Continuity mistake: Blondie collapses from exhaustion and rolls down a sand hill. When he reaches the bottom of the hill, there is no sand on his neck or his shoulder. When the shot cuts, there suddenly is sand on his neck and right shoulder. (01:05:30)
Continuity mistake: When Blondie attempts to have a drink of water from the bowl, Tuco flips it over. It then cuts to a shot of Blondie, and the bowl is shown flipping over a second time. The bowl is also closer to the ground the second time it is shown. (01:04:03)
Continuity mistake: When Blondie grabs Tuco's shoe, take note of the plants to his left. There are a few to the very left of the shot. But two shots later, after it is revealed Tuco is washing his feet, there are more plants to the left of him. (01:03:04)
Continuity mistake: When Tuco shoots the water bottle after it lands on the ground, water begins leaking out of the bullet holes. The water is shown in front of the bottle when it leaks into the sand, but a minute later, when Blondie and Tuco continue moving, the water is shown to the left of the bottle. (00:58:00 - 00:59:15)
Continuity mistake: Whilst Angel Eyes is speaking with the soldier at the Confederate camp, when the soldier is saying, "I just don't know what you drifters could be thinking," Angel Eyes has his back hunched forwards. In the next shot, he is standing upright. (00:52:55)
Continuity mistake: When Angel Eyes is talking with the Confederate soldier at the hospital camp, whilst the soldier asks him, "And you, have you ever heard of someone named Camby?", he picks up a handful of wood pieces so that he can throw them into the fire. It then cuts to a closer shot of the two, and there are fewer pieces of wood in the man's hands. (00:52:42)
Continuity mistake: When Tuco stands back up after falling through the floor at the hotel, there is dust on his poncho. Then it cuts to a closer shot where he is shown looking up at the floor above, and there appears to be less dust on his right shoulder. (00:49:27)
Continuity mistake: At the gun store, when Tuco throws the guns off the counter, he turns around to look at some other guns. When this happens, the owner has his left hand on the counter. When the shot cuts, his hand is off the counter. (00:34:20)
Continuity mistake: When Angel Eyes begins questioning Maria, he turns on a lamp. When he does this, Maria's hair is hanging over the front of her left shoulder. But in the next shot, her hair is behind her shoulder. (00:30:52)
Continuity mistake: When Angel Eyes is about to get into the carriage, he says, "Even a filthy beggar like that has got a protecting angel." At this moment, the pipe he is holding is level with his chest. In the next shot, it is suddenly raised higher. (00:26:35)
Continuity mistake: When the Confederate soldier is explaining to Angel Eyes the circumstances surrounding the missing money, in the shot of the soldier saying "and when he's found, I'd be scared to be put in his shoes", a man and woman are shown walking past. It then cuts to Angel Eyes, but the man and woman cannot be seen walking past. It cuts again and two men have suddenly appeared walking past Angel Eyes. (00:25:35)
Continuity mistake: When Blondie is handing Tuco in at the first town, in the shot of Tuco saying he hopes his mother ends up in a whorehouse, Blondie is holding onto a leather strap. The shot then cuts to him handing the leather strap to a man on the ground, and his hand appears to have rotated 90 degrees in between shots. (00:20:10)
Continuity mistake: After Stevens' wife hears the gunshot, it cuts to Angel Eyes lowering his gun. In the shot from behind Angel Eyes, there is a loaf of bread, shown at the edge of the table. When the shot cuts, the bread is further away from the edge of the table. (00:14:25)
Continuity mistake: When Stevens puts the bag of money on the table, the bag has a string on it that is shown hanging over the edge of the table. When the shot cuts, the string is suddenly on the table. (00:13:53)
Continuity mistake: When Angel Eyes first mentions the name Jackson to Stevens, he picks up a loaf of bread and starts cutting a slice. At first, the loaf is held at a tilted angle. When the shot cuts, the loaf is level. (00:11:30)
Continuity mistake: The three bounty hunters run into a building to catch Tuco. After they run into the building, the shot pans over to the window. The shadows on the wall surrounding the window change when it cuts to the closer shot of the window, where Tuco jumps out of it. (00:05:35)
Continuity mistake: When Tuco pulls the corporal from train they fall down a steep grade. When train runs over the corporal, they're on flat ground. The corporal would be too heavy for Tuco to carry far enough for the ground to flatten out. Watch the ground when the train approaches before the jump. (01:54:55 - 01:56:07)
Continuity mistake: A dirty Union cavalry officer hits himself to clean off the dust that made him appeared Confederate. His first two strikes barely shake the dust on his uniform, yet, after a cutaway and two off-screen strikes, his arm is almost completely free of dust. (01:31:05)
Chosen answer: Tuco knew he had a better chance at survival (and the gold) by playing along with Blondie and keeping his balance on the cross, hoping Blondie does not miss the rope when he shoots. This final, deadly game was preferable to being shot outright by Blondie and dying a poor man.
Scott215
Tuco had no idea that Blondie's intention was to shoot the rope and let him live.