The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ( Italian : Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo , lit. ”The good, the ugly, the bad” ) is a 1966 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starringClint Eastwood , Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach in their respective titles roles. [5] Its screenplay was written by Age & Scarpelli , Luciano Vincenzoni and Leone (with additional screenplay material and dialogue provided by an uncredited Sergio Donati ), [2]based on a story by Vincenzoni and Leone. Director of photography Tonino Delli Colli Was responsible for the movie’s sweeping widescreen cinematography , and Ennio Morricone Composed the movie’s score Including icts main theme . It was an international co-production between Italy, Spain, West Germany and the United States.