Movie The best western movies

[DEVO]

The Good The Bad & The Ugly. Probably my all-time favourite western just ahead of OUATITW. Visually stunning, brilliant soundtrack.
Once Upon A Time In The West. Every bit as good as TGTB&TU. Claudia Cardinale is flawless and Henry Fonda, who was always the hero in Hollywood films, plays one of the greatest "bad guys" in film history.
El Topo. It is a western. Sort of.

 

[CLUBMEDhurst]

Red River is on the box tomorrow on 7two @ 3pm

 

[kaysee]

In TGTBTU, I found that the side story of the American Civil War detracted away from the pure "western" aspects of the film.

So with that in mind I much prefered A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More... although the soundtrack (and that whistle) from TGTBTU was epic.

....

Seperately, I wish they would make a few more "modern" Westerns. Not remakes as such or atmospheric "what it was like" movies... but rather fun, action, comedy type westerns. A bit like "Young Guns" (yes yes... not going to win any awards but it was a fun film).

The last "modern" attempt I can think of was Wild Wild West which was rather crappy.

Just like comic/hero movies have been reworked recently with great effect (both for: fun = Iron Man, and dramatic = The Dark Knight)... I think they could apply the same to many Westerns.

.02

 

[RustyHawk]

In TGTBTU, I found that the side story of the American Civil War detracted away from the pure "western" aspects of the film.

So with that in mind I much prefered A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More... although the soundtrack (and that whistle) from TGTBTU was epic.

....

Seperately, I wish they would make a few more "modern" Westerns. Not remakes as such or atmospheric "what it was like" movies... but rather fun, action, comedy type westerns. A bit like "Young Guns" (yes yes... not going to win any awards but it was a fun film).

The last "modern" attempt I can think of was Wild Wild West which was rather crappy.

.02

Try the upcoming Cowboys vs Aliens!!

Last modern attempt would have been 3:10 to Yuma.

 

[gytre]

Red River is on the box tomorrow on 7two @ 3pm

Red River is a cracker. It's Wayne's best Western. Set your recorders, people!

 

[gytre]

I'm a big Western fan. A few other top Westerns that often get overlooked -

The Big Gundown
The Ruthless Four
Jubal
Broken Lance
3:10 To Yuma (1957) the original! (it's much better than the remake)
The Last Wagon (1956)
Stagecoach (1939)

And no one's yet mentioned Dances With Wolves.

 

[CLUBMEDhurst]

I'm a big Western fan. A few other top Westerns that often get overlooked -

The Big Gundown
The Ruthless Four
Jubal
Broken Lance
3:10 To Yuma (1957) the original! (it's much better than the remake)
The Last Wagon (1956)
Stagecoach (1939)

And no one's yet mentioned Dances With Wolves.

Just didnae rate it. Thought that "Black Robe" which was released about the same time was a far superior film.

 

[pickman]

I'll add The Proposition to the list. Not strictly a western due to it's outback Australia setting but very much inspired by the old westerns.

 

[Righteo]

I'll add The Proposition to the list. Not strictly a western due to it's outback Australia setting but very much inspired by the old westerns.

Yeah I reckon it deserves to be mentioned. Excellent movie with a terrific Aussie cast.

Also Nick Cave FTW.

 

[Dan Moody]

I'm a big Western fan. A few other top Westerns that often get overlooked -

The Big Gundown
The Ruthless Four
Jubal
Broken Lance
3:10 To Yuma (1957) the original! (it's much better than the remake)
The Last Wagon (1956)
Stagecoach (1939)

And no one's yet mentioned Dances With Wolves.

Have you actually read all posts in this thread?

 

[bungalow_bill]

Nice to see a mention of Young Guns in this thread,it's not exactly a masterpiece but for us gen-x it's a classic. Young Guns 2 was quite ordinary though.

 

[Gorry]

I wave my private parts at all the previously mentioned films...
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[tb_fanboy]

I watched The Searchers just to re watch and loved it. Straight to the points to, entertaining the whole way through. Always love the scene when the scar and Ethan meet for the first time, the look they give each other is classic. Real good cowboy vs Indian movie.
I'm going to watch Rio Bravo in 10mins at 12pm (ironic?)
Then Red River at 3 on 7 two. I'll try and review those two.

 

[sandeano]

For those with a interest in issues political and sociological, the westerns of the 50s offer a wealth of fascination.

Take the allegorical, McCarthy-era oater, No Name On The Bullet. Audie Murphy plays a professional hitman who arrives, unannounced, in a small town. The locals are aware of his reputation but he refuses to say who he is there to kill. It seems everybody has a skeleton in their closet and hysteria reigns as each individual thinks it is they he has come for.

A great, B+ flick that says a lot about the time it was made.

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[tb_fanboy]

I watched The Searchers just to re watch and loved it. Straight to the points to, entertaining the whole way through. Always love the scene when the scar and Ethan meet for the first time, the look they give each other is classic. Real good cowboy vs Indian movie.
I'm going to watch Rio Bravo in 10mins at 12pm (ironic?)
Then Red River at 3 on 7 two. I'll try and review those two.

Rio Bravo is brilliant. One of the most entertaining westerns I've seen. The 130 odd minutes just flys. Definitely agree that the difference in character between John Waynes men are noticeable to other movies like the Searchers. 9/10

 

[Hodgepodge]

GBU and the Proposition.

I would like to see a western with kung fu instead of guns. Would be awesome.

 

[tb_fanboy]

Red River is my favorite now. Great story line.

 

[RobbyRoy]

I'm a big Western fan. A few other top Westerns that often get overlooked -

The Big Gundown
The Ruthless Four
Jubal
Broken Lance
3:10 To Yuma (1957) the original! (it's much better than the remake)
The Last Wagon (1956)
Stagecoach (1939)

And no one's yet mentioned Dances With Wolves.

Dances with Wolves

Dances With Wolves

Dances With Wolves

I'm one of the few who doesn't think Dances With Wolves robbed Goodfellas of the Best Picture Oscar. I think it's a fantastic movie and while a stronger lead actor would've been better, it deserved every award it got.

 

[gytre]

Red River is my favorite now. Great story line.

I told yas it's special.

And yes, Sandeano, No Name On The Bullet is another top Western. I'm a big Audie Murphy fan and that was his best (that I've seen so far).

Aside from Wayne, Murphy and Eastwood, other Western leading men well worth mentioning are Glenn Ford, Richard Widmark, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, James Stewart and Lee Van Cleef (who was mostly in "Spaghetti" Westerns).

Check out Stewart in Bend In The River and Winchester '73. And Cooper in Friendly Persuasion. All top flicks.

 

[sandeano]

I told yas it's special.



Check out Stewart in Bend In The River and Winchester '73.

That series that Stewart made with Anthony Mann are top shelf.

I recall when Stewart died there was a piece written in which a number of actors and filmmakers gave their thoughts and memories. Most recalled Stewart as the decent everyman in Frank Capra-style flicks, but it was Clint Eastwood who recognised that nobody did 'angry' onscreen better than Jimmy Stewart. Specifically, Clint mentioned the Anthony Mann westerns and noted that they were a great inspiration to himself as an actor and director.

 

[Armed & Dangerous]

A few more westerns to ponder:

The Professionals (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance)
Paint Your Wagon (goldrush musical with Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin)
Cat Ballou (Lee Marvin won an oscar for his performance)
Gunfight at the OK Corral (Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas)

The Great Silence (regarded by some as the best spaghetti western)

 

[Studbuddy]

Check out the remakes in True Grit and 3:10 to Yuma. Also, Unforgiven and The Propostion and Back the the Future 3 (had to sneak it in).

 

[richskee]

Good the bad the ugly - my no 1 film of all time.

Red River
Once upon a time in the west
The man who shot liberty valance
The Searchers

 

[JoondalupJ]

Want your opinions, I'm going on a hunt to watch some and want to know the best.
I've been recommended "high noon" and "the unforgiven" by one of my teachers.
For me it would have to be "The Searchers". A really good story line and acting. I also liked the original True Grit by wouldn't rate it as the best.

Unforgiven is quality, The Searchers probably the best John Wayne western, "Shane" was a classic, True Grit Wayne's one, was good, the Shootist was good.

Very old, is "My Darling Clementine" with Henry Fonda, reasonably close example of what really happened at the OK coral.
I don't know this for sure but John Ford who directed "Clementine" was told about the OK coral by Earp himself so it is said, Earp died in 1929 there abouts.
So it is quite possible.

Now I could be wrong it may have been Kirk Douglas Burt Lancaster in "Gunfight at the OK Coral" , but I think it was "My Darling Clementine"

It's black and white too, I think it gives some authenticity to it, and its old, if you are a western fan it feels right .

Ennio Morricone and his brilliant music also help "Once Upon a Time In the West" it's a great mood movie, spaghetti western.
They have a feel of their own with Morricone's music.
All Clints European Westerns were like that .

Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson were in "Once Upon a Time in the West".

A late model thing a western on Netflix called "Godless" is a 5 or 6 episode western one of the best things I have seen for a long time, of course all of Deadwood TV series was simply brilliant.

Both "Tombstone" , Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer . And "Wyatt Earp", by Kevin Costner are worth a watch, I think Tombstone is really heavy and fun too.

Costner's Earp is, I think pretty close to the whole Earp story. Where as Tombstone is mainly the OK coral thing.

Costner did Dances with Wolves, that is a classic and excellent.

Another mini series from the past was Centennial from a James A Michener book of the same name. Very good historical fiction, even has the story of the Sand Creek massacre , of Southern Cheyenne people.

Using the character name Skimmerhorn? I think ? As the commander of a column of Union civil war volunteers that may have missed action and replaced what they'd missed by slaughtering innocent Indians' at their camp on Sand Creek , women children and what ever men were there!,

The real person was Chivington, perhaps a product of his time but still a killer .

There are so many westerns of quality.
There are also some B grades that are almost funny, a good western old or new that portrays those times properly are simply a good look at history.

Although most westerns do give a little bit of artistic license to the gun use, and that is just Hollywood , some don't , but in those times men sometimes had a fight from only a few feet away, they didn't have standoffs from 50 paces because their weapons would not hit targets that well, and also most famed gun men would avoid each other because they never really knew how good the other was. And it might be too dangerous and they may have never crossed paths.

But Doc Holiday was quite a serious killer and dentist and gambler, there were a few who were real hard cases, but the movies do add a bit , although Wyatt Earps walk through the creek with blazing guns aimed at him is apparently pretty correct, in fact he never suffered a wound in his career and died an old man!

Keep looking!
I love westerns and good ones you can't beat!!!

 

[Roobs321]

Published this Best Westerns list last year:

My Genre scope note:
Film stories predominantly set in non-fully developed territory occurring pre-1920s, and must feature gunslingers or gunfights characteristic of the west.

Still many classics to catch up with yet, with Stagecoach my most glaring unseen western. Special mention to TV's Deadwood.

1. Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone, 1968)
2. Duck, You Sucker (Leone, 1971)
3. The Proposition (Hillcoat, 2005)
4. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Altman, 1971)
5. Johnny Guitar (N. Ray, 1954)
6. The Big Country (Wyler, 1958)
7. The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (Leone, 1966)
8. High Noon (Zinnemann, 1952)
9. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (GRH, 1969)
10. For a Few Dollars More (Leone, 1965)

11. Dances with Wolves (Costner, 1990)
12. A Fistful of Dollars (Leone, 1964)
13. Shane (Stevens, 1953)
14. Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992)
15. Red River (Hawks, 1948)
16. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik, 2007)
17. 3:10 to Yuma (Daves, 1957)
18. Yellow Sky (Wellman, 1948)
19. Meek's Cutoff (Reichardt, 2010)
20. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (Peckinpah, 1973)

21. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Eastwood, 1976)
22. Open Range (Costner, 2003)
23. Dead Man (Jarmusch, 1995)
24. El Dorado (Hawks, 1967)
25. One-Eyed Jacks (Brando, 1961)