The Western Masterpiece That Was Unfairly Buried by The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Comic Book Resources

By Ben Morganti

October 25, 2025

Audiences don't typically refer to some of the great sleeper Westerns that came out around the time iconic masterpieces like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly did. This applies to any era and any decade in a genre's history. Fans will quickly dismiss films like High Plains Drifter, Paint Your Wagon, or My Name Is Nobody because they came out around the same time as hits like The Wild Bunch and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. However, a truly defining era of Westerns was the '60s because of Sergio Leone and the Spaghetti Western wave he inspired. While Leone's masterpieces are undeniable and incredibly memorable, there were still a number of other great Westerns that came out during the decade. Leone kick-started the Spaghetti Western form, but other Italian filmmakers helped popularize it with their films.

In fact, there were two other directors named Sergio who were a big part of this. Fans know that The Good, The Bad and the Ugly defined the era, but it was actually Sergio Corbucci's Django that got more attention in Italy. Furthermore, Leone inspired other directors, like Enzo G. Castellari, Fernando Di Leo, and Giulio Petroni, to make films in the genre as well. Corbucci was the most popular director outside Leone, but fans also have a special place in their hearts for Sergio Sollima, who made compelling Westerns in the '60s as well. While fans always think of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly when thinking of 1966 or even Django, Sollima made a Western masterpiece the same year that more audiences need to see.

The Big Gundown Is One of the Best Westerns Of the 1960s

The first star who comes to mind other than John Wayne when thinking of Westerns is Clint Eastwood, and this is mainly because he helped redefine the genre throughout the '60s and '70s. The American most associated with Spaghetti Westerns, Eastwood would go on to make many of his films in the genre throughout the rest of his career. However, he wasn't the only American star to make compelling Spaghetti Westerns overseas. Burt Reynolds and, of course, Lee Van Cleef are two other big names. Fans might not realize Van Cleef's influence on the genre because many of his early Spaghetti Westerns were also Clint Eastwood films.

Van Cleef famously played opposite Eastwood in For A Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 1965 and 1966. However, Van Cleef would go on to appear in several underrated Spaghetti Westerns after playing Angel Eyes in the iconic Leone classic. In fact, the same year as The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, Van Cleef made one of his greatest Westerns, and it was Sergio Sollima's sleeper hit The Big Gundown. Co-starring Tomas Milian, The Big Gundown is probably most memorable because of the way it uses the motivations of the characters in contrast to the corrupt objective biases present in the American West. Audiences don't necessarily expect a bit of mystery and a couple of twists in a Spaghetti Western, but they get that in The Big Gundown.

Telling the story of a local vigilante who pursues a criminal for the sake of furthering a respectable political career, The Big Gundown is a non-stop adventure with tons of Western action, violence, and humor. Lee Van Cleef plays Corbett, who is a symbol of justice in a world crumbling around him. As stubborn and persistent as he is, Corbett finds himself in an evolving landscape where his philosophy and beliefs are most tested. Pursuing a Mexican accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a little girl, Corbett does whatever he can to bring the criminal to justice. Sollima's film might establish a very conventional Western tale on the surface, but as the story progresses, it is revealed to be much more thematically layered than it appears.

Tomas Milian plays Cuchillo, who is on the run from Corbett throughout the film. As their paths continue to cross, they learn more about each other and the state of good and evil in an overwhelmingly lawless Western landscape. This might be Sollima's greatest intention, as it separates his film from other Westerns of the '60s. Corbett is not like other Western heroes because his abilities are often not enough to help him overcome the criminality present all around him. While Corbett ultimately proves to be a hero, especially as he discovers the truth, it comes with a lot of personal discovery as he actually struggles to fight against injustice. A film very grounded in realism, The Big Gundown might be as good as any Western released in the '60s.

The Big Gundown Is As Memorable As the Films That Overshadow It

Sergio Sollima's Western gem portrays a lot of the same things that fans see in the famous Westerns and Spaghetti Westerns of the '60s. It transcends those films by managing to feel even more grounded and thematically complex than audiences would expect going in. If nothing else, The Big Gundown depicts a very lawless American West to the point where audiences can feel how overwhelmed Corbett is. The film's heart and humor come from Milian's Cuchillo, who proves to be much more than he appears. Together, these two characters, powered by these two performances, are as iconic as any other Western figures in cinema.

While the film hinges on its central conflict and the growing sense of ambiguity that surrounds Corbett's mission, The Big Gundown is much more than its surface-level narrative. While there are slight pacing problems and an undeniable repetitiveness in some sequences, the film remains engaging and provides a ton of memorable moments on par with the most famous Spaghetti Westerns. Sollima still wants to give audiences the scenes they deserve, which come in the form of multiple shootouts and two final confrontations that wrap up the character arcs thematically. The Big Gundown makes use of its title by ending with a climactic scene that has a ton of guns and ammunition. However, the gun down that occurs is not what audiences expect.

Once a truth is revealed, the film becomes about justice truly prevailing when it seemed like there was no way it could. Fans of Spaghetti Westerns get iconic scenes, but none more than the climax. Corbett is best with a gun, but has to prove it, and Cuchillo is revealed to be best with a knife. These elements are unique to the film and are paid off in a very exciting way. If not for the fact that there were so many other popular Westerns coming out around the same time as The Big Gundown, the film would be more talked about.

The Big Gundown was released in 1966 and then received a wider release in 1967. Also coming out were films such as Django, The Professionals, El Dorado, Hour of the Gun, and The War Wagon. Of course, the most popular was The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, which is now considered to be the greatest Spaghetti Western ever made. Hard for other Westerns to get the attention they deserve when something like Leone's masterpiece is being released. Of course, the 1966 classic wasn't perceived the way it is today when it was first released, and fans of the genre certainly enjoyed a handful of other films just as much, if not more. It might not be a Leone masterpiece or a Corbucci gem, but The Big Gundown is as memorable as anything else that came out in the genre in the 1960s.

Lee Van Cleef Was On a Major Western Run In the '60s

Casual fans probably don't even realize that Lee Van Cleef was an essential American actor in the old Hollywood era. This is because he appeared in more European Westerns than he did American Westerns. Nonetheless, it all started in the '60s for him, and he went on an incredible run throughout that decade. What started with a small role in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance quickly turned into him playing his most iconic roles in For A Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. From there, Van Cleef became the face of many underrated Westerns, and not just The Big Gundown.

Aside from Sergio Sollima's gem, Van Cleef starred in must-see Westerns such as Death Rides a Horse, Day of Anger, and Sabata. This would carry his career into the '70s, where he did even more Westerns. While none will be as memorable as the masterpieces he made with Sergio Leone in 1965 and 1966, they are still worth checking out. Even with other great roles in other underrated films, the one Western fans need to see most is The Big Gundown, which might just be Van Cleef's best work.