Reach for the sky!
The Western genre has been a staple in cinema since the thirties. Giving American audiences a wide range of heroic gun-toting cowboys to cheer for as they brave the wild lands of western America. Over the years the Western genre has changed, molded by the times in which it was made, becoming more of a mirror to present society than the actual period the genre is portraying.
While most of the best Westerns are from the 50s and 60s, the genre has lasted over several decades with numerous talented directors crafting their own versions of Westerns. The list of the top 15 Western movies ever shows the genre manages to stay fresh and alive nearly a hundred years after its inception.
15, ‘True Grit’ (2010)
One of the best Western movies of the 21st century, True Grit stars Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, a young girl who witnesses her father’s murder. Not contempt to let the killer get away with his crime, Ross hires veteran US Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to bring him to justice, while insisting that she accompanies him on his journey.
Directed by Academy-Award winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Cohen, True Grit perfectly captures the atmosphere of the Old West while drawing terrific performances from their talented cast. A remake of the 1969 original that starred John Wayne, this version of True Grit betters its predecessor while adding its own fresh take on the material.
14, ‘3:10 to Yuma’ (2007)
3:10 to Yumafollows small-time rancher, Dan Evans (Christian Bale), who’s about to lose his land and the only way to pay for it is to transport a dangerous outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), across the wild country and get him on a train to Yuma prison. The journey is long and hard with many obstacles in the way, such as the outlaw’s old crew being hot on their trail.
As the two men brave across the lawless country of old America, Wade begins playing mind games with Evans, trying to slow the rancher down sparking a battle of wills as they race toward their destination. The excellent performances from both Bale and Crowe make this Western well worth watching along with James Mangold‘s masterful directing.
13, ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960)
America’s answer to the critically acclaimed samurai epic, The Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seventakes the same story beats from its Japanese counterpart and coats it over with a cowboy aesthetic, creating one of the most iconic Westerns of all time. The story follows seven gunfighters who are hired to liberate a group of helpless villagers from violent bandits.
With an all-star cast of tough guys such as Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and Yul Brynner The Magnificent Seven creates a welcome atmosphere of uplifting masculinity as these brave men sacrifice themselves to protect strangers. Though not all in the party are doing this job altruistically, making an interesting dynamic between the team.
12, ‘Stagecoach’ (1939)
Nine strangers traveling aboard a stagecoach headed to New Mexico face all manner of dangers on their journey, eventually bonding as they work together to survive the ordeal. Among them are Dallas (Claire Trevor) a prostitute who was driven out of her old town, and the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), an outlaw in search of revenge.
Despite being one of the best Westerns of all time, Stagecoach‘s story is universal. Its tale of a group of strangers who discover more about themselves on the road can be applied to any genre, but its interpretation here results in a classic Western and the breakout role for Wayne.
11, ‘A Fistful of Dollars’ (1964)
Sergio Leone‘s Dollars Trilogy is hands-down one of the greatest trilogies ever, and it all began with a small spaghetti Western known as A Fistful of Dollars. With a low budget, non-English speaking actors, and at-the-time relatively unknown American actor Clint Eastwood as the lead, the film seemed doomed to fail. A Western made in Italy? What’s the point?
Well, all those nay-sayers were wrong. A Fistful of Dollars became a major hit both abroad and in America, recognized as one of the best spaghetti Westerns of all time while creating the new sub-genre that lives on to this day. The story is simple, a gunslinging stranger comes into town to learn there’s a war brewing between the two factions in town and Joe (Eastwood) is just where he wants to be: right in the middle.
10, ‘The Searchers’ (1956)
One of John Wayne’s best movies, The Searchers sees Wayne playing Ethan Edwards, a Civil War veteran who returns home to find his family murdered, and his niece abducted by a Comanche tribe. Refusing to give up on saving the young girl, he spends years traveling the Western plains with his nephew in search of her.
While Wayne is best known for playing heroic cowboys who regularly save the day, The Searchers sees the legendary actor playing a difficult character. Edwards is an openly racist and violent protagonist, but it allows Wayne to show his range as an actor while creating one of the best main characters in the Western genre.
9‘High Noon’ (1952)
Gary Cooper‘s High Noon has received both massive praise and criticism over the years. The film follows Marshall Will Kane, as he races against the clock to protect his town from a group of deadly outlaws heading his way.
A politically charged film at the time, High Noon is considered one of the first “revisionist Westerns” which took the Western tropes of the past and flipped them on their head. The Western usually follows a strong male leading the civilized against the uncivilized (like in The Magnificent Seven) but High Noon sees the townspeople turn their backs on their sheriff, leaving him alone to face this impending threat.
8, ‘The Wild Bunch’ (1969)
Sam Peckinpah‘s Western epic sees a group of aging outlaws looking to make one last big score before they retire as the world around them changes. The “wild west” they once knew is now being modernized with railroads and more lawmen, leaving these gunmen
The Wild Bunch boasts a wide cast of characters ranging from twisted villains to remorseful killers making for a more mature and nuanced western than those before it. The story itself is a constant journey as the outlaws move from one job to the next keeping an exciting fast pace throughout.
7, ‘Rio Bravo’ (1959)
Another John Wayne classic, Rio Bravo follows Wayne as John T. Chance, a small-town sheriff. After arresting a local cattle baron for murder, Chance must enlist the aid of a drunk, a kid, and an old man as the baron’s ruthless gang rides into town to break him out of prison.
Many Westerns see a group of cowboys making a stand against approaching invaders, and Rio Bravo is one of the best. Beyond just the Western genre, Rio Bravo helped to popularize the “siege movie”, with John Carpenter claiming Rio Bravo inspired his classic Assault on Precinct 13.
6, ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969)
One of the best aspects of the Western genre is the interesting characters it creates, whether they are completely fictional or in the case of Butch & Sundance, mythicized versions of actual people. Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) being one of the most iconic on-screen duos in cinema history.
After a train robbery goes bad, Butch and Sundance find themselves on the run from the law and must escape America if they ever plan on growing old. The film is full of exciting action sequences, such as the iconic ending, but it’s the calmer moments in between that make this such a great movie, showing who Butch and Sundance really are and how their friendship has kept them alive all these years.
5, ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’ (1962)
US Senator Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) and his family arrive at a frontier town to pay their respects to late rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). Confused why a senator would attend the funeral of a poor farmer, Stoddard tells the gathered media of his cherished history with his old friend.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is more thoughtful than your average Western, interested in exploring its characters and the myth of the cowboy rather than showcasing frequent gunfights. Westerns often glorify cowboys, with Liberty Valance contemplating whether these legendary heroes were more myth than man.
4, ‘Django Unchained’ (2012)
Quentin Tarantino‘s over-the-top spaghetti Western Django Unchained follows a recently freed slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), who is recruited by the charming German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), to hunt down bounties with him. Over their journey, Django learns how to wield a gun and how to protect himself; turning him into a deadly killer.
When Django and Schultz learn of Django’s lost wife’s whereabouts the two head out to rescue her from the dreaded Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). Loud, bloody, bombastic, and extremely entertaining Django Unchained is one of Tarantino’s best films ever and one of the greatest Westerns of all time.
3, ‘Unforgiven’ (1992)
Clint Eastwood became a staple in the Western genre after the acclaimed Dollars Trilogy and went off to make countless more Western hits and even direct some as well. After playing a cowboy for the past thirty years Clint was finally ready to hang up his ten-gallon hat and leave his spurs behind, but not before doing one last goodbye to the genre that made his career.
Thus comes Unforgiven. Unforgiven strips away the myth of the Westerns and instead shows the harsh realities of living during that time. The gunfighters are no longer stoic killers but instead hold remorse for their past sins and seek redemption in a land of blood and misery.
2, ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ (1969)
If there’s one thing to be said about the masterful director Sergio Leone it’s that he knows how to make a great Western. After the success of his spaghetti Western Dollars trilogy Leone sought to make another Western classic: Once Upon a Time in the West.
The film follows a mysterious stranger who plays the harmonica as he protects a beautiful widow (Claudia Cardinale) from a ruthless assassin sent from the railroad. Pitting the rough-and-tough Charles Bronson and the handsome blue-eyed Henry Fonda against one another, Once Upon A Time keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.
1, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966)
Truly the most iconic Western of all time and one of the greatest pieces of cinema, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is the quintessential Western. It has gunfights, evil outlaws, gun-toting bounty hunters, a civil war battle scene, and most important of all: a mesmerizing soundtrack that throws you right into this dreary world of outlaws.
Blondie (Eastwood) forms an uneasy alliance with the slippery Tuco (Eli Wallach) as they race against time, and the killer Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), to find a legendary treasure buried in an old cemetery. The only justifiable word to describe this film would be epic, from its music to its scenery and characters and to its iconic ending, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is without a doubt the greatest Western of all time.