Top 10 Westerns

[Neutrinos]

Surprised by the lack of mention for No Country for Old Men. One of the great films of this century.

I don't consider it a western

 

[Neutrinos]

I found Blazing Saddles to be so unfunny, it actually bothers me how popular it is

With the exception of Darth Helmet going head first into the control panel, and then the subsequent scene of him watching himself go head first into the control panel, nothing Mel Brooks has ever produced has made me laugh

 

[Chili]

Two other films that would probably make my list now:

Yellow Sky 1948
Dead Man 1995

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

How did I miss this thread? A lot of stellar suggestions. Been on a Western kick this past year or so. Found a trio of Randolph Scott/Budd Boetticher movies I thought were excellent:

Ride Lonesome
The Tall T
7 Men From Now

Each super lean but effective classic Western shenanigans.

Marlon Brando's One-Eyed Jacks is a really interesting watch for how it plays with his persona and westerns in general.

For a much more modern option I still think Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead is quite a bit of fun.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

Another Scott film, The Walking Hills is a nice little western-mystery too.

 

[johnjm22]

I found Blazing Saddles to be so unfunny, it actually bothers me how popular it is

With the exception of Darth Helmet going head first into the control panel, and then the subsequent scene of him watching himself go head first into the control panel, nothing Mel Brooks has ever produced has made me laugh

Comedy doesn't age well IMO.

 

[Neutrinos]

Comedy doesn't age well IMO.

Life Of Brian remains the funniest film ever made

 

[johnjm22]

Life Of Brian remains the funniest film ever made

There's exceptions to everything.

IMO, out of all the genres, comedy ages the worst.

 

[MakeTheGoalsLarger]

Once upon a time in the west
Lightning Jack
Young Guns
Back to the future 3
Duck you sucker
Tombstone
The quick and the dead
The good the bad and the ugly
Unforgiven
Django unchained

 

[Neutrinos]

Once upon a time in the west
Lightning Jack
Young Guns
Back to the future 3
Duck you sucker
Tombstone
The quick and the dead
The good the bad and the ugly
Unforgiven
Django unchained

Nice call with the B2TF 3

 

[The Macho King]

The lack of the Oxbow Incident in this discussion makes me a little sad. I know it's not a super well-known film because of its age, but it tells such a good story and Henry Fonda is exceptional in it.

El Mariachi is an of example of that. Old west story in modern setting. That movie would have been among my favorites above.

The Justified TV show is kind of the same. Hits a lot of the "this is a Western" notes but is a modern story in Kentucky.

 

[The Macho King]

Eastwood/Leone dollars trilogy.
Dances with wolves
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Back to the future III
Silverado
Tombstone

I still haven't seen this, and considering how much I love the Coen bros. that feels like an oversight I have to remedy post-haste.

 

[Martinez]

Bone Tomahawk

 

[JackSlater]

Some good suggestions here, especially pleased to see Boetticher mentioned the other day. Anyway, I'll stick to Westerns in the traditional sense, so 19th century/early 20th century on a frontier.

The Searchers - Extremely uneven movie but some of the biggest highs in the genre. Great acting from Wayne and some tremendous visuals.
Shane - Probably my go to for a textbook example of the genre, particularly of golden era Westerns. Great white hat (blue shirt), great black hat, great setting.
Seven Men from Now - Sort of like a great episode of a Western anthology television series, great pace and classic Western action with no messing around. plus - Lee Marvin
Naked Spur - Classic Western plot and good use of tropes, very good performances from Stewart, Ryan, and company. Very rewatchable.
The Professionals - Fun adventure movie with a strong cast. I only saw it for the first time a few months back but it was awesome and stuck with me, plus - Lee Marvin.
Day of the Outlaw - Unlike any Western I've ever seen, really liked the use of snow, the way the tension was built especially in the dance scene, and I like Robert Ryan in Westerns.
A Fistful of Dollars - My favourite Western from Eastwood or Leone, a nice little noir style Western that isn't as epic in scale as what came later but also doesn't suffer from excess. I find you get most of the good parts of European Westerns here without some of the negatives. Yojimbo is really good and worth a watch too.
Ride the High Country - Very unique Western, I prefer it to The Shootist for a look at the late stages of being a badass cowboy. Honestly it probably helps if you're a fan of Scott's other Westerns, and like his other stuff it's tght with no excess.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - A feast for the eyes, drags in parts but it looks tremendous and Pitt and Affleck do a really good job. No Western looks better.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - A fitting "end" to the genre, memorable plot with good performances. Important to note who did shoot Liberty Valance, plus - Lee Marvin.

Honourable Mentions: Unforgiven, Red River, Rio Bravo, 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Decision at Sundown, Pale Rider, Once Upon a Time in the West, Heaven's Gate (the good edition), Winchester 73.

 

[DaaaaB's]

In no order:
Unforgiven
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Wild Bunch
Shane
For a Few Dollars More
Django Unchained
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Outlaw Josey Wales
Tombstone
Maverick
HM: A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Appaloosa, 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Favourite Neo Westerns:
No Country For Old Men
Hell or High Water
Wind River
Kill Bill Vol 2
El Mariachi
Desperado
Sicario
The Way of the Gun
Crazyheart

 

[Jack Straw]

In no particular order:

Silverado
Support Your Local Sherrif
Rio Bravo
Magnificent Seven
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
There Was a Crooked Man
Treasure of Sierra Madre
High Noon
Unforgiven
Pale Rider
Westworld (the original movie)

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Clint Eastwood
John Wayne
Others

 

[EXTRAS]

For novels, there are some Argentinian/Chilean westerns that would make the grade.

 

[Speyer]

For novels, there are some Argentinian/Chilean westerns that would make the grade.

I am always looking for good western novels and would appreciate some titles if there are translations available...

 

[Jags]

There's gotta be more love for Lonesome Dove. I know it's technically a miniseries, but all that means is they made a movie from a book without pruning the hell out of it. That cast was ridiculous. Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Angelica Huston, Diane Lane, Danny Glover. Even the small roles -- Steve Buscemi, Margo Martindale, Frederic Forrest, D.B. Sweeney, Glenne Headley, Barry Corbin... And I'm probably forgetting some.

Not sure Duvall's ever given a better performance (maybe The Apostle). Broken Trail is another miniseries he did if you guys haven't seen it. Also very good.

And if you've never seen Lonesome Dove you'll love it, but don't get your hopes up for the follow-up miniseries (and there were a few). None are all that great, and one or two were pretty weak.

 

[Chili]

Monte Walsh (1970)

Re-watched this after many years and have a new appreciation on how well it was made. Not a lot of dialogue which is a good thing. Slow paced, plenty of humour. Lee Marvin with a love interest in a film, for one of the few times. Nice chemistry with Jeanne Moreau and Jack Palance. The story of the last days of the 19th century cowboy which parallelled the end of westerns rule of tv and film at the time. The theme song was sung by Mama Cass. Based on a novel by Jack Schaefer (the author of Shane).

Slow West (2015)

A young man crosses the Atlantic to try to find his lost love. And finds out how vulnerable he is in the lawless west until he meets up with a bounty hunter. Offbeat story but well done, liked the slow pace, realistic style. Beautifully filmed.