# Best Western (movie) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2010, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237 "2010-03-21T15:46:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/41 "2010-03-21T17:30:48Z")
This is not in the running for Best Western Film. [_Greaser’s Palace_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068659/) But Jesus in a zoot suit! Ya gotta love character names like Seaweedhead Greaser, Lamy Homo, Cholera, and Spitunia. And who can forget Jesse’s immortal line, ‘I bring you a message. Exactly six miles north of Skagg Mountain in the Valley of Pain, there lives an evil devil-monster. His name is Bingo Gas Station Motel Cheeseburger With A Side Of Aircraft Noise And You’ll Be Gary Indiana. And he loves to hurt people. The last time I saw Bingo Gas Station Motel Cheeseburger With A Side Of Aircraft Noise And You’ll Be Gary Indiana, he told me what he wants to do. He wants to come down here and kill each and every one of you! But I said to him: “Bingo, wait a minute.” And the reason I said that is because I believe in you people. I believe you can do the job. I believe you can help each other. I believe you can make this world a better place to live in. That’s it.’? PS: Ugly Ol’ Hineyho says hello. . ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/42 "2010-03-21T17:31:44Z")
> [@MTCicero](#): > > Seconded on the love for _The Grey Fox_. Richard Farnsworth was sublime in that role. Trivia Time: the actress who played Kate was once married to Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin’ Spoonful. And “Shorty” was a regular on “The Red Green Show.” Not that you asked, but it’s nice to know that there are still a few of us who remember TGF, which has been out of print in any format for a decade or two. . ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/43 "2010-03-21T17:37:37Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > You weren’t asking me, but my wife and I have loved that movie for 35 years. One of our all-time faves, and the first time we ever saw Sam Waterston. > > “She’s like … Bambi” > . Those two guys (Stanton and Bright) made it step beyond just a good movie into a sublime movie. If Bright had a better role than the dialog-free bodyguard for Michael in GF1&2, I never saw it. I was saddened at his death. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/44 "2010-03-21T17:38:10Z")
The Oxbow Incident Unforgiven Jeremiah Johnson Little Big Man Lonesome Dove Once Upon a Time in the West The Magnificent Seven The John Ford trilogy Stagecoach (the original) Tombstone ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/45 "2010-03-21T17:43:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Aside from those, I loved the film. The attention to detail in the costuming and accouterments was impressive. The film is based on the real-life lynching of Ellen ‘Cattle Kate’ Watson and the Johnson County War. Actually the attention to detail was carried to pointless extremes. Cimino insisted on actors wearing authentic historical clothing - not reproductions, he had them wearing genuine century-old clothing. And he had all the sets furnished - buildings had complete interiors even when no filming was done inside them (Cimino even had prop items placed inside unopened drawers and cupboards). Then after this obsession with “authenticity” over trivial details that bordered on insanity, Cimino decided to indulge his artistic license over the main story. Only a handful of people were killed during the entire course of the “Johnson County War” but Cimino decided to turn it into a massacre with dozens killed in a single battle. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/46 "2010-03-21T17:48:14Z")
I’m pretty sure that the clothing was made for the film, but that it was painstakingly researched to be absolutely authentic. I don’t have a cite though, unless it’s on the bonus features on the DVD. Speaking of artistic license re: the killings, there was a particular deviation that bothers me because it is glaringly factually incorrect. But I won’t spoil it. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/47 "2010-03-21T17:48:59Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > New one on me. Got a link? There seem to be several by that title and I haven’t see any of them. [Here you go](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019585/). Directed by Victor Sjostrom and starring Lillian Gish, it’s–for my money–one of the top 5 silent films ever. Not a traditional western in that it’s mostly from a woman’s perspective and it deals more with the psychological toll of adapting to the harshness of frontier life, but it’s still got cowboys and a love of landscape, and is simply magnificent. Sadly, not yet available on DVD. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/48 "2010-03-21T17:55:43Z")
My top 2 westerns would probably be: 1. _Unforgiven_ I agree, it transcends the Western genre. 2. _Once Upon A Time In The West_ Top 5 after that, in no particular order: Silverado Tombstone The Searchers The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly High Plains Drifter The Magnificent Seven ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/49 "2010-03-21T18:02:26Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > [Here you go](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019585/). Directed by Victor Sjostrom and starring Lillian Gish, it’s–for my money–one of the top 5 silent films ever. Not a traditional western in that it’s mostly from a woman’s perspective and it deals more with the psychological toll of adapting to the harshness of frontier life, but it’s still got cowboys and a love of landscape, and is simply magnificent. Sadly, not yet available on DVD. ☹ Thanks! I’ll keep an eye out for it on TCM, then. If I ever saw a feature length silent movie I have forgotten it. It’s never too late, they say. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/50 "2010-03-21T18:03:34Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Thanks! I’ll keep an eye out for it on TCM, then. If I ever saw a feature length silent movie I have forgotten it. It’s never too late, they say. Yeah, it was on TCM about 4 or 5 months ago, so they do play it periodically. Definitely worth checking out. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/51 "2010-03-21T18:05:32Z")
How would one of you like to set up a poll, using the most frequently mentioned ones in this thread to let everybody vote on the best (or top x-number)? I haven’t done any more than post here so I have nothing invested beyond the time to post. I release ownership of the thread’s contents to whomever. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/52 "2010-03-21T18:10:07Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > How would one of you like to set up a poll, using the most frequently mentioned ones in this thread to let everybody vote on the best (or top x-number)? I haven’t done any more than post here so I have nothing invested beyond the time to post. I release ownership of the thread’s contents to whomever. 🙂 I can do it, but maybe we should wait for a few more responses first…? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/53 "2010-03-21T18:16:40Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I can do it, but maybe we should wait for a few more responses first…? Certainly. I didn’t want to slow things down at all. I was just wanting to avoid doing all the counting and such if somebody else wanted the job. This phase, getting some reasonable candidates, should go as long as the momentum takes it, I would think. Thanks for the offer! It’s yours. If you want to add some criteria, please do. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/54 "2010-03-21T18:17:27Z")
Have the Coen Brothers ever done a canonical Western? They’ve danced around the edges (Old Men, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona) but not really done an official one. Maybe their upcoming _True Grit_ will be in contention for top ten honors? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/55 "2010-03-21T18:22:05Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Have the Coen Brothers ever done a canonical Western? They’ve danced around the edges (Old Men, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona) but not really done an official one. Maybe their upcoming _True Grit_ will be in contention for top ten honors? A quick scan of Joel’s credits doesn’t show any. I’m with you on the [True Grit (2010)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/) hopes. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/56 "2010-03-21T18:33:55Z")
In no particular order Silverado The Cowboys The Wild Bunch Serenity Johnny Guitar The Good, The Bad, and yes…even The Ugly ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/57 "2010-03-21T18:34:36Z")
I don’t think any of Bud Boetticher’s (sp?) movies have been mentioned yet. I haven’t seen many of them but I think _Seven Men from Now_ is just about the perfect western. All of my other favorites have been mentioned, except for _Hombre_ and _Stagecoach_ (the one with John Wayne). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/58 "2010-03-21T18:54:43Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > I don’t think any of Bud Boetticher’s (sp?) movies have been mentioned yet. I haven’t seen many of them but I think _Seven Men from Now_ is just about the perfect western. For my money, the 50s westerns from Boetticher and Anthony Mann stand up to any of that genre from that decade. Lean and ferocious, they’re criminally underseen and underappreciated. My favorite Boetticher film is _Decision at Sundown_ (sort of an anti-_High Noon_), but there are plenty of others (_The Tall T, Comanche Station, Ride Lonesome_) that are well worth checking out. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/59 "2010-03-21T19:13:58Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > To undermine the serious Westerns, watch [Rustlers’ Rhapsody](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rustlers%27_Rhapsody). > “Ummm…good root!” This reminded me to suggest a very nice movie that’s too modern for the Best Western prize, but definitely worth seeing. [Powwow Highway (1989)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098112/) is one of several of its type to give the Native American a say in how the West has developed. A funny but poignant flic with some fine acting. Looking at [Gary Farmer](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001200/)’s credits will show others of the type. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237/60 "2010-03-21T19:18:56Z")
1.The Good,The Bad, and The Ugly 2.Unforgiven 3.Rio Bravo 4.Tombstone [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-western-movie/533237.md?page=4)