Movie primer list - Westerns (1 Viewer)

BretWeaver · May 24, 2004

I thought this would be kind of fun. List 25 movies that you would prescribe to someone as a primer to western movies. It should be broad ranging and cover classics from the entire genre. If you had just 25 films to show someone the western genre what would they be?

Robert Crawford · May 24, 2004

First off, you start with John Ford films then filter in westerns from other directors to complete the list.

Crawdaddy

george kaplan · May 25, 2004

Of course different people have different opinions. With the exception of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and My Darling Clementine, there wouldn't be any John Ford on my list.

Robert Crawford · May 25, 2004

Differences of opinion are especially prevalent when it comes to your opinions.

Jeff Gatie · May 25, 2004

The Searchers
High Noon
Stagecoach
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
My Darling Clementine
Shane
The Magnificent Seven
A Fistfull of Dollars
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in The West
The Wild Bunch
True Grit
High Plains Drifter
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
Silverado
Tombstone (just for Val Kilmer's performance alone)
Quigley Down Under (the most underrated "Western" of all time)

Also see the television shows -
Have Gun - Will Travel
Wanted: Dead or Alive
Gunsmoke

Alex S · May 25, 2004

Some of my favorite westerns:

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Open Range
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Lonesome Dove
The Magnificent Seven
A Fistfull of Dollars
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in The West
High Plains Drifter
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
Silverado
Jeremiah Johnson
Sons of Katie Elder

Brook K · May 25, 2004

My favorites, in no special order:

High Noon
Unforgiven
The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
The Ox-Bow Incident
Once Upon A Time In The West
For A Few Dollars More
Whity
The Wild Bunch
The Outlaw Josey Wales
High Planes Drifter
Rooster Cogburn
The Man From Laramie
My Darling Clementine
Open Range
Blazing Saddles
Rio Bravo
Jeremiah Johnson

BretWeaver · May 25, 2004

No "the searchers" ... wow, I would have guessed that movie would be on everyone's list.

Lew Crippen · May 25, 2004

Very funny, even though I agree with George on many films.

Lew Crippen · May 25, 2004

I used a very broad criteria for Westerns. The list is unordered.

·The Searchers
·The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
·Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
·Red River
·The Ox-Bow Incident
·My Darling Clementine
·Rio Grande
·Unforgiven
·The Wild Bunch
·Stagecoach
·Rio Bravo
·The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Italians make Westerns too)
·The Man from Snowy River (an Australian Western)
·Shane
·High Noon
·Sanjuro (some Japanese Westerns)
·Yojimbo
·The Seven Samurai
·A Fistful of Dollars
·For a Few Dollars More
·Bad Day at Black Rock (a post-WWII western)
·McCabe & Mrs. Miller
·Drums Along the Mohawk (a Western set in the East)
·Missouri Breaks
·One-Eyed Jacks

Haggai · May 25, 2004

I don't think anyone's mentioned two that would absolutely be on my list: Fort Apache and Red River.

Edit: Lew Crippen mentioned Red River as I was posting. I gotta have Fort Apache in there as well.

Lew Crippen · May 25, 2004

I just edited my list to exclude ‘Lonesome Dove and include McCabe and & Mrs. Miller—I’m a fan of Fort Apache as well. Maybe I’ll make another swap—but I have to consider which one to drop.

Lew Crippen · May 25, 2004

Actually this is one of the most controversial Westerns ever made. Maybe the most so—and George would exclude it on subject matter alone. He is not alone.

george kaplan · May 25, 2004

As you'll see, mine is even broader.

Blazing Saddles
The Magnificent Seven
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
High Noon
Unforgiven
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
My Darling Clementine
The Paleface
Support Your Local Sheriff
Support Your Local Gunfighter

Lew Crippen · May 25, 2004

I thought about including Destry Rides Again. That would not only give me the comedy, but music as well.

And no one has cast their net wide enough to include Cat Ballou.

Todd Phillips · May 25, 2004

I haven't seen as many as some folks here, since I've just been enjoying westerns for a few years. But here are my recommendations for what I have enjoyed, with an explaination of why.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - Non-typical western plot with non-typical characters, represents the end of the west. Anyone should like this film.
Rio Bravo - My favorite John Wayne..comedy, action, AND music. Walter Brennan is fantastic.
Destry Rides Again - Most excellent western comedy. One of my favorite westerns. Also very accessible.
The Searchers - Not my favorite, but fascinating in its depiction of Indian-relations. It's influence can be found in many modern films. John Wayne's character is not the most likeable.
My Darling Clementine - My favorite John Ford. Every shot is a classic.
Stagecoach - Decent little flick about getting from point A to Point B with an ensemble cast. Overuses Monument Valley footage in every wide shot.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Long and languid, but with an attitude. The score is one of the characters.
High Noon - Tight, small film, with great cinematography. Plot is not my favorite (predictable plot and cardboard characters).
Open Range - Excellent modern film with great visuals and sound. Plot doesn't explore new areas, but is still enjoyable.
Lonesome Dove - Gritty realistic western mini-series that takes you from Texas to Montana and back. Did I say it was gritty?
The Magnificent Seven - Enjoyable remake of Seven Samurai. Not necessarily a classic in my opinion.
Once Upon a Time in The West - Long operatic western with a winner score. Every shot is a classic. Morricone pays homage to just about every western before him.
Silverado - Fun bit of western fluff from the 80s.
Support Your Local Sheriff - James Garner doing his "Maverick" thing in a non-Maverick comedy.
The Man From Laramie - My favorite of the currently available Mann/Stewart westerns.
Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Western set in the 20th century. Classic about the power of greed.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers - Only if you like cheesy musicals

BretWeaver · May 25, 2004

Precisely the reason why I would include it. I think if you're going to have 25 films to showcase the entire western genre, the most controversial one would be a must.

A lot of these lists are great... I'm still working on mine, hard to not have 10 john wayne/clint eastwood films

Michael Costa · May 25, 2004

http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue10/infocus/

Yee-Ming · May 25, 2004

How about Firefly then?

But seriously, no mention of Unforgiven? Might not be in top 10, but with 25 I'd have thought it would merit inclusion.

KDHM · May 26, 2004

Tampopo - Juzo Itami
El topo - Alejandro Jodorowsky
Whity - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
The Missouri Breaks - Arthur Penn
Little Big Man - Arthur Penn
Springtime in the Rockies - Joseph Kane (Gene Autry)
Heart of the Rockies - William Witney (Roy Rogers)
Paint Your Wagon - Joshua Logan
Destry Rides Again - George Marshall
McCabe & Mrs. Miller - Robert Altman
The Wild Bunch - Sam Peckinpah
Dirty Dingus Magee - Burt Kennedy
The Hanging Tree - Delmer Daves
Heaven's Gate - Michael Cimino

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Movie primer list - Westerns (1 Viewer)

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