Recommend the great westerns

The Searchers.

RIO BRAVO, THE SEARCHERS, and UNFORGIVEN are the three biggest gaps in my mind.

Deadwood

Do yourself a big favour and look into the great run of James Stewart/Anthony Mann Westers of the 50s and 60s. I'd recomend seeing them all, but the highlights are WINCHESTER '73 and THE NAKED SPUR (sadly not available on DVD until first quarter next year).

These films get no press but deserve to... Stewart is awesome.

These three are must sees -

High Plains Drifter
The Great Silence
Open Range


These two are Not great films, some might argue that they aren't even good, but they're fun.

The Quick & The Dead
Posse

Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
Outlaw Josey Wales
Tombstone

THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is another good, if too frequently cited Stewart western. Cool because it's an acknowledgement that there can be more than one 'hero' story in a narrative, and they're not always truthful.

THE OX-BOW INCIDENT is essential. Great, great Henry Fonda flick where a bunch of sods are wrongly accused of cattle rustling. Sorta the TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD of westerns, but don't let that put you off. I just watched something recently that was basically a remake/jumping off from this film, but damned if I can remember it now.

HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER is also essential. One of the craziest films from an established genre mainstay (Eastwood) that you're likely to find. It's to westerns what CEMETERY MAN is to zombie movies.

DEADWOOD is definitely great, but to me in a way much like WATCHMEN -- just like knowing other superhero stuff helps the graphic novel, the show will be better if you know more westerns.

You've seen THE WILD BUNCH; in a few weeks the Peckinpah box with his Pat Garret flick and THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE will come out. Both of those are great, but I particularly like CABLE HOGUE as an 'end of the west' flick that takes a totally different approach than most of Peckinpah's films.

I second the recommendation of the Mann/Stewart westerns, and there's no excuse to not see the rest of the Dollars trilogy. Red River's another classic, and if you're working on a total western pedigree you can't leave out Django.

I'd also recommend Keoma as an off-beat sort of western opera (literally, the soundtrack describes the action in the scene), but a lot of people don't like that one.

Silverado is a must, as is the earlier John Wayne classic, Stagecoach.

The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Searchers
Rio Bravo
Open Range
Lonesome Dove
Tombstone
Silverado

All great films and great choices.

No, its not as good as "Tombstone" and yes, you need to see a lot of better westrens first, but Lawrence Kasdan's Wyatt Earp is eventually worth a look. Dennis Quaid does a fantastic Doc Holiday that is quite different than Kilmer's, and it features Michael Madsen as one of the Earp brothers and Tom Sizemore as Bat Masterson.

No, its nowhere near as good as "Tombstone" and yes, you need to see a lot of better westerns first, but Lawrence Kasdan's Wyatt Earp is eventually worth a look. Dennis Quaid does a fantastic Doc Holiday, and it features Michael Madsen as Virgil Earp and Tom Sizemore as Bat Masterson.

The sad/great thing about a lot of these movies is you can pick them up for next to nothing at most retailers. At places like like Blockbuster and Futureshop, I've seen SHANE, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALLANCE, WINCHESTER '73, THE OX-BOW INCIDENT and more of those mentioned above for 5.99 (Canadian!). In a world where most people aren't interested in movies like these, it's a bit of a boon for those who do.

Not strictly a Western, but 800 BALAS is also a pretty awesome take on Western conventions, especially if you like the Spagetti sort.

It was sort of mentioned, but Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is fantastic. Essentially the same story is told at a much faster and more flippant pace in the guilty pleasure, Young Guns 2.

My favourite westersn (some of which are already mentioned, some not):
-Little Big Man- revisionist, epic, funny and featuring an amazing performance by Dustin Hoffman
-Once Upon a Time in the West
-Pale Rider
-Outlaw Josie Wales
-The Searchers
-How the West Was Won (another epic)
-Open Range

Lonesome Dove is excellent, but for God's sake stay well away from the sequel.

The Culpepper Cattle Company is pretty realistic and downbeat.

Can't go wrong with the Wayne/Ford pics:

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Fort Apache
Rio Grande

Also:

The Long Riders (the Carradines as the Younger brothers, the Keaches as the James brothers, and the Quaids as the Miller brothers)
Unforgiven
The Shootist
Shane
The Cowboys

Have to second a few - Once Upon A Time in the West is among my favourite films of all time; Good Bad and Ugly is almost as good; love Butch Cassidy and Unforgiven; Open Range is a helluva film; Tombstone's good fun with an outstanding cast; classics-wise Stagecoach is a good one, as is The Searchers.

Now, perhaps less well-known but equally deserving, the absolute perfection that is The Professionals. There's a thread on it here:http://chud.com/forums/showthread.ph...=professionals
but let me just say, its exciting, sexy and its got the coolest cast spouting the finest dialogue. A real treat.

Much more down and dirty is Django (ignore the sequels/ripoffs). Its broad, violent Spaghetti stuff, but its got a nice pulpy, nasty streak to it. And again, enormous fun.

Something totally different is Tears of the Black Tiger (Fah Talai Jone), not so much a Western as an Eastern. Its a Thai film, but takes place half in the conventions of the western and half in melodrama. Its hilarious and exciting and stylish beyond belief and tries harder than most bigger budget films to simply entertain you. Well-worth a look to break up the sometimes samey Western genre.

It's good to see Lonesome Dove on the list so many times (my fav of all time). Shane of course is classic, Pale Rider, High Plains Drifter, and yeah, I admit it, I like Conager.

Agree with the ones people have suggested so far (Searches, Few Dollars more, etc), but there's one I saw recently that isn't listed here.

Sergio Leone's DUCK YOU SUCKA! (which is released nearly everywhere under the less-cool title of "A Fistful of Dynamite").

James Coburn is Irish and Rod Steiger is Mexican. I saw this on the big screen for the first time a few months back, and I couldn't get over how cool it was. Seriously, it was a huge crowd pleaser, and I can't recommend it enough, particularly if you like spag westerns.

Just don't know if it's easy to find, now I think about it...

Edit: Just checked Amazon.com, which has an import from Australia (funny, as that's where I'm typing this from -- see "above"). Ezydvd.com.au has a more direct, and possibly cheaper, link. It's a vanilla edition. Amazon.co.uk appears to have an impressive special edition done in the same style as the Dollars trilogy. Btw, you'll need to search under "Fistful of Dynamite".

The Randolph Scott "Ranown" Westerns of the 50s are neat little bridges between "old fashioned" westerns and later revisionist stuff. The Tall T and Buchanan Rides Alone are the best. And Scott's last film was an early Peckinpah Western - Ride the High Country. Check em all out.

I fifteenth The Searchers.

You should also check out My Darling Clementine.

MacKeena's Gold
The White Buffalo

The Gunfighter, with Gregory Peck as Johnny Ringo.

One of the great Westerns - watch it, by all means.

I'm please to see that Open Range is getting some notice in here, most people I talk to scoff if any Costner gets brought up. In an odd way I would also call Dance With Wolves a great western, though it is sappy and unrealistic.

My personal favorites are The Great Silence, High Plains Drifter and Fucking Cocksucking Deadwood.

A couple of unconventional picks:

No mention of Altman's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" yet. It's a great anti-western.

Also should point out Jarmusch's "Dead Man," starring Johnny Depp. That one's a gem.

I also have to second (or 20th, or whatever the hell we're on) the love for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, Unforgiven, Tombstone, and Dead Man. All excellent films that deserve to be seen more than once.

I would like to add The Great Silence to the list of must-see Westerns. It's this obscure little spaghetti western starring Klaus Kinski, and it has one of the most bleak endings of all time.

I don't know how I forgot DEAD MAN. What a cool film. One of Crispin Glover's best bits ever, and one of Mitchum's last.

I obviously need to watch THE GREAT SILENCE again. Never thought much of in the past, but since it was reissued on disc a few years back I've heard nothing but praise.

Unsurprisingly, Glover wrote his scene himself.

I recently saw THE GREAT SILENCE and thought it was amazing. Instantly one of my favorite spaghetti westerns. It's so bleak, and I love the unique setting.

Well, everyone pretty much already mentioned most of the films I would've recommended. Skimming through the thread again I don't see anyone talking about Hombre, though. I read the book first and it was awesome(voted one of the 25 best Westerns of all time) and the movie stays pretty faithful to the book. Paul Newman owns and understands the character of John Russell, bringing the perfect mix of cynicism and detachment to the character. It's worth a look if you can find it. I'm glad that they didn't bitch out either, and kept the original ending to the book. They could've easily took the "hero rides off into the sunset" approach with the movie.

F.T.W. Kid

Lonesome Dove needs to go to the top of the stack. One of the finest ensemble casts ever assembled.
No one has mentioned my favorite batshit crazy western - The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, starring Paul Newman, written by John Milius and directed by John Huston. It's got an over the top performance by Newman, a beer drinking bear, and Stacy Keach as Bob, the Albino. An underappreciated, slightly psychotic gem.

most of the gooduns mentioned already. Clint's gets enough attention, how about John Huston's The Unforgiven? (and as far as Clint goes I think Bronco Billy is great too... even if it's not really a western)

also: My Name is Nobody.

also: Red Sun.

I notice someone else mentioned "eastern" westerns... when you're not in the mood for spaghetti westerns, the Indian movie Sholay is the finest example of the curry western. with Amitabh Bachan at his charismatic best, and the incomparable Amjad Khan as villain Gabbar Singh. Sanjeev Kumar is excellent too (love that shock reveal!)

great movie, check it out if you can. the song & dance stuff is tolerable, you might even find yourself humming something from it.

Isn't there something weird with the current DVD release of LONESOME DOVE, like it cuts out a bunch of material?

El Topo - That Jodorwsky is one fucked dude.

The Unforgiven is a great movie ruined by a bad ending. The story goes that the studio didn't like were Huston was taking the movie, so they canned him

Hombre is a great movie, but to realistic for most people taste.

I also liked Dead man.

The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Searchers
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
The Shootist
Unforgiven
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

these are by far the best of the best


DEADWOOD is the best TV show ever!


MacKeena's Gold sucks whales Balls

I think it's one of those movies you have to catch when you're in right frame of mind and maybe be a bit prepared for. I didn't care for it the first time I watched it. I gave it another chance a few years later and I found it a much better film than I had remembered. It's a bit jarring at times the way Corbucci switches between embracing Spaghetti Western cliches and spitting in it's face, but in the end it's a very different and remarkably made film.

I actually watched 'Death Rides a Horse' last night and it was pretty good, aside from John Phillip Law, you could probably chop him up and use him as firewood he's so wooden but Lee Van Cleef makes up for it with his usual badass performance, the scene where he emerges from the jail set to Morricone's theme is great.

It's a pretty good spaghetti western.

I was shown Clementine in my film class last week. Amazing. The Searchers is also great, and I've heard Stagecoach also deserves much attention. All three are John Ford flicks, so I guess it's safe to assume that most anything he's touched is worth a look, though for as many films as he did I'm sure a few might not be so hot.

Check ot The Sheepman with Glenn Ford, it's great.

The Apaloosa
One-Eyed Jacks

Both with Brando. Brando directed One-Eyed Jacks and if I'm not mistaken it's the only directorial effort of his carreer. Both excellent in my opinion Another great western is Cat Ballou with an outstanding performance by Lee Marvin in an Oscar winning dual role.

Agreed, I love those flashbacks, probably the most romantic thing Leone's ever filmed.

I caught Alex Cox's Walker on TV last night. I'd forgotten how much I like that film. Not for all tastes, totally unconventional and about as subtle as a brick through a glass window. But the true story of William Walker, plus the performances (including what I thin is Ed Harris's best), make it stand out.

I was utterly unprepared for the genius that is "Once Upon A Time In The West." I had seen and not been overly impressed by "A Fistful of Dollars", so I didn't know if this was going to be any good, and I saw it with a friend who's usually very suspicious of classic movies. We were both blown away.

After watching it, I decided that Leone, not Scorsese or Kurasawa or any grindhouse film, is the major influence on Tarantino's movies.

And I know I'm going to get beaten up for this, but I'd just like to point out that "Josey Wales" and "The Searchers" were both major inspirations for "Firefly".

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Anthony Mann's brilliant series of westerns...most with James Stewert ..in the 1950's, starting with "Winchester 73", one of the best westerns ever made. A brilliant piece of filmaking, packing a incredible amount of action and memorable characters into a 95 minute running time.
"The Naked Spur" is basically a film noir set in the west, with Stewart playing the most unsympathetic character he ever played brilliantly. If don't think the Stewart could do ruthless, watch this film.
"Bend of The River" and "The Far Country" are not up to this level, but first rate westerns none the Less.
The Mann westerns were are often incredibly edgy for a 1950's studio film.
And add William Wyler's "The Big Country" in as a excellent Western.
I recently watched "Little Big Man" and although is still has many excellent moments it really does not hold up. Well intentioned, but after a while you realise it reversal of roles (all the Indians are good and all the whites except for Hoffman pretty bad) is just as simplistic as the westerns it is attacking.

I agree. It's pretty obvious, that Malcolm Reynolds, the ex-Independent soldier with a hardened heart, is a "nicer" version of Ethan Edwards.

Also, I think Whedon quoted "Stagecoach" as being a major influence on that show, too.

Three Godfathers
Seven Men From Now (seconding the Ranown love, Budd Boeticher is a master)
Forty Guns
Bullet for the General
Destry Rides Again (one of those perfect Hollywood entertainments)
I have a fondness for The Bravados and El Dorado

Previously mentioned stuff I wholeheartedly recommend include:
Rio Bravo (DUH)
My Darling Clementine
The Gunfighter
The Mann/Stewart run, with Winchester '73 my personal favorite
All of the Leone's

Silverado is not a great film (there's a number of bad scenes in it), but it's a great cast.

I'f you're going to drop Serenity and/or Firefly, I mean, Gene Rodenberry called Star Trek "Wagon Train in Space," and by that token most of the action-y Sci-fi films could be called Westerns. But I think one of the key ingredients of the Western is the time period, especially since one of the most often reoccuring motifs in the genre is the sense of civilization encroaching, and a time period ending.

Other than the western theme and the marauding savages, I don't see it. Explain.