The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966, It./Sp.) (aka Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo)

In the final installment of Sergio Leone's violent, 'spaghetti western' trilogy, about a trio of gunslingers searching for a hidden treasure of $200,000 of Confederate gold (buried somewhere in Sad Hill cemetery) during the Civil War:

• the introductions of Mexican bandit Tuco "the Ugly" Ramirez (Eli Wallach), Sentenza "the Bad" (Lee Van Cleef) (aka Angel Eyes), and bounty hunter Joe "the Good" - also known as "Blondie" (Clint Eastwood) (or "The Man With No Name") in the opening scenes, with titles

• after Blondie's rescue of Tuco from three bounty hunters, the two were involved in a money-making scam; in the first scam, the two collected a $2,000 reward from a local sheriff, and in the second a $3,000 bounty; twice Blondie rescued Tuco by shooting the hanging noose around his neck, and they escaped together and unevenly split the bounty money; after the second instance, "Blondie" wanted out of their partnership, left Tuco stranded in the desert 70 miles from town without a horse, and rode off, bemoaning: "Such ingratitude, after all the times I've saved your life"
• the sequence of Tuco and Blondie disguised as Confederate soldiers in gray uniforms (of dead Rebels), when Tuco spotted a platoon of troops moving toward them: "They're gray like us. Let's say hello to them and then get going. Hurrah! Hurrah for the Confederacy! Hurrah! Down with General Grant! Hurrah for General...Lee. God is with us, because he hates the Yanks, so, Hurrah!"; Blondie quipped: "God's not on our side because he hates idiots, also"; as it turned out, they watched as the soldiers swatted away, with their gloves, the gray desert dust from their blue Yankee uniforms - and the two were captured and taken to a POW camp
• the scene in which Angel Eyes (posing as a Union sergeant in the POW camp) ordered a band of Confederate prisoners/musicians to play in order to drown out the screams of his tortured victims
• Tuco's shooting, from under the foamy water of his bubble-bath, and remarking to the dead One Armed Man (Al Mulock) afterwards: "When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk"
• the Civil War battle for a strategic bridge and its explosive detonation to allow access to the Sad Hill cemetery held by the Union on the other side of the river
• the touching and compassionate moment that Joe covered a dying soldier with his own duster and offered a cigarette for a final smoke
• the climactic, excessive scene of a three-way duel/showdown (a quintessential Mexican standoff) in the vast circular Sad Hill Cemetery between the three ruthless, gunfighting drifters: enhanced by Ennio Morricone's score ("The Trio") and repeated detailed closeups (of guns in holsters and facial expressions with an astonishing 96 edits or cuts) played with increasing speed and frequency; the scene culminated in Blondie's gunning down of Angel Eyes who collapsed and died in an open grave, while Tuco stood there with an unloaded gun

The Makings of a Stand-Off Around the Perimeter of the Cemetery

• in the memorable finale, Blondie ordered Tuco, who found himself helpless with the empty gun, to dig up an unmarked ("Unknown") grave in the remote cemetery in which the bags of Confederate gold (worth $200,000) were buried: "You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig"
• Tuco's elation at the gold bags' discovery ("It's all ours, Blondie!"), but then a noose loomed into view, and Tuco was strung up - but again, he was ultimately rescued with Blondie's well-placed gunshot from a distance to sever the rope and drop him onto his share of the gold; Tuco yelled out a final insult: "Hey, Blond! You know what you are? Just a dirty son-of-a-b-!"