Top 10 Westerns

[MacGuffin]

A genre I've explored little of. Please share your lists and discuss!

[soitgoes...]

The Ox-Bow Incident (Wellman)
High Plains Drifter (Eastwood)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Altman)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone)
The Westerner (Wyler)
Unforgiven (Eastwood)
Ride Lonesome (Boetticher)
Winchester '73 (Mann)
Seven Men from Now (Boetticher)
I Shot Jesse James (Fuller)

[MacGuffin]

From your list, I've only seen McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Once Upon a Time in the West and I love them both, but the Altman movie is incredible.

[D_Davis]

1. Once Upon a Time in the West
2. For a Few Dollars More
3. The Great Silence
4. Tombstone
5. High Planes Drifter
6. Sukiyaki Western Django
7. Keoma
8. A Bullet for the General
9. Red Sun
10. The Master Gunfighter

[Russ]

Sukiyaki Western Django

I was thinking about doing a top ten "offbeat" westerns. I havent seen the Miike film yet, but from what I've heard about it, it sounds like it would be a snug fit.

[Dukefrukem]

1. Unforgiven
2. True Grit
3. Good The Bad and the Ugly
4. Tombstone

That's all I've seen (that I can remember).

[soitgoes...]

Yeah, tried to keep my list more traditionalist. A couple of the films might be a slight stretch, but I wanted to keep the films in the Old West. No Eastern Westerns, no Outback Westerns, no sci-fi Westerns, and no contemporary Westerns.

[Watashi]

1. Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
2. Once Upon a Time in the West
3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
4. The Searchers
5. Pat Garret and Billy the Kid
6. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
7. The Proposition
8. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
9. High Plains Drifter
10. Back to the Future III

[TripZone]

The Searchers
Rio Bravo
Dead Man
Johnny Guitar
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Wind
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Yellow Sky
Canyon Passage
Forty Guns
Stagecoach
Fort Apache
7 Men from Now
High Plains Drifter
The Naked Spur
Ride Lonesome
Man of the West
Red River
Wagon Master
Destry Rides Again
Stars in My Crown
Rio Grande
Rancho Notorious
The Shootist

Very rough order.

Need to rewatch: McCabe and Mrs. Miller, My Darling Clementine, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

[soitgoes...]

The Searchers
Dead Man
Johnny Guitar
The Wind
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Yellow Sky
Forty Guns
Stagecoach
Fort Apache
The Naked Spur
Man of the West
Wagon Master
Destry Rides Again
Rio Grande
Rancho Notorious
The Shootist

Very rough order.
Love the films in bold, not so much the others.

[TripZone]

Love the films in bold, not so much the others.

Canyon Passage, see it naow.

[monolith94]

Just want to mention "The Big Country".

[soitgoes...]

Canyon Passage, see it naow.OMG it takes place in Oregon, and I live in Oregon!!

I am now aware of its existence. I won't be watching it now, but it will be inserted into my ever expanding mental queue of films to see.

[TripZone]

OMG it takes place in Oregon, and I live in Oregon!!

I am now aware of its existence. I won't be watching it now, but it will be inserted into my ever expanding mental queue of films to see.

Neat. I am downloading The Westerner.

India Song was something amirite :|

[soitgoes...]

India Song was something amirite :|Let's just say I won't be searching for Duras films to see anytime soon. It was a long two hours. I think Russ here loves it.

[Spinal]

Put together a list and it's kind of boring, so I'll just say that I really admire My Darling Clementine.

Anyone seen Old Yeller lately? I wonder if it's worth visiting again.

[soitgoes...]

Anyone seen Old Yeller lately? I wonder if it's worth visiting again.Yes, a couple years ago. Not really worth revisiting, but it's fine for what it is I guess.

[Raiders]

1. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
2. Johnny Guitar (1954)
3. The Tracker (2002)
4. Day of the Outlaw (1959)
5. Dead Man (1995)
6. The Man from Laramie (1955)
7. Ride Lonesome (1959)
8. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
9. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
10. Rio Bravo (1959)

... hm, feels weird not having any John Ford. My top two for him are The Searchers and 3 Godfathers.

[TripZone]

The Tracker is alright. Thoroughly disengaged with Peckinpah myself. And 3 Godfathers is nice. Ford is always nice.

[Boner M]

Limit to one per director, otherwise I'd be swamped with Ford, Boetticher, Mann, Leone et al...

1. Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone, 1969)
2. Dead Man (Jarmusch, 1995)
3. Rio Bravo (Hawks, 1959)
4. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Altman, 1971)
5. The Tall T (Boetticher, 1957)
6. Man of the West (Mann, 1958)
7. Stagecoach (Ford, 1939)
8. Ulzana's Raid (Aldrich, 1972)
9. Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992)
10. Forty Guns (Fuller, 1957)

Haven't seen The Searchers or The Wild Bunch in too long to remember.

[soitgoes...]

Ford is a director who I've seen a lot from, but I'm never really blown away. He's made a few great films, but he mostly falls in that mediocre to good range. He's consistent enough for me to keep seeking out his work.

[Boner M]

Anyone seen Aldrich's Vera Cruz? Been wondering 'bout that one.

[soitgoes...]

Anyone seen Aldrich's Vera Cruz? Been wondering 'bout that one.
I wanna say I remember Grouchy mentioning it awhile back?

[Spinal]

Hearing the gorgeous song over and over again in Fallout: New Vegas makes me want to finally see Johnny Guitar.

[TripZone]

Anyone seen Aldrich's Vera Cruz? Been wondering 'bout that one.

It's quite well-shot. Other than that, it's a very standard tale of greed.
I liked Ulzana's Raid.

[balmakboor]

Westerns are kind of a blind spot for me as well although I've generally liked everything I've seen. So I'll just repeat my favorites that have already been mentioned:

McCabe and Mrs. Miller
My Darling Clementine
The Searchers
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
The Great Silence
3 Godfathers
Once Upon a Time in the West

And mention my own personal favorite oddity:

Whity

I've always been simultaneously fascinated and bored by Dead Man.

[B-side]

Just a few that aren't often mentioned:

The Shooting (Hellman, 1967)
The Wind (Sjöström, 1928)
Ride in the Whirlwind (Hellman, 1965)
China 9, Liberty 37 (Hellman, 1978)
A Girl Is a Gun (Moullet, 1971)
Whity (Fassbinder, 1971)

[megladon8]

Check out Winchester '73. Criminally underseen masterpiece, that one.

[B-side]

And mention my own personal favorite oddity:

Whity

Ah, and here I thought I was being unique mentioning it.

[balmakboor]

Ah, and here I thought I was being unique mentioning it.

We're just two like minds I guess.

[B-side]

We're just two like minds I guess.

Our love of Fassbinder binds us.

[MadMan]

This thread reminds me that I need to finish my thread. Thanks.

[Spinal]

I wanted to like Whity. I really did.

[balmakboor]

I wanted to like Whity. I really did.

Liking Whity is something reserved for hardcore Fassbinder freaks. It's kind of like liking O.C. and Stiggs or something.

[bac0n]

Good Bad Ugly
Magnificent 7
Tombstone
Blazing Saddles
Dead Man

[TripZone]

I despised Tombstone. :)

[D_Davis]

I was thinking about doing a top ten "offbeat" westerns. I havent seen the Miike film yet, but from what I've heard about it, it sounds like it would be a snug fit.

I seemed to have enjoyed it more than most viewers.

I was also going to include Way of the Gun, as that is really just a modern western, and a really good one at that.

[megladon8]

And while I know the movie is generally despised here, at least watch the final half hour of Open Range for one of the greatest gun fights of all time.

No hyperbole there. It's actually one of the best.

[Wryan]

Glad there's some Naked Spur/Johnny Guitar love.

I'll throw a vote in for Duel in the Sun because it's a hysterical wonder.

I liked the 3:10 to Yuma remake, and The Quick and the Dead and Maverick are as shamelessly watchable as anything.

Bad Day at Black Rock...sorta.

The Outlaw Josey Wales.

[TripZone]

Watched Wichita. Alright. Reverent and a bit dull.

Still, the coolest poster:

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/4015/wichitahugetx5.jpg

[Grouchy]

Classic Western

1. Rio Bravo
2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3. The Searchers
4. Vera Cruz
5. My Darling Clementine
6. High Noon
7. Red River
8. Ride the High Country
9. Stagecoach
10. Shane

Modern Western

1. The Wild Bunch
2. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
3. The Ballad of Cable Hogue
4. Unforgiven
5. High Plains Drifter
6. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
7. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
8. Dead Man
9. The Outlaw Josey Wales
10. Ulzana's Raid

For the record, I don't include Leone's films or any spaguetti western in either category. It's just that I don't think I've delved enough in the genre to make another good Top Ten.

[Chac Mool]

"Once Upon A Time In The West" is my all-time favorite movie, but I can't say that I've seen enough westerns to make a respectable top ten list.

But, from what I've seen, I've loved Leone's films. I hate to call on cliches, but they are movie magic.

Jodorowski's "El Topo" is a western (maybe), and it's definitely worth a look.

Peckinpah's "The Wild Bunch" is one I admire but I never understood the love for. No emotional resonance when I saw it, but I admit I should probably watch it again.

"Unforgiven" is good, though again, I liked it more cerebrally than emotionally.

I have a shameful weakness for "Maverick" (maybe it's Jodie Foster).

I've wanted to see Jarmush's "Dead Man" for about a decade now, and somehow never got around to it.

[Biff Justice]

1. Once Upon a Time in the West
2. Unforgiven
3. The Wild Bunch
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
5. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
6. The Proposition (it's Australian, but its tone, plot, and themes are definitely "Western")
7. Fistful of Dollars
8. High Noon
9. The Outlaw Josey Wales
10. The Searchers

The exact order may change depending on the mood I'm in and the day when you ask me, but these are all some damn good flicks.

[megladon8]

No other Winchester '73 fans here?

[soitgoes...]

The Ox-Bow Incident (Wellman)
High Plains Drifter (Eastwood)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Altman)
Once Upon a Time in the West (Leone)
The Westerner (Wyler)
Unforgiven (Eastwood)
Ride Lonesome (Boetticher)
Winchester '73 (Mann)
Seven Men from Now (Boetticher)
I Shot Jesse James (Fuller)



No other Winchester '73 fans here?.

[Derek]

No other Winchester '73 fans here?

I like it a lot, but I prefer The Man from Laramie, The Naked Spur, and maybe Man of the West, if only for the 'scope cinematography, for Mann westerns.

[Raiders]

Yeah, The Man from Laramie is Mann's best western, though they are all choice (haven't seen Man of the West).

[Irish]

I like it a lot, but I prefer The Man from Laramie, The Naked Spur, and maybe Man of the West, if only for the 'scope cinematography, for Mann westerns.

^ This. I'd add in Bend in the River too.

Winchester 73 is a good movie, but it's also the most linear and least ambitious of the Stewart/Mann team-ups.

[soitgoes...]

^ This. I'd add in Bend in the River too.

Winchester 73 is... least ambitious of the Stewart/Mann team-ups.Strategic Air Command, The Glenn Miller Story, Thunder Bay and The Far Country beg to differ. Mann made some great films, but let's not forget the mediocre stuff as well as the dreck.

[Irish]

Strategic Air Command, The Glenn Miller Story, Thunder Bay and The Far Country beg to differ. Mann made some great films, but let's not forget the mediocre stuff as well as the dreck.

I was speaking of the westerns, given the context of the thread.

[soitgoes...]

I was speaking of the westerns, given the context of the thread.Okay, then The Far Country.

[Derek]

Strategic Air Command, The Glenn Miller Story, Thunder Bay and The Far Country beg to differ. Mann made some great films, but let's not forget the mediocre stuff as well as the dreck.

I haven't seen the other three, but The Far Country is better than mediocre.

[soitgoes...]

I haven't seen the other three, but The Far Country is better than mediocre.Says you, but fwiw I'm not as big on Man of the West, The Man from Laramie or Bend of the River as others seem to be either. :P

Mann's westerns ranked:

Winchester '73
The Naked Spur
The Tin Star
Devil's Doorway
The Man from Laramie
The Furies
Bend of the River
The Far Country
Man of the West
Cimarron

[Derek]

Silly soitgoes. Mann's westerns ranked:

The Man from Laramie
The Naked Spur
Winchester '73
Man of the West
The Tin Star
The Far Country
Bend of the River

[Sxottlan]

My favorite westerns:

1. The Searchers
2. The Wild Bunch
3. Tombstone
4. Stagecoach
5. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
6. Once Upon a Time in the West
7. El Dorado
8. Shane
9. The Quick and the Dead
10. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

[Raiders]

Mann ranked:

The Man from Laramie
Winchester '73
Devil's Doorway
The Tin Star
Bend of the River
The Naked Spur
The Far Country
The Furies
Cimarron

Just need to see Man of the West. I haven't seen almost any of them in like five years though. I remember around the time we originally became "Match-cut" I had a thread where I essentially watched every damn Anthony Mann film imaginable. Time to revisit a few.

[B-side]

Says you, but fwiw I'm not as big on Man of the West as others seem to be either. :P

Neither am I. Found it pretty standard fare myself.

[TripZone]

Lang's Western Union is very entertaining.

[Pop Trash]

I've always been simultaneously fascinated and bored by Dead Man.

I'll probably catch shit for this, but I watched Dead Man again recently and also found it boring and rather stupid (and I remember loving it when I was in college). I'm starting to wonder how much I like Jarmusch in general, but a rewatch of Broken Flowers was really nice.

[Sycophant]

My list looks a little bit like this:

Once Upon a Time in the West
Johnny Guitar
Dead Man
Unforgiven
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Rio Bravo
No Country for Old Men
Tears of the Black Tiger
Support Your Local Sheriff
Tampopo


If you just can't accept some of those as Westerns, substitute in The Outlaw Josie Wales and McCabe and Mrs. Miller or something.

[Chac Mool]

Incidentally, I re-watched Once Upon a Time In the West yesterday, and MY GOD, that film is good.

[bac0n]

So... how do you guys think that the new True Grit stacks up against the all-time great Westerns? I'd say it's right up there, personally. I would put it in there with my favorite Leone films.

[soitgoes...]

Canyon Passage, see it naow.Just watched this. It was good, but nothing spectacular. Fun seeing Diamond Peak, which is the mountain shown in the background probably a dozen times, considering it's visible with a thirty minute drive from my house.

[transmogrifier]

So... how do you guys think that the new True Grit stacks up against the all-time great Westerns? I'd say it's right up there, personally. I would put it in there with my favorite Leone films.

Can't agree. True Grit doesn't get close to any Leone film I have seen.

[TripZone]

Just watched this. It was good, but nothing spectacular. Fun seeing Diamond Peak, which is the mountain shown in the background probably a dozen times, considering it's visible with a thirty minute drive from my house.

Don't think it's spectacular, either. Colourful, though.

[soitgoes...]

Don't think it's spectacular, either. Colourful, though.There are colors.

[TripZone]

There are colors.

Shut up.

[Dukefrukem]

Incidentally, I re-watched Once Upon a Time In the West yesterday, and MY GOD, that film is good.

My sig explains my feeling for it.

I watched Hang Em High last night. Wasn't bad, but it definitely wasn't one of the better Clint Eastwood films. Took way too long for Cooper to get his men.

[Grouchy]

So... how do you guys think that the new True Grit stacks up against the all-time great Westerns? I'd say it's right up there, personally. I would put it in there with my favorite Leone films.
Can't say I agree, though I loved it. I can't really compare Leone films or spaguetti westerns in general to modern Westerns. It seems like apples and oranges to me.