View Full Version : Okay, Cowpokes: Name Me the Greatest Western of All Time, Ya Hear?
Doc Safari
02-18-13, 16:32
I've been getting into westerns quite a bit lately. Of course I've re-watched a lot of the classics. Spaghetti westerns with Clint, classics with John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and some that were pretty good with actors you never heard of.
I've even caught old episodes of High Chaparral, Bonanza, Big Valley, and The Virginian.
I gotta say, whether you like a modern western like Unforgiven, or a golden oldie like Stagecoach, there's nothing like a good, non-cliched western. I'll even include some movies that are "marginally" westerns like Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis. Yes, it's a movie about a gangster in a small desert town, but if that don't qualify as a western....
I also include movies that aren't technically about cowboys, as long as they depict the hardships of life in the Good Old West.
The one movie, though, that still haunts me years after seeing it the first time, and every other time I've seen it, makes it the one I have to pick as the greatest western of all time. My pick: The Searchers with John Wayne.
Having done some research on frontier life and how captives of the Indians were actually treated in those days, the movie chills me to the bone. The scene where former captives have been gathered together and you see how traumatized and otherwise affected they were by their captivity to me is one of the most frightening scenes in any movie.
Although the gore is really kept to a minimum throughout the movie, the premise is one of the most uncomfortable in the history of cinema, and that "uncomfortable" feeling makes it art of a higher order than just "entertainment."
Okay, what say you?
What's your pick for the top western of all time?
What's your pick for the top western of all time?
That's easy: The Wild Bunch
PS: Not the derail your thread, but lately I have been on a quest to watch all of the "end of an era" westerns, one of which is my top of all time pick. All are pretty darn good, IMO. They are:
The Misfits 1961 Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe
The final film of stars Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe is an elegy for the death of the Old West from writer Arthur Miller and director John Huston. Gable stars as Gay Langland, an aging hand traveling the byways and working at rodeos with his two comrades, Guido (Eli Wallach) and young Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift).
Lonely Are The Brave 1962 Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas plays unreconstructed "rugged individual" Jack Burns, who rides throughout the modern west knocking down man-made fences. In this modern-day Western, Jack Burns purposely lands in jail to spring a friend but discovers that he doesn't want to be sprung. Burns then busts out alone, with the town sheriff pursuing the escapee in a chase that pits man and horse against man and technology
Hombre 1967 Paul Newman
Paul Newman stars as a half-Indian shunned by his fellow stagecoach passengers until a holdup forces them to trust him as he finds a way out of the desert. More 1960s than 1860s, this Western takes a hard look at racial injustice in the Old West. Based on the Elmore Leonard novel of the same name.
Will Penny 1968 Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston is the titular aging cowboy who's also a loner and an illiterate. When he meets the possible love of his life, it's a moment of truth. Will he take a chance on enduring happiness, or continue to drift along in the only life he knows?
The Wild Bunch 1969 William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, et al
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them in 1913. They simply can no longer keep up, the times are changing, technology advancing, and their style of life is getting left behind in the dust that they spent so long galloping through. When one of their own is captured they are faced with the choice of escape or what is certainly a suicide mission to attempt and free their fallen behind comrade.
Monte Walsh 1970 Lee Marvin and Jack Palance
The unavoidable march of progress and its effect on everyday life in the Old West is examined in this evocative Western starring Lee Marvin as Monte Walsh, an aging cowboy facing the eradication of small cattle ranches and consequent unemployment. Along with his best pal Chet (Jack Palance), Monte contemplates quitting the restless life of an itinerant cowhand and settling down. But the loss of freedom causes him to hesitate, with tragic results.
Junior Bonner 1972 Steve McQueen
A week with Junior Bonner (Steve McQueen), a rodeo pro on the wrong side of 40, broke, bruised, and headed into Prescott, his home town, for the annual 4th of July Frontier Days. His dad, Ace, is a dissolute dreamer fixed on finding gold in Australia; his mom is resigned to Ace's roving; his brother Curly is tearing up the countryside to make a million in real estate. Junior just wants to stay on a bucking Brahma for eight seconds, hang out with Ace, find a way to spend time with a beautiful woman whose eyes catch his, and earn enough to get to next week's rodeo. As the old West and its code give way to progress, Junior is lonesome, laconic, and on the road - just where he wants to be.
Tom Horn 1980 Steve McQueen
In his penultimate film, Steve McQueen stars as hired gun Tom Horn, who gets more than he bargained for when some Wyoming cattlemen enlist him to eradicate the rustlers decimating their herds in this Western from director William Wiard. But after he makes short work of the thieves, the ranchers -- with help from politically motivated U.S. Marshal Joe Belle (Billy Green Bush) -- frame Horn for murder. Richard Farnsworth and Linda Evans co-star. Based on the real life Tom Horn.
Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada 2005 Tommy Lee Jones
This is a multi-layered story of death, retribution, loneliness, and remembrance. Although it takes place in modern day Texas, its main character Pete Perkins, superbly played by Tommy Lee Jones, seems to be living resolutely in the past. He is determined to seek justice for his best friend's death and forces the guy responsible for to a journey across the borders in Mexico to locate the village of the deceased for a proper burial. This journey will bring forward the stark contrast between the values of two ways of life and the landscape transversed is both geographical and emotional.
brickboy240
02-18-13, 16:44
Great westerns?
My favorites are:
High Noon
Winchester 73
Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
Geronimo
Tombstone
Not a John Wayne fan...sorry Eastwood does it for me.
-brickboy240
If you are counting Last Man Standing, which is just a remake/take off of A Fistful Of Dollars, then can I go with Yojimbo, from which Fistful... was borne? :p (Last Man Standing probably resembles Yojimbo even more than FOD does, actually.)
If not, The Outlaw Josy Wales is my top pick. :D
Doc Safari
02-18-13, 16:49
If you are counting Last Man Standing, which is just a remake of A Fistful Of Dollars, then can I go with Yojimbo, from which Fistful... was borne? :p
If not, The Outlaw Josy Wales is my top pick. :D
LOL....I have a broad definition which I was afraid might confuse people. I'll even consider movies like Broken Arrow with John Travolta and Christian Slater a western. Check the title, for one. Then appreciate the fact that even though the good guys are chasing the bad guys for stolen nuclear bombs, the movie is played out as a modern western. Humvees for wagons. A gunfight in a mine. Even a running gunfight on a train--can't get much more western than that.
Sooooooo....if you pick an off-the-wall movie as being "essentially" a western--then just tell us why you think it qualifies, Mmmkay? For example you could see a movie about modern cowboys as a western. Or maybe a movie about rival gangs could be "essentially" a western if it has the classic elements of storytelling you'd expect to find in a western.
Gene Roddenberry described his Star Trek series as "Wagon Train to the Stars", but that might be going too damn far for this thread.
montanadave
02-18-13, 16:50
Shane
And The Magnificent Seven
And A Man in the Wilderness
It's a trick question. There has never been a good western movie. :ph34r:
Sooooooo....if you pick an off-the-wall movie as being "essentially" a western--then just tell us why you think it qualifies, Mmmkay? (See AustinN4's post above for what I mean).
I'm going to stick with Josey Wales as my first choice for simplicity's sake. :D
However, I do think Yojimbo (along with a lot of Kurosawa's similar titles from that Samurai/ronin gunfighter-style western phase) is a solid parallel western, and does fit the description. The time period was the same as many classic American westerns, being around the mid-1800's. The samurai (in Kurosawa's adaptations, at any rate) that were master-less at the end of the feudal period had a similar feel to the post Civil War/Indian Wars soldier-turned-gunfighter/bounty hunter/wanderer. Here was this lone wolf, trying to find his place in a world where his wit and weapon were becoming an anachronism with the coming of 'civilization and industrialization.'
The Searchers. Stagecoach(1939) is also universally recognized as a great one and I agree.
Doc Safari
02-18-13, 17:10
However, I do think Yojimbo (along with a lot of Kurosawa's similar titles from that Samurai/ronin gunfighter-style western phase) is a solid parallel western, and does fit the description. The time period was the same as many classic American westerns, being around the mid-1800's. The samurai (in Kurosawa's adaptations, at any rate) that were master-less at the end of the feudal period had a similar feel to the post Civil War/Indian Wars soldier-turned-gunfighter/bounty hunter/wanderer. Here was this lone wolf, trying to find his place in a world where his wit and weapon were becoming an anachronism with the coming of 'civilization and industrialization.'
Works for me.
Another example: one could argue the "Mad Max" movies are modern westerns. I won't go into minute detail, but picking and choosing: Bartertown in the third one is essentially the 'rough' frontier town. The biker gangs are essentially Indians. You get the idea.
Hopefully broadening the definition will make this a more interesting thread than people just naming their favorite "pure" western by title and not telling us why they liked it.
It's a trick question. There has never been a good western movie. :ph34r:
****in' Al Qaeda is now on the board.:D
As already mentioned above and in no particular order:
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Tombstone
The Unforgiven
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Some other westerns:
Silverado
Big Jake
Open Range
The Good, the Bad, the Weird
That's just to name a few.
If I had to pick only one, it'd be The Outlaw Josey Wales. To me, it was Eastwood's Western masterpiece.
Runners up would include:
Unforgiven
Tombstone
The Man With No Name trilogy (Fist Full of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, The Good The Bad and The Ugly)
The Magnificent Seven
The Wild Bunch
High Plains Drifter
Pale Rider
Silverado
No Country For Old Men
Open Range
The Way of the Gun (well, the end of it is pretty Western-y)
Doc Safari
02-18-13, 17:47
No Country For Old Men
An excellent example of what is "essentially" a western even though it's a modern movie about going up against a drug cartel.
Some may disagree, but I'll have to throw in Firefly. I usually describe it to those who haven't seen it as, "The Outlaw Josey Wales, in space." It's very much a Western, with its themes of individual liberty crushed by an ever-encroaching civilization.
SeriousStudent
02-18-13, 18:45
"Monte Walsh" with Tom Selleck. Genuine period firearms used, and used accurately. No Colt Single Actions that hold 39 rounds.
Mr. Selleck also donated the firearms to the NRA Museum after the filming.
Hard to say.
Does Quigley Down Under count?
Open Range, Tombstone, 3:10 to Yuma and Unforgiven are all good.
Love the "man with no name" Eastwood classics.
As far as TV shows, nothing beat The Wild, Wild West.
Honorable mention goes to The Outlaw.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sites/bfi.org.uk/files/styles/15_columns/public/image/outlaw-1943-001-00n-bjy-jane-russell-haystack.jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yq2PlEchd10/T0Vq5W8SVEI/AAAAAAAACs4/3mOI95nfxnI/s1600/outlawjane2.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Jane_Russell_in_The_Outlaw.jpg
TacMedic556
02-18-13, 18:53
Does the Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart count as a western?
Tombstone is one of my favorite.
Inkslinger
02-18-13, 19:15
Does the Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Humphrey Bogart count as a western?
I was thinking the same thing. Great movie. Love The Magnificent 7 and 7 Samurai. If you want my vote for "weirdest", check out El Topo sometime.
Littlelebowski
02-18-13, 19:21
Lonesome Dove and Unforgiven.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
I think I've seen all of them mentioned so far but will have to say my 2 favorites are Lonesome Dove and Open Range.
Hard to say.
Does Quigley Down Under count?
I forgot about that one!
Magic_Salad0892
02-18-13, 20:04
Unforgiven. By far.
IMHO.
I do like the 3:10 to Yuma remake.
Stagecoach. Made John Wayne a star.
The spaghetti westerns from Sergio Leone were also pretty good.
The fight between good and evil, yeah take out the bad guy.
These three I'll watch anytime, any place.
1. The Magnificent Seven, Money isn't everything.
2. Shane, Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.
3. High Noon, I guess I'll have to do this all by myself.
Unforgiven. By far.
Have you seen Quigley?
Unforgiven is a great film, but I'm not sure I'd rank it at #1.
Magic_Salad0892
02-19-13, 04:38
Have you seen Quigley?
Unforgiven is a great film, but I'm not sure I'd rank it at #1.
I actually have not. Which is weird, because I owned it for years.
(I got Hamburger Hill coming in the mail. :D)
TV:
Firefly :p
HGWT
Movie:
Tombstone
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Pale Rider
Unforgiven
Red River (John Wayne version)
The Shootist
The Searchers
TV
Gunsmoke
Bonanza
Rawhide
The Rifleman
I could go on forever, I love watching all of them.
No contest. UNFORGIVEN.
Quickly followed by many other Clint Eastwood offerings....
I don't try to rank stuff like this , but you forgot a couple worth mentioning.
TV: Have Gun Will Travel, Maverick, and Guns of Will Sonnett.
Sorry Koshinn, I just saw HGWT above.
My favorites (in no particular order....)
Quigley Down Under
Tom Horn
Unforgiven
Wyatt Earp
No Country for Old Men
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
and my favorite non-Western Western comedy
Rustler's Rhapsody
Kinda surprised that no one has mentioned "Star Wars". Not a fan of the series, but my impression was that it was just a "Saturday Serial".
Other "westerns":
Die Hard
Some good "End of an Era" westerns-
Big Jake and The Cowboys- The realization that the epic western had lost it's momentum hadn't set in yet, John Wayne & the other classic cowboy actors were aging and a new generation was expected to pick up the baton
The Shootist- The last of the classic great westerns and a eulogy to a dying John Wayne
Wild Bunch- Heralded a new era of movie violence
"Not a Western" westerns-
The Wind and the Lion- A story a coming of age of the U.S. story that makes you feel good about being American. Fun to watch, good story, good action, plenty of period firearms
Rough Riders- Made by John Milius, the same guy who made The Wind and the Lion. It's fun to watch, good action and lots of period firearms
Firefly- Post Civil War America in SPAAAACE! What could be better?
war wagon was one of my favorites
what was the one where john Wayne Had to use young kids to drive his cattle I saw that as a kid and loved it
war wagon was one of my favorites
what was the one where john Wayne Had to use young kids to drive his cattle I saw that as a kid and loved it
The Cowboys ,1972. I liked that one too.
Turns out my list of "If I'm channel-surfing, and stumble across THIS movie, I'm stopping to watch it...." list is ALL westerns. Never thought about it, before.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Shootist
Open Range
Seriously, I can't NOT watch them....
If John Wayne's not in it, it can't be on the list...
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon...
AZ-Renegade
02-19-13, 09:51
war wagon was one of my favorites
what was the one where john Wayne Had to use young kids to drive his cattle I saw that as a kid and loved it
The Cowboys.
Damn, 3 AE beat me to it!
Thanks guys that movie made me want to get on a horse and go on a cattle drive :dance3:they just don't make movies like that anymore !!
After watching that movie i remember my grandfather taking me down to a small Mom and pop store and buying me a Cowboy hat and a cowboy cap gun and holster.
I even had spurs I wore it everywhere God such good Times every time i see that movie i think of my PAPA ,Man i miss him:(
brickboy240
02-19-13, 10:05
I honestly don't think there is a cooler Western Movie character than Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday in the movie "Tombstone."
The accent, mannerisms and his lines....perfect.
-brickboy240
Jeremiah Johnson
For a Few Dollars More
FlyAndFight
02-19-13, 11:40
As far as simply enjoyment goes, as well as not being a stickler for any historical inaccuracies found, the following make my list, in no particular order:
Tombstone
Outlaw Josey Wales
Pale Rider
The Alamo (John Wayne's version)
A bunch of Wayne and Eastwood flicks...
Dances With Wolves
And just to be a wise guy...
Back To The Future: Part II
Support Your Local Sheriff
Blazing Saddles
As has been said by many its almost impossible to pick a favorite. My long list of top picks though includes many of the already listed.
Outlaw Josey Wales
"Man with no name" trilogy
Tombstone
Open Range
El Dorado
Magnificent Seven
...and the list goes on. Basically anything with Eastwood or Wayne goes on the list by default.
I did think the 3:10 to Yuma remake was pretty good.
Quigley was ok but I just have trouble seeing Magnum as a cowboy. Movie might have been better if in addition to the Sharps, Quigley had been rocking a Hawaiian shirt :D
Doc Safari
02-19-13, 13:11
I'm surprised no one has mentioned 'Last of the Mohicans.' Even though it's set in the French & Indian War era IIRC, it still has a lot of the elements of a good western. They could remake the movie and set it in the 19th century and have a traditional western.
I also enjoyed Hidalgo: a western set in Arabia.
brickboy240
02-19-13, 13:35
That was a great movie.
Someone else mentioned "Dances With Wolves" and although it really does not get thought of as a "western" it is a damn good movie and very well done.
-brickboy240
I honestly don't think there is a cooler Western Movie character than Val Kilmer's portrayal of Doc Holliday in the movie "Tombstone."
The accent, mannerisms and his lines....perfect.
-brickboy240
Yeah, that really might be his finest hour.
I actually have not. Which is weird, because I owned it for years.
(I got Hamburger Hill coming in the mail. :D)
You do this on purpose just to piss me off don't you?
:D
You should check out "Paint Your Wagon", it's like if Tarantino did a western. It is the Natural Born Killers of westerns.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Shootist
Magic_Salad0892
02-19-13, 15:06
You do this on purpose just to piss me off don't you?
:D
You should check out "Paint Your Wagon", it's like if Tarantino did a western. It is the Natural Born Killers of westerns.
Maybe a little. ;)
Lol. I thought you HATED Natural Born Killers. :p
Outlaw Josey Wales
True Grit (Jeff Bridges)
Lonesome Dove
McClintock!
Open Range
Unforgiven
Wyatt Earp (NOT tombstone, kurt russell sucks wang)
Best Western actor? Three way tie.....Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall.
Doc Safari
02-19-13, 15:45
Wyatt Earp (NOT tombstone, kurt russell sucks wang)
Best Western actor? .....Kevin Costner...
Okay, Buddy, it's ON! :D
Kevin Costner has to be one of the WORST actors in history. The guy sounds like he's reading his lines.
Okay, Buddy, it's ON! :D
Kevin Costner has to be one of the WORST actors in history. The guy sounds like he's reading his lines.
Ya....ok.....well Kurt Russell can stay on his surf board leaving los angeles, he needs to stay out of westerns. Who knows, maybe him and Keanu can do a "Orange county" western lol
Doc Safari
02-19-13, 15:51
Ya....ok.....well Kurt Russell can stay on his surf board leaving los angeles, he needs to stay the hell out of westerns.
LOL! I know he did too many Disney movies as a child, but 'Big Trouble in Little China' made me a FAN.
:jester:
Maybe a little. ;)
Lol. I thought you HATED Natural Born Killers. :p
I do hate NBK. But if you liked it, you'd love Paint Your Wagon.
brickboy240
02-19-13, 16:18
Kurt Russell was not THAT bad as Earp.
Val Kilmer's rendition of Holliday definitely overshadowed him and made the film what it was.
If you do not like "Tombstone" there is something wrong with you. LOL
-brickboy240
Magic_Salad0892
02-19-13, 16:21
I do hate NBK. But if you liked it, you'd love Paint Your Wagon.
I'll check it out. If Quigley Down Under happens to be around, I'll check that out too.
Here's a confession.
I've never seen A Fistful Of Dollars. Or the sequal.
AZ-Renegade
02-19-13, 16:29
I always preferred Wyatt Earp over Tombstone.
In both films, the portrayals of Wyatt weren't very good. Costner was bland while Russell would over act.
When it came to the Hollidays, while Kilmer's rendition was amusing, I preferred the darker Holliday played by Quaid.
To me, Tombstone was more action movie than western. The whole movie felt like it was shot on a stage, while Wyatt Earp had the more epic feel of a western.
I always preferred Wyatt Earp over Tombstone.
In both films, the portrayals of Wyatt weren't very good. Costner was bland while Russell would over act.
When it came to the Hollidays, while Kilmer's rendition was amusing, I preferred the darker Holliday played by Quaid.
To me, Tombstone was more action movie than western. The whole movie felt like it was shot on a stage, while Wyatt Earp had the more epic feel of a western.
I agree. Dennis Quaid did an outstanding job as Doc Holiday.
Moose-Knuckle
02-19-13, 19:53
El Número Uno = Appaloosa
High Plains Drifter
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Pale Rider
Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
South of Heaven, West of Hell
Tombstone
Wyatt Earp
Unforgiven
Open Range
The Searchers
Broken Trail
Crossfire Trail
Quigley Down Under
Another one I forgot to mention:
http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/chc_hmc/RedSun_zps28a1f32a.jpg
Another one I forgot to mention:
http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/chc_hmc/RedSun_zps28a1f32a.jpg
Actually pretty good and one of the earlier East meets West films.
Anything with Clint mother****ing Eastwood.
Chuck who?
Magic_Salad0892
02-20-13, 18:09
Another one I forgot to mention:
http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae360/chc_hmc/RedSun_zps28a1f32a.jpg
I forgot that movie existed.
I did enjoy it a bit when I saw it on IFC a long time ago.
"Shane!.......Come... back... Shane!"
Another western with the "Duke" as Dunson in Red River.
"Shane!.......Come... back... Shane!"
"Yeah, you've lived too long. Your kind a days are over."
1:26 Here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE3mHhpGV2A I love that scene.
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