Best Westerns (not about hotels)

[thecryptile]

The Western genre dominated early film and television, though it has now been eclipsed by other genres. Some of my all time favorite movies and television shows are Westerns.

I appreciate the classic spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, like "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and "Once upon a time in the West". You can't talk about Westerns without mentioning the Duke, the original "True Grit" and "The Searchers" are must see films for any true western fan. "The Quick and the Dead" is notable for its strong female lead, rare in a genre where most women are damsels in distress or prostitutes. Then there is the Australian Western genre, exemplified by "Quigley Down Under" and "The Proposition".

There are more recent westerns, both remakes like the Coen bros. version of "True Grit" and "3:10 to Yuma" starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, as well as original films like "Appaloosa" starring Ed Harris and Vigo Mortensen.

Westerns in television span all the way from "Gunsmoke" to "Deadwood", and no thread about westerns can possibly be complete without mentioning the epic "Lonesome Dove" mini-series.

For my money though, Clint Eastwood is the master of western film, "Unforgiven" is widely acknowledged as a classic, as is "Pale Rider". The greatest western of all time is Eastwood's directorial debut "The Outlaw Josey Wales", in my opinion. A strong story was supported by a stellar cast. Eastwood himself delivered the goods as always, but some of the best acting came from supporting characters. Chief Dan George brought the Lone Watie character to life, while Paula Trueman is memorable as the irascible Grandma Sara. I especially appreciated the nuanced view of Native Americans in the film, the Comanche were not card-board villains for instance.

Do you like Westerns? What are your favorites?

[Sir Thursday]

Oh man, I came here thinking this was a thread about a chain of hotels...

ST

[DemonKing]

^{Tombstone is fun - great cast and some fun lines.}

^{Otherwise I'm pretty much a Clint Eastwood fan when it comes to Westerns. A Fistfull of Dollars is my favourite...The Good the Bad and the Ugly is just a bit too long and drawn out for my taste.}

^{Oh, and there's Deadwood, of course...plus Hell on Wheels.}

[DaarioKnowsBest]

Cowboys & Aliens! Just kidding

but what about other comedies? Blazing Saddles was incredible.

Rio Bravo or Shane are my favorites.

Tombstone with Kurt Russell is my favorite of the last 30 years.

[thecryptile]

Oh man, I came here thinking this was a thread about a chain of hotels...

lol, I'll have to edit the title.

^{Tombstone is fun - great cast and some fun lines.}

Tombstone is awesome, can't believe I forgot about it in the OP. Val Kilmer is a great Doc Holliday. "I'm your huckleberry." Classic.

but what about other comedies? Blazing Saddles was incredible.

Agreed, except the very end which isn't funny at all to a modern audience (or at least not to me) - it's like Three's Company gay jokes.

[DaarioKnowsBest]

I liked Young Guns at the time it was released but now seems pretty campy looking back.

There will be Blood was great, not sure if that's for real western genre

[Fiddler]

I like all of the Clint westerns with GBU and Fistfull of Dollars as my two favorites.

But, for me, any western with the Duke is king. I get this from growing up watching his movies with my dad who absolutely loved him. My two favorite being Big Jake and Mclintock.

I would also have to include Young Guns in any western list of my. It is still to this day one of my favorite movies.

[Top Notch Balanter]

Blazing Saddles what a film

Could Maverick with Mel Gibson count? if so then that also

Oh man, I came here thinking this was a thread about a chain of hotels...

ST

If it makes you feel better i was in the Best Western Hotel in Beijing

[Faraday]

Love the Dollars trilogy, and most of what you mentioned in the OP.

High Plains Drifter and Hang 'Em High are also both great. I also remember liking Two Mules for Sister Sara, although it's been a while sine I've seen it :P

[thecryptile]

Could Maverick with Mel Gibson count? if so then that also

"Maverick" is good, and is based on a television show starring James Garner, who appears in the movie. Another comedic western with James Garner is "Support your local Gunfighter". James Garner plays a conman who tricks a town into believing a no-body played by Jack Elam is a gunfighter. Chuck Connors of "The Rifleman" fame is in it also.

High Plains Drifter and Hang 'Em High are also both great. I also remember liking Two Mules for Sister Sara, although it's been a while sine I've seen it :P

Loved Two Mules for Sister Sara.

[SerMixalot]

Shoot, great thread

Silverado is a great homage to the good old westerns, High Noon cause Gary Cooper

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon-in fact any western with Vincent McClagen

[flinn]

I really never understood the John Wayne love..

Give me a Clint Eastwood western ANY DAY over John Wayne.

A western that really caught me by suprise that I thought was outstanding is The Last Outlaw with Mickey Rourke.

I like a lot of westerns, many of those mentioned in the posts above. The Last Outlaw is a movie I never heard anything about and found myself watching it one late night on one of the many movie channels and it was very good.

[RedEyedGhost]

Justified. How am I the first to mention this??? Seriously?

[all swedes are racist]

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid!

For the More recent westerns, gotta mention The Assassaniation of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. All around superb movie of any stripe, let alone Westerns....

But my all time favorite still remains Once Upon A Time In The West. Leone's Spaghetti westerns are so popular and timeless because they challenged perceptions about westerns (which at the time were considered a dull and stagnant genre), full of real and complex characters and conflicting motivations, as opposed to the shining white knight with a gun saves the day against the greedy, evil villain. And holy hell, Henry Fonda's gleefully psychopathic Frank is one of the best villains on film ever.

[Lord Flashheart]

Other than what people have already said, I really enjoyed the 310 to yuma remake a few years ago.

[Weeping Sore]

Wayne is a football player turned actor, his first big starring role was Stagecoach (1939) directed by John Ford. Not a big fan of that one, but check him out in Red River (1948) (dir: Howard Hawks, with Mongomery Clift), and two by Ford, The Searchers (1956), and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962). Wayne is not really my favorite, but those three movies are undeniable.

Who is my favorite Western actor? None other than Jimmy Stewart. Anthony Mann directed him in an awesome series of westerns in the 50s: Winchester '73 (1950), Bend of the River (1952), The Naked Spur (1953), The Far Country (1954), and The Man From Laramie (1955). Start with Naked Spur or Bend of the River if you just want to dip your toe in.

Also check out Seven Men From Now (1956) - just crackerjack, with a great villain in Lee Marvin. If you like that, director Budd Boetticher and star Randolph Scott team up for five more in the late 50s.

Two stylish black and white Westerns stand out in my mind, Pursued (1947) with Robert Mitchum and Yellow Sky (1948) with Gregory Peck. Both are bleak and amazing.

As far as the Spaghetti Westerns, The Great Silence (1968) with Klaus Kinski is an overlooked gem notable for it's snowy setting. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) is probably Sergio Leone's best movie, and one of Ennio Morrocone's best scores. Henry Fonda is absolutely chilling as the villain.

I have a soft spot for McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) directed by Robert Altman with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. One of the most beautifully shot movies ever made.

The thing you have to realize about Westerns is that in the history of American movies, there have been more Westerns made than non-Westerns, even to this day (Hollywood used to make a lot more movies than it does now). That means there's a lot of good ones if you do some digging.

[Jabronius Maximus]

How about No Country for Old Men? I thought it was a cool 'modern' western.

[Iskaral Pust]

Great thread. Surprised that so many of the mentions are from 1990 onward. While I enjoyed the more recent ones mentioned here, the peak was much earlier. Leone's trilogy and Eastwood's films are great but I would also acknowledge that the more mainstream John Wayne still delivered some really important stories in The Searchers and Liberty Valance.

The great tragedy is I have no idea of the names of so many classic western films I enjoyed as a young kid. They were Sunday evening staples on Ireland's RTE TV channel during the 1980s.

[Nictarion]

All my favorites have been mentioned, Tombstone, 3:10 to Yuma remake, Unforgiven, The Man With No Name trilogy, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josey Wales. My all-time favorite is probably Tombstone, Val Kilmer absolutely killed it as Doc Holliday.

[DaarioKnowsBest]

The most original one I've seen was Dead Man with Johnny Depp.

This ones probably not for everybody but I loved it.

Iggy Pop as some sort of old west religious drag queen