The cowboy is the cornerstone of American iconography. A perfect visual of the American heart and its history, the good and the bad. The fanning six shooter and Stetson hat our own Excalibur and Arthurian Crown. The nations abroad have their Beowulfs, Kings of the Britons, and tragic heroes. And we have our Wild Bill Hickock and Doc Holiday.
The cowboy is the mythic face of the American. The rugged individual that braved the untamable lands sprawling between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The titans that fought the harsh snows, scorching deserts, unending flats, and oppressive forests. It shows that unbreakable will and independent spirit to discover. That courage to take on life boldly instead of cowering away from its dangers.
And in the same light the western represents its flaws and darker chapters. The wars that were fought, just and unjust. The savagery that was committed by both the vile and those just trying to survive.
The masculine urge to give up modernity and live on the plains.
Before we get into this list, let’s establish what makes a good western:
A gritty and honest depiction of the western frontier. That means no one sided retellings of history and depicting them in an honest light. However , that doesn’t mean it must be 100% accurate, but it must reflect the core of what happened. A movie doesn’t have to get which specific officer saw a specific tragedy happen in 1885 in Montana. Caring about history is fine, just don’t be a nerd. If a film depicts a fictional war crime to represent other war crimes committed at the time, then it is an honest reflection of history, even if it didn’t get all the details correct.
However, contrary to popular belief, that does not mean the only good westerns are the dower revisionist ones. Good ol’ fashioned traditional Rio Bravo type films aren’t suddenly bad because they don’t make the audience ruminate about how awful their history is. It’s okay to relax. Escapism is legal. The west doesn’t have to just be a depressing wasteland.
Good wholesome people existed in the West and depicting them is not propaganda.
Like any film, the writing and story must also be of quality. However, there are certain criteria that it must meet in order to fit into the western genre. Gunslingers, a sprawling epic odyssey, rugged individualistic characters, tales of revenge, exploration of US relations to the natives of the Western frontier, the danger of frontier life, lawmen chasing outlaws, a frenetic quest to find a hidden treasure, that sort of thing.
Solid filmmaking that captures the rugged beauty and the relentless danger of the frontier, turning the land into an entity itself. An entity that is as gorgeous as it is hostile.
The genre can be set in the historical wild west from the early 1830s to the 1930s, but it is not required. So, now that is understood, let’s get into the list.
25. Kidnapping By Indians (1899) and The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Kidnapping By Indians:
Created by Great Britain’s Mitchell and Kenyon Film Company in 1899, Kidnapping by Indians is a two minute epic about a frontier woman being kidnapped by natives before being rescued by a pair of cowboys. According to moviegoing’s Film History Essentials: Kidnapping by Indians, it is believed to be the first wild west film, beating out 1903’s The Great Train Robbery by about four years. Which means a bunch of darn Brits managed to make a film about the wild west frontier of America nearly half a decade before we did!
So, if the Italians made “Spaghetti Westerns”, what does this one qualify as? A Spot of Tea Western? A Fish and Chips Western? Bah, I digress.
I’m not going to bother addressing the abysmal IMDB score because I believe this film deserves a little grace for being the first western film. If you would like to know more about this film and its history, this article is by far the best on it I’ve read: https://moviegoings.com/2023/05/20/film-history-essentials-kidnapping-by-indians-1899/
It’s an antique piece of filmmaking with bad costumes, a confusing plot, a bad set, and pretty much everything you could expect from the first attempt at a western. Especially a Western created by foreigners with little first hand knowledge of the history they were attempting to capture. But you know what it does have? Heart.
These guys were doing the best they could with what they had and I think it’s way too easy to dismiss this film as bad or offensive. Instead, I think this film deserves respect for taking the first step into one of the most prolific genres in all of cinema. And likewise, the first American Western, The Great Train Robbery, also deserves its spot on this list. They were the first and for that, they get my respect.
Kinda Hard to Find a High Quality Shot From a 120 year old movie.
24. The Proposition (2005)
Jumping from Britain to the Outback. This is the best Australian Western that I’ve seen (so far.) Written by musician Nick Cave and directed by John Hillcoat, The Proposition, fits the the requirements I listed perfectly, save for it depicting the Australian frontier instead of the American.
The film stars Guy Pearce as Charlie Burns after he and his younger brother have been captured by Captain Stanley (Ray Whineston). Captain Stanely gives Burns a proposition. If they are to be freed, Charlie must bring in his sadistic older brother, Arthur (Danny Houston). If Charlie fails, the younger brother will be executed for the crimes of the older.
The movie is gorgeously filmed, capturing the beauty and brutality of Australia in the 1880s. It’s compelling, interesting, and one of the most violent westerns I’ve ever seen.
And that’s what I’ve always appreciated about this film. It doesn’t hold back while managing to not feel tasteless. Whether it’s British oppression, the evil of outlaw violence, or the savagery of certain natives, The Proposition is not afraid to go into some grim territory. It also has the best looking head explosion I’ve ever seen. It literally made me lurch in my bed.
The writing is solid and the acting is excellent across the board. Though, I have to give it to Ray Whineston for his best performance to date. He does an excellent job playing this captain doing his best to harness this untamable land, struggling to do the noble thing while also feeling like he must resort to oppression and brutality. There are no perfect characters and Whineston’s character may be the most significant in terms of the message the movie is trying to convey.
Guy Pearce poses with his six shooter.
23. Hostiles (2017)
Speaking of brutally honest, let’s talk about Scott Cooper’s Hostiles from 2017. This film checks off the same boxes as The Proposition and though the former is a little better overall, I prefer this film.
The cinematography by Masanobu Takayanagi combined with Max Richter’s perfect score forge the haunting atmosphere and add to the themes and emotional weight of the film.
The film follows Captain Joseph Blocks (Christian Bale) as he is forced to escort his sworn enemy, Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family into the Valley of Bears in Montanna after the chief is diagnosed with a lethal disease. Along the way they find a grieving mother (Rosamund Pike) and the Comanche raiders responsible for murdering her children.
This film paints an even stroke, showing the evils of both the US Army and many of the native nations in the west. It reminds us that every man is capable of evil and that harboring hatred and bitterness gets us nowhere fast. The only way forward is to acknowledge what evil we have done and forgive others for the evil committed against us.
The acting is incredible across the board and makes up for any sort of shortcomings this film may have. Christian Bale is giving one of his best performances of his career and rocking a mustache I wish I could grow. Rosamund Pike knocks it out of the park with her own incredible acting. I also love the high usage of the Cheyene tongue to add some authenticity to the film. Great movie overall.
I Want That Mustache.
22. Django: Unchained (2012)
I had to make a choice between either of Quentin Tarantino westerns and the reason why I chose Django: Unchained might not be why you think.
Yes, Tarantino’s westerns are both on the same level, but Unchained wins out by a little bit for one reason. Yes, it is an excellent film with solid cinematography, acting, dialogue, as all of Tarantino’s are. The characters are great, the music’s good, ya-yada. But you know what actually makes the film better than The Hateful Eight?
When combined with the official sequel, Django/Zorro you get a really fantastic pulp epic, half in the film and the other half in the sequel comic run, written by Tarantino himself. So, check out both back to back.
Django: Unchained and Django/Zorro follows slave turned bounty hunter, Django Freeman (Jamie Foxx) as he goes on an epic quest alongside companions such as Bounty Hunter and mentor Doctor Shultz (Christoph Waltz) to bring in bounties and save his wife from the clutches of the infamous slave trader, Misure Candy (Leonardo DiCaprio). In the sequel, Django must lay low in the west after the events of the film and comes across Don Diego de la Vega, the Legendary Zorro, before the two of them embark on a mission to stop an evil Spanish Lord who is enslaving a group of natives to build up his industrial empire.
Both together make this a fantastic epic that you should check out. Watch the film and then read the comic back to back and you’ve got yourself a dang good story. Which is a great segway into the next spot.
Django/Zorro on their way to dish out some justice.
21. The Mask of Zorro (1998)
This spot belongs to the 1998 spiritual sequel to Johnston McCulley’s tales of the swashbuckling Spaniard, Zorro! Antonio Banderas stars as Alejandro Murrieta, seeking revenge after a US Cavalry officer murders his brother. Don Diego de la Vega takes him under his wing and trains him to inherit the title of the legendary Zorro. It’s a solid film, with flashy sword choreography, great action set pieces, a good story, and is ultimately a fun time.
Directed by Martin Campbell, The Mask of Zorro feels like Batman Begins but for Zorro. Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as Don Diego de la Vega, the original Zorro. And, unlike The Last Jedi, this film allows the original iconic hero to be iconic as he shepherds and trains up a new Zorro.
And yes, it is a western. The entire appeal of Zorro is that he is an American swashbuckling Robin Hood set to the backdrop of the western. It’s set in Spanish/Mexico controlled California from 1821-1841; the American Cavalry is a Texan with an early Colt revolver; It’s set during the Gold Rush; And it is definitely a western. With swords. Watch it.
Poster for “The Mask of Zorro”
20. Tombstone (1993)
This film follows four gunslingers in the town of Tombstone, Arizona as they band together to stop the infamous band of outlaws calling themselves “The Cowboys.”
What can I even say about this film that hasn’t already been said a billion times? Written by Kevin Jarre and directed by George P. Cosmatos, Tombstone is likely the most iconic western of the last 30 years. Not only does it have some of the biggest actors of the time working in it, but it also covers some of the most iconic names and events in the wild west. From Wyatt Erp and Doc Holiday to Old Man Clanton and Johnny Ringo. Most folks under forty will associate the term, “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” with this film.
Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Powers Boothe, and everyone in between are excellent across the board. The action hits hard and the one liners even harder. Tombstone’s reputation speaks for itself, so if you haven’t seen it yet, give it a watch. It’s a ton of fun.
Poster for “Tombstone”
19. The Searchers (1956)
Often called “the greatest film of all time”, John Ford’s The Searchers is a sprawling epic with beautiful scenery and some of the best filmmaking of the time. Though I do respect this classic, I don’t love this movie as much as the others on this list. Often the humor is misplaced and uneven and it’s very jarring given how serious this movie gets. But when this movie is good, it’s really good.
A fictional retelling of the historic kidnapping of Cynthia Ann Parker, The Searchers follows John Wayne’s Ethan Edwards and Jeffrey Hunter’s Martin Pawley as they travel across the west to rescue Ethan’s niece from a Comanche war band.
One thing that did surprise me about this movie is how it casts Ethan Edwards in a villainous light, portraying him as brutish, violent, arrogant, racist and hateful.
As much as I respect John Wayne, many of his movies do everything they can to make him seem like he’s the coolest guy around. Like he wrote them about himself. So it was a surprise that this film went the way it did, blatantly setting him up as the antagonist at a few points. Jeffrey Hunter was the highlight of the movie for me though, being the more loving and caring of the two and always coming to odds with Wayne’s character over differences regarding the necessary brutality of the Comanche. I don’t think it’s the greatest western, nor the greatest John Ford/John Wayne western, but it does deserve to be here.
Ethan Edwards takes aim at a Comanche band across the river.
18. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022)
Death scene
Alright, let me explain. Joel Crawford has already blatantly stated that this film is a spaghetti western. And even without that, the western elements are clear as day.
Whether it be the clear Zorro inspiration, a character that has made this list twice; the wanted posters, outlaws, and bounty hunters; the Ennio Morricone spaghetti western style music; The plot structure of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in which three parties go on an epic adventure across the land to seek out a specific treasure; And Death himself clearly drawing inspirations from gunslingers by the way he draws his swords and twirls them like old revolvers; this film might not be a traditional western, but it certainly is one.
It’s a western, but I’ll keep it low on the list.
This fantasy epic starring Antonio Banderas, follows Puss in Boots on a journey to find the wishing star and restore his nine lives before Death can catch up with him. The movie is gorgeous, wonderfully written, and the action scenes are awesome. It is one of the best movies Dreamworks Animation has ever produced and I mean that.
Yes, even better than The Bee Movie.
This movie is a perfect ten and manages to balance out the fairy tale fantasy of the Shrek universe and being a solid homage to the spaghetti westerns of the past. I really can’t say enough good things about this film, other than it has absolutely no right for being this excellent.
“I came here for an arrogant little ‘legend’ who thought he was immortal.”
17. Rango (2011)
Rango Scene
Speaking of excellent animated westerns, let’s talk about Gore Verbinski’s Rango, a wonderful homage to the work of legends such as Sergio Leone and Sergio Corbucci.
Starring Johnny Depp, Rango is abandoned in the Mojave Desert and forced to embark on an epic quest if he is to survive. He discovers a town called Dirt, an old west town filled with bizarre anthropomorphic animals, before accidentally saving them from an oppressive hawk and becoming the town sheriff.
Usually westerns are tales of either survival, exploration, or revenge, but not Rango. Rango is a tale of self discovery and standing up for what is right, even if you’ve done everything wrong before. As The Man With No Name says after Rango declares he shouldn’t be there:
That’s right. You came a long way to find something that isn’t out here. Don’t you see? It’s not about you. It’s about them…No man can walk out on his own story.
Check it out, you won’t be disappointed. It’s funny, Hans Zimmer’s Morricone style score is excellent, and the animation holds up over a decade later, and uses Industrial Light and Magic VFX to render incredible textures and character models. It also was the last non Disney/Pixar film to win an Oscar for Best Animated film until Into the Spiderverse seven years later.
Spanish poster of “Rango” because good images of this film are impossible to come by.
16. Fort Apache (1948)
Trailer for "Fort Apache"
I don’t know if this is a hot take, but am I the only one that thinks Fort Apache is a better movie than The Searchers? Is that too far? Do I need to reinforce my windows and doors now?
Regardless, it’s a great western that holds up really well despite its age. It’s got a solid story and its humor doesn’t detract from its more serious scenes. This movie doesn’t have out of place jokes about a man getting gouged in the butt by a sword after a Comanche village is massacred like in The Searchers. I promise I’m not exaggerating.
I could talk about the plot like I did the others, but the historical aspect interests me a little more. This film isn’t meant to be a beat for beat accurate replay of history. No, Fort Apache is trying to be a historical homage, a series of fictitious mirrors of real life historical events all gathered into one film. It’s trying to represent US/Native nation relations in a nutshell: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
There’s Henry Fonda’s character, Lt. Col. Owen Thursday echoes General George Custer, a demoted general whose ambitions get him and his army killed; the horrifically corrupt Indian Agents of Grant’s presidency; John Wayne’s Captain York echoes historical figures like Kit Carson or Jim Bridger, seasoned Indian fighters with a deep understanding and respect for the native nations. These are just some of the examples of historical parallels in this game’s narrative. .
It also refutes the notion that all American westerns of this era just kissed up to the US and idolized the westward expansion. A lot of people like to make this claim, specifically those who would imply that revisionist westerns like Blazing Saddles were the first of its kind.
Movies never criticized the wild west before 1972, guys. Yeah, ignore this little movie made in 1948 that starred the three biggest names in Hollywood at the time. Ignore The Searchers or that scene in Mclintock! where John Wayne stands up on behalf of the Comanche nation against the US Government.
Forget about the TV Show Cheyenne that depicts a white sheriff that was raised by Cheyenne natives and was often used to criticize racial hatred against the Plains Indians. Or the beginning of The Magnificent Seven where two of the seven defend a deceased native’s coffin from being desecrated by racist locals.
Yeah, guys. Your history sucks and America sucks and only revisionist westerns are worth watching because they make everyone evil.
If you have ever used this reasoning, you show your ignorance to this genre of film and reveal to everyone how little you truly know about the western. Westerns are allowed to have good people and heroes that represent good morals. America did not spend thirty five or more years making movies that were bad before Sergio Leone and his revisionists arrived. America and Italy just made different kinds of westerns and both are often good.
Yes, there were many mainstream American westerns in the past that idealized the wild west, but there were also plenty as far back as 1948 (at the very least) that did no such thing.
Fort Apache is one of those movies. Great movie and it has held up really well. The acting and writing are great and it really is one of the best, if not the best, John Ford/John Wayne movie. Yeah, I said it.
The subtitle is onto something.
15. True Grit: Original (1969) and Remake (2010)
Remake shootout
Ah, yes. The age-old debate. Which of these legendary films is actually the better of the two? You want the truth?
I think both of these movies deserve their place on this list. So, I’m gonna put them together.
Adapted from Charles Portis’s legendary western novel of the same name, both True Grit films follow Mattie Ross after she hires a brutish booze ridden bounty hunter named Rooster Cogburn to catch Tom Chaney and avenge her father’s murder.
What I can say about the 1969 original is that it is a solid movie with John Wayne giving one of the best performances of his career. However, it could be a better adaptation of the novel and its supporting cast could have been a bit better. And despite adapting many of the events in the book, it doesn’t feel like the book, not matching the dialogue and narrative style that made the novel iconic in the first place.
The Coen Brothers’ remake, however, feels exactly like the book. In fact, when I read the book after seeing both movies, I was blown away by just how similar the Coens’ dialogue style was to the novel. It was so seamless that there were scenes in the remake that weren't in the book,which surprised me because they felt like something that could have been. Not only is the dialogue better, but the humor in the new film hits better and lines up with the novel as well.
And unlike in the original, the remake lets Mattie Ross be the main character, just like she was in the book.
In terms of Rooster Cogburn I’d say both films actually do a great job. In fact, on a sheer performance level, Jeff Bridges and John Wayne are actually even. However, despite my praise of the remake over the original, I’m going to give John Wayne this one.
The book described Cogburn as “Grover Cleveland with an eye patch” and as much as I love Bridges' performance, John Wayne looks far closer to how the book describes him. In fact, it feels like it was the role John Wayne was born to play. The body type, facial tics, drunken ramblings are all things Wayne nails in the original. John Wayne won that Oscar for a reason and it’s because he was the perfect man for the job.
I will say that both John Wayne and Jeff Bridges do an excellent job portraying Cogburn’s ability to speak for hours about nothing to anyone that will listen. Both nail the petty Texas Ranger insults to a hilarious degree. And you better believe they both owned Cogburn’s iconic one liner.
“Fill your hands, you son of b*tch!”
Check ‘em both out and check out the novel while you’re at it if you want the true (pun intended) True Grit experience.
Mattie Ross with her Colt Dragoon.
14. Justified (2010-2015)
"Justified" trailer.
Based upon Elmore Leonard’s Raylan Givens books, Justified follows Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) as he hunts down felons in the Harlan Kentucky area, while dealing with his own family and interpersonal conflicts.
In this era of modern western TV like Yellowstone, I always preferred Justified. It is the perfect combination of everything Elmore Leonard does well, crime and western. Like he took the good elements of his western novels and short stories like 3:10 to Yuma and plopped them into his crime novels
Raylan Givens is a gunslinging cowboy set in a modern day world with its modern day sensibilities to crime and the law. Givens, however, is an old fashioned man that believes in shooting the bad guys first and asking questions later. Which the show uses as a wonderful source of conflict when he has to discover ways around shooting his adversaries.
The characters are all great, Walton Goggins’s Boyd Crowder being my favorite. The drama and writing are fantastic, as good as some of the most acclaimed TV shows you can think of. This TV Show has earned its reputation and I’m glad to see it coming back up again with the recent sequel series.
This show has some freakin’ awesome posters.
13. Rio Bravo (1959)
Dean Martin Jam Session
Directed by Howard Hawke, Rio Bravo follows three lawmen after they’ve captured the members of a notorious outlaw band. The Sheriff (John Wayne) keeps everyone in Rio Bravo on guard as they wait for the band to retaliate, take their revenge, and rescue their men.
This classic is different western from others John Wayne has starred in and as a result, it holds a different place in my heart. Rio Bravo isn’t about gunslinger’s getting revenge. It's not about brutal violent gunfights. It's not about big sprawling adventures that take us over different landscapes across the west. It's just a movie that takes place in one town, over the course of a few nights. This movie is actually a relaxing and chill experience, the music adding to the almost dreamy nature of the whole thing.
Nothing solidifies the chill vibe of this film better than its main theme and the awesome jam session between Dean Martin and Rickie Nelson as they sing one of the best cowboy/western songs I’ve ever heard. And I listen to a ton, believe me.
If you want a western that isn’t very plot heavy and has a way of putting you at ease, check out Rio Bravo.
Dean Martin’s character battling his alcoholic inner demons.
12. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
"The Outlaw Josey Wales"
If Unforgiven had never come around, The Outlaw Josey Wales would be considered Clint Eastwood’s best directed western. It is definitely one of his most revered, touting legendary lines such as:
Well, are ya gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?
The film follows Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) after his family is butchered by the Union Army. He joins the Confederacy for revenge, keeping the fight going long after the war ends. It’s a classic tale about revenge that may not be the most compelling western movie, or the best revenge film (That’s Ben-Hur for those that are wondering), it’s not even the best Clint Eastwood movie, but it does a serviceable job as all of those things.
Eastwood obviously kills it as Josey Wales and the film is filled with solid performances, gritty action scenes, and is just an overall solid western that I believe should be seen by all who are fans of the western genre or of Eastwood.
I got two guns, one for each of ya.
11. Big Jake (1971)
"Big Jake" Trailer
Directed by George Sherman and starring John Wayne, Big Jake follows Jacob McCandle and his sons as they go rescue his grandson from the hands of a villainous gang on the other side of the Mexican border.
If you were to ask me what my favorite John Wayne film is, I’d likely answer with this one. Sure, it’s not as epic as The Searchers, it’s not as excellent as Fort Apache, and it isn’t as iconic as True Grit, but you know what it is? An uncomplicated action rescue movie.
This movie is simple. Grandson gets kidnapped, Big Jake and his sons have to go rescue him. Sometimes that’s all a movie needs. Each character specializes in a specific type of violence that makes them effective team members against the enemy.
One thing I appreciate about this movie is how it feels like a classic John Wayne western, but without the fifties and sixties censoring. It’s gritty, violent, brutal, but also just as classic, heroic, and iconic as the type of films many older western enthusiasts prefer. It hits that sweet spot and unlike many other John Wayne movies, I think this one appeals to classic and revisionist western fans alike.
Check it out, it’s definitely a good time.
Jake Candle's son showing his skills with a sniper rifle.
10. City Slickers (1991)
The best scene in the movie
Starring Billy Crystal as Mitch Robbins, Bruno Kirby as Ed Furillo, and Daniel Stern as Phil Berquist, City Slickers follows three lifelong friends from New York as they go to New Mexico for the classic western experience of herding cattle to Colorado alongside real cowboys. But after tragedy strikes, the cast finds that they must deliver the cattle themselves, completely outmatched and inexperienced for the task.
Likely the one movie most people would never stick on this list is the one I’m sticking in the top ten. Yes, this is one of my favorite westerns ever. Yes, it is a nineties comedy most people would just completely look over. Yes, it does not have the same tropes or even the same time period as the majority of westerns. But you know what? It’s also one of the most emotionally resonating movies I’ve seen and will always hold a special place in my heart.
Billy Crystal is at his best in this movie, but I gotta give it to Bruno Kirby’s performance as Ed, my favorite character in the movie. Ed delivers one of the best pieces of dialogue I think I’ve ever heard. In fact, I hope I write something that good one day. It never ceases to choke me up a little bit.
It’s an excellent modern day western and a great comedy that I recommend every chance I get.
Billy Crystal smiles for “City Slickers”.
9. Dances With Wolves (1990)
"Dances With Wolves" Trailer
Starring and directed by Kevin Costner, Dances With Wolves follows Lt. John J. Dunbar, a Civil War veteran sent to an abandoned frontier base before beginning to form a bond with the nearby Lakota Sioux.
There isn’t much I can say about this movie that hasn’t been said. Yes, it is indeed one of the best wild west films ever made. Yes, it has incredible performances across the board and solidified Costner as an actor and director. It deserves every Oscar and every shred of praise it has won.
I hear this movie get criticized a lot for being a “white savior” fantasy. I believe this to be a stupid and dishonest assessment of the film.
Anyone who has seen this film should know that Dunbar is not a “white savior”. Yes, he does save the elders and women when they are attacked by raiders. But the Lakota also saved him from the clutches of the US Army at one point. And that’s not even counting one very crucial fact:
The movie ends with Dunbar failing to stop the United States’ westward expansion that drives the Lakota from their way of life. How is this film a “white savior” fantasy when Dunbar fails to save his friends? The movie literally has a tragic ending in which the Lakota are forced to succumb to the United States and Dunbar can do nothing about it.
Dunbar is not a white savior, he’s just a means to criticize the American government’s handling of Lakota relations. And no, Dunbar being white is not a criticism. There is nothing wrong with Dunbar being a white character. The point of his character was to give the audience a means to relate to and humanize the Lakota. Dunbar and the audience are in this journey together, what he learns about them, we also learn. He is the gateway to the story for an audience that would find this culture to be alien.
We learn and grow with Dunbar. He is an essential part of this story. Making him a different race would negate the point and ultimately make a different story. The story is about an American soldier becoming disenfranchised with America during the Civil War. He chose his own post because he wanted to get as far away from America as possible and relations with the Lakota is the kind of thing that he wanted, preferring them to the nation he’d grown to loathe.
That kind of character can only work as a white character.
People who make criticisms like this are either filled with bitterness, media illiteracy, or ignorance. Check out Dances With Wolves. It is one of the best American Historical epics ever made.
John Dunbar and his doggo.
8. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Buster Scruggs singing his heart out.
The Coen Brothers strike again with their western anthology masterpiece The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a movie composed of six short films that tackle various tropes of the western and serves as an excellent homage to the genre.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was by far everyone’s favorite film in the anthology and it’s easy to see why. It’s well shot; the songs are great from Tim Blake Nelson’s rendition of Cool Water and the hilarious Surly Joe, as well as the genuinely wonderful Willie Watson and Tim Blake Nelson duo of When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings.
Tim Blake Nelson is playing this parody of the singing cowboy who brutally murders people to perfection; and it’s just downright funny. People tend to not like the others as much, but I promise that just because Nelson isn’t in the rest of the movie doesn’t mean the other films are bad.
They’re all fantastic, tackling a different side of the genre. All have their own strengths that set them apart from one another. It felt like an homage to wild west short fiction from the greats like Elmore Leonard or Louis Lamar and has been such an inspiration to me and my craft as well.
Though most of the stories are original, two of them are actually adaptations of western short stories that thematically fit with the rest of the anthology. Including Jack London’s All Gold Canyon, which is one of my favorites in the film. It’s a simple story that conveys a lot through imagery, making sparse use of dialogue.
Another is an adaptation (and improvement) of The Girl Who Got Rattled by Stewart Edward White and is a tragic romance story set to the backdrop of a west moving wagon train.
The other stories are great too and each one has things that make them worth watching. Give it a watch on Netflix. Hopefully, we can just get a physical copy of it at some point.
The old man looks over the All Gold’s Canyon.
7. Firefly (2002-2003)
Jayne Cobb theme song
Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly is a classic episodic science fiction show with a wild west twist.
The show stars Nathan Fillion as Malcolm Reynolds, a veteran of a galactic civil war, as he captains the Serenity through the frontier of space, looking for jobs from anyone willing to pay.
The show is brilliant. The cast and characters are all on point, the story is tightly written, and it must be noted how attached people were able to grow to characters who were only in a single season of television. The show combines what we love about science fiction with the western genre. It’s got your space ships and evil empires while also having your rambling cowboys and gunslingers, the worldbuilding even mirroring American history to solidify the union between the genres.
I have heard it said that the show is a ripoff of Cowboy Bebop, but to come to that conclusion you’d have to be shallow or dishonest. Just because Joss Whedon said that Bebop was an inspiration does not prove it to be a cheap copy. At the very most, there are similarities that can be pointed out. But outside of those, the two stories are completely different.
For starters, Cowboy Bebop doesn’t have its main character as a retired civil war veteran. The plot and central cast are completely different, holding little to no similarities at all. Unless you wanna argue that Spike and Malcolm are “basically the same character.” There are no characters like Jane Cobb. And the closest comparison I can think of is Faye Valentine and Anaura as the two sexy fem fatales. However, Faye Valentine is not a whore like Anaura and Anaura does not typically handle her problems with violence. They are completely different characters.
All you do is diminish the value of Cowboy Bebop by making it basically just Firefly. The two offer very different experiences. Firefly is a straightforward sci-fi show while also being a western. Bebop is a western/sci-fi/noir that served as an experimental piece of fiction, combining everything with everything. Also, Bebop is a musical experience where the blues/jazz/country all play essential parts to the plot. Firefly leans into the western genre far harder than Bebop does. Other than the gunslinger aspect, Spike being called a “space cowboy”, and the hilarious “Cowboy Andy”, Bebop often doesn’t even go into the western genre. In fact, I’ve always thought of it as a crime noir with sci-fi and western elements. Firefly is just a western in space.
Both are distinct and both are good.
Hands down the post poster I’ve seen for this show.
6. No Country For Old Men (2008)
Coin Toss Scene
The Coen Brothers return with their magnum opus, No Country For Old Men, a modern day western following Llewlyn Moss (Josh Brolin) after stealing money from a cartel and retreating across Texas to evade them. On his tale are the vicious and mechanical Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) and Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), racing to reach Llewlyn before the other can.
The movie is excellently shot and brilliantly acted. Javier Bardem steals the show as Anton Chigurh, a performance that nabbed him a well deserved Oscar. It also established the character as one of the greatest cinematic villains of all time.
The thing this film excels at is slow burning tension, having the most intense sequences in cinema, including a fantastic hotel shootout that lasts nearly ten minutes as the two sides play a deadly game of hide and seek. The movie doesn’t play tricks to make you feel things with music and in fact, hardly plays a note at all.
The movie is an excellent neo-Western and crime thriller and required viewing for all cinephiles and western fans alike.
Further solidifying that westerns have the best posters.
5. Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)
Train station shootout
Taking the first spot in the top five list is Sergio Leone’s most ambitious western film. Starring Charles Bronson as the iconic Harmonica, Henry Fonda as Frank, and Claudia Cardinale as Jill McBain, the film follows the newly wed Mrs. McBain after she finds her new family has been massacred. Meanwhile, a mysterious harmonica playing gunslinger comes to her aid for reasons of his own as the conspiracy deepens and the bodies begin piling up.
This film is one of most well made westerns of all time. The cinematography is gorgeous, the sets are beyond impressive, the acting across the board is fantastic, and Ennio Morricone’s beautiful score is beyond spectacular. This is director Sergio Leone’s magnum opus, a clear attempt to create the greatest film in his entire catalog. And I think he succeeded.
This film perfectly captures the slow nature of frontier life, as well as the brutality, while also being a bit of a conspiracy thriller. It has some of the most iconic scenes in western cinema, such as the opening gunfight, and some of the best western music you’ll ever hear. It might not be as iconic as The Man With No Name trilogy, but it is arguably Leone’s greatest western and earns all the respect it gets.
Charles Bronson playing his iconic Harmonica
4. Bone Tomahawk (2015)
"Bone Tomahawk" trailer
Bone Tomahawk is written and directed by S. Craig Zahler. It is a grindhouse horror western film that follows Sheriff Franklin Hunt (Kurt Russell), Deputy Chicory (Richard Jenkins), John Brooder, the Indian Killer, (Matthew Fox), and Cowboy Arthur O’dwyre (Patrick Wilson) as they embark on a journey across a brutal wasteland to save Mrs. O’dwyre (Lili Simmons) from a band of cannibalistic natives that the most vicious Plains Indians fear.
I could talk about this film all day, but I will restrain myself and just focus on selling it as a movie that deserves to be this high on the list.
For one, it is an impressive accomplishment. The film was made on a $1.8 million budget and it makes good use of every penny.
It's a perfect combination of wild west and horror, capturing what makes the American western frontier so beautiful and brutal. The landscape is always filmed to make the characters look small against the land around them. The frontier is an oppressive entity, biting at their ankles and agitating their injuries. They face bandits and grave wounds and don’t have the resources to properly address either. And that’s before they actually face the main antagonists.
But the absolute best aspect of this film is the writing and the characters, particularly the lead four. Each character gets a moment to shine and take over when they need to. They feel like real people, so when the film goes into the grindhouse at the end, you care about what’s happening to them. The only warning I have is that the film is slower than some may expect and the last thirty minutes are actually some of the most violent cinema I’ve seen.
But, if you can get past that, you’ll get a truly incredible story. Zahler really knows his westerns and if you enjoy Bone Tomahawk, check out his novels A Congregation of Jackals and Wraiths of the Broken Land. But be warned, they are very brutal.
Another excellent western poster.
3. The Revenant (2015)
"The Revenant" trailer
Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant serves as a loose retelling of Hugh Glass’s legendary journey to avenge himself upon John Fitzgerald after the latter leaves him to bleed to death following a brutal bear attack.
I know this film has some detractors and they have some valid points, such as the historical inaccuracies plaguing the story. However, on its own, it is a fantastic western epic. It’s easily the most beautiful looking movie on the list, the cinematography being among the best in any film and makes the landscapes look both harsh and jaw droppingly gorgeous.
The thing I appreciate the most is the honest portrayal of the western frontier. This film is super violent, not pulling any punches. Violence is a grueling process that you’re forced to watch the details of, whether it be a bear mauling or a character being forced to cauterize a wound.
It’s a well made movie, even if it’s not historically accurate to the original story. I still highly recommend it.
Poster almost as gorgeous as the movie. Almost.
2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
Hotel scene
Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly follows the iconic Man With No Name (Clint Eastwood) as he races against a corrupt Union Soldier/Bounty Hunter (Lee Van Cleef) and a no good Mexican outlaw (Eli Wallach) as they plunge into the depths of the harsh western frontier and destructive battlefields of the American Civil War to find a buried treasure.
There is not a single useless scene in this film. It’s got some of the most beautiful and iconic imagery, not just in western cinema, but in all of cinema. It’s filled with great gunslinging action and epic battles, making use of incredible set pieces. The three main characters are all legendary in their own right and their impact on the genre is a testament to how iconic they are. It has the greatest soundtrack in western film history, filled with iconic music that has influenced everything from Tarantino to Red Dead Redemption.
There isn’t much more I can say about this movie that a billion people already haven’t said. It’s perhaps the most iconic western of all time. Its footprint in cinema can be found everywhere, including many of the films on this list. From references to homages, from the filming style to the music. From Borderlands to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. There’s no way you haven’t been exposed to this film in some way.
If that isn’t a testament to this film’s staying power, I don’t know what is. This film is required viewing for fans of cinema and western cinema alike.
Wa-wa-waaa.
1. Unforgiven (1992)
Little Bill Scene
Directed and starring Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven follows William Munny (Eastwood) as he straps on his guns one last time to hunt down a pair of delinquents for cutting up a whore in the town of Big Whiskey. However, Sheriff Little Bill (Gene Hackman) has a particular disdain for bounty hunters and starts a manhunt of his own, a hunt to capture and kill Munny and his crew before they can catch their bounty.
This is the greatest western film ever made. It captures the brutality of the American Frontier, while being an honest depiction of the most celebrated gunslingers in history. Even the lead character’s name, William Munny, seems to echo William Bonny, the infamous “Billy the Kid”.
The story and characters are perfect and the actors perform to perfection. It’s won a plethora of awards, Clint Eastwood earning several Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor In a Leading Role, not to mention a Golden Globe for Best Picture. Gene Hackman won an Oscar and a BAFTA for his outstanding performance as Little Bill. And that’s just to name a few of its accolades.
I don’t want to spoil this film for anyone that hasn’t seen it, though I could talk about it all day. What I will say though is that it has incredible performances, a story that gets better with repeated views as you notice more and more details, a deep thematic core, incredible music, and one of the greatest ending scenes in cinematic history. This film’s strength is its slow burning tension, exemplified the greatest with Little Bill’s Duke of Death scene and the final shootout, which is the greatest final shootout in cinema history.
I would say this film deserves this place on the list and all the Oscars it won in 1993, but you know what they say. Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.
“Deserve’s Got Nothing To Do With It” By Jason R. Gant
I would like to thank Gamers Decide for giving me the opportunity to geek out about westerns.
I would also like to recommend some personal favorites of mine you should check out after this one:
