draw is just nonsense. The revolver was still somewhat new. It had been around since the 1830s, but they’re notoriously inaccurate and [the gunmen are] standing so far apart they’d have emptied each of their cylinders probably to make one good shot. And as far as quick draw, there are documented cases where Doc Holiday quick drew and never hit anything. So the lack of accuracy in the quick draw is one of the things that never comes through in the movies and television.” – Michael Grauer
Grauer also notes that firearms weren’t as prevalent in the Old West as they are in many Westerns, including The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. While criminals, soldiers and lawmen would have their own weapons, it was illegal to carry guns around most towns in the region.
The final showdown in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly echoes old Samurai movies, in which two warriors would have a similar quick-draw situation, so that they could kill each other with one stroke of their katanas. A more realistic portrayal of a Western gunfight wouldn’t be nearly as cinematic. It might resemble a frantic firefight instead.
Other Parts Of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Aren’t Accurate Either
The standoff isn’t the only scene in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that prioritizes exciting storytelling over historical accuracy. When the narrative veers into the Civil War, details like the artillery, uniforms and battle tactics don’t suit the time and place. Leone takes inspiration from all over the conflict, meaning that some details aren’t specific to New Mexico in 1862.
The obsession with Confederate gold is another detail that doesn’t quite align with real history. As Grauer points out, gold in the region was plentiful, so much that the fervor expressed by characters like Tuco isn’t grounded in reality.
That said, it illustrates the style of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly perfectly. It feels like a plot device that’s been plucked from an old fantasy story, which is what Leone’s epic Western is in some ways.
Source: Insider via YouTube
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- Release Date
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December 29, 1967
- Runtime
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161 minutes
- Director
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Sergio Leone
