The Western Quentin Tarantino Called "The Best-Directed Movie of All Time" Officially Removed From Free Streaming

With Taylor Sheridan having contributed to the rebound of the Western genre, which was thought to have become obsolete over the last few decades, a new generation of audiences can experience the joy of watching classics for the first time. This month presents them with the opportunity of checking out perhaps the greatest movie that belongs to the genre's sub-category, known as spaghetti Westerns. This term was used exclusively for Westerns produced in Italy; as you'd imagine, they were soupier and saucier compared to the American Westerns of that era. Sergio Leone, who was widely regarded as the greatest spaghetti Western director of them all, made a groundbreaking trilogy starring Clint Eastwood.

The most acclaimed installment of that trilogy is streaming on a variety of streaming apps, including Prime Video and MGM — however, the privilege of your viewership comes with a fee. That wasn't always the case. Up until today, the film was available to stream for free on Tubi, but it has since been unceremoniously removed.

Released in 1966, the movie remains the benchmark for the genre even six decades later. Quentin Tarantino was hugely inspired by it, calling it "the best-directed film of all time" and "the greatest achievement in the history of cinema." He paid homage to the movie in his own work, going back to his debut feature, Reservoir Dogs. The film also inspired numerous homages across the world, and inspired Stephen King to write his magnum opus, The Dark Tower series.

The Greatest Spaghetti Western Ever Is Just One Click Away

By now you've probably guessed that we're talking about The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Along with For a Few Dollars More and A Fistful of Dollars, it was part of Leone's landmark Dollars Trilogy. The movie now holds a "Certified Fresh" 97% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Arguably the greatest of the spaghetti Westerns, this epic features a compelling story, memorable performances, breathtaking landscapes, and a haunting score."

The film also features Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef, and has a memorable original score composed by Ennio Morricone. Tarantino, who has famously avoided scores throughout his career, broke the trend when he had Morricone compose the music for his own spaghetti Western-inspired feature, The Hateful Eight.