# Recommend Some Westerns **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173 "2005-09-24T04:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/1 "2005-09-24T04:01:55Z")
Working through some of my DVDs that I’ve bought but not watched, I popped in _The Outlaw Josey Wales_. I didn’t really mean to buy it–it was in a 2-pack with _Pale Rider_, which I got after having to watch it for class and liking it. So my western collection is those two movies and _The Magnificent Seven_, which I got partially because it’s a good movie and also because it’s easier to watch than _Seven Samurai_, which I’ve also got. Anyway, I liked _Josey Wales_ and have slowly started to have an appreciation for westerns. So, besides some of Eastwood’s other stuff (acting, directing, or both), what are some good westerns? Though they do have to be available on DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Vintage\_1957](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f04885/32.png) [@Vintage\_1957](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vintage_1957)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/2 "2005-09-24T04:23:10Z")
Lonesome Dove Deadwood: Season 1 My Darling Clementine Tombstone The Searchers ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/3 "2005-09-24T04:55:26Z")
Gonna repeat a couple, but just for reinforcement. Tombstone The Searchers Unforgiven Open Range Silverado My Darling Clementine ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/4 "2005-09-24T05:16:21Z")
**High Noon** is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/5 "2005-09-24T05:58:46Z")
The Searchers (maybe best Western ever) High Noon The Shootist Shane ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Gene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Soylent\_Gene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Gene)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/6 "2005-09-24T06:17:05Z")
the greatest of them all…Fistful of Dollars ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/7 "2005-09-24T07:26:19Z")
Yep, “The Searchers.” Brilliant. “Stagecoach” – quintessential John Ford Western. “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” – Robert Altman’s revisionist Western. “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” – not sure if it _really_ counts as a Western, but it’s a great movie anyways in a Western-setting. “The Three Godfathers” “Red River” “Rio Grande” ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/8 "2005-09-24T07:29:37Z")
Oh! And if you’re in the mood for a comedic Western, try to find “Destry Rides Again” with Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich; not sure if it’s on DVD though. And of course Mel Brooks’s “Blazing Saddles.” Madeleine Kahn’s German accent in that movie is a parody of Marlene Dietrich in “Destry Rides Again.” For a while the New York Times was running a feature where every week they’d take some actor or director and talk through a movie that meant a lot to them. Quentin Tarantino talked about this all but forgotten old B western that he thought was an overlooked masterpiece, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was now. Does this ring a bell for anyone?? At the movies tonight (saw “The Constant Gardener” – great stuff) there was a preview for Ang Lee’s new “gay Western” – that’s gotta be a first! ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/9 "2005-09-24T08:29:32Z")
In the 50’s James Stewart had outgrown his boy next door image.He did a series of great and gritty adult westerns with director Anthony Mann . The Naked Spur,Bend in the River and I think, Winchester '73. Also,I have a weakness for Audie Murphy movies.He looked like a kid,but in reality he was the most decorated soldier of ww2. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/10 "2005-09-24T14:52:27Z")
If you want to see some Westerns that poke fun at Westerns, take a look at The Villain (Kirk Douglas) and Evil Roy Slade (John Astin). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/11 "2005-09-24T15:15:59Z")
Here’s a threesome of Jimmy Stewart films you might like: The Man who shot Liberty Valance Cheyenne Autumn And, while not a western, “Shenandoah”, about a Virginia farmer trying to stay out of the Civil War. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/12 "2005-09-24T15:20:13Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” – Robert Altman’s revisionist Western. So, what was I missing in this movie? I thought it was dreadful, even though I could see definite skill in its making. _Unforgiven_ is my favorite western, although _Deadwood_ may edge it out. My favorite comedy western is _Rustler’s Rhapsody_ a silly little parody in which a western hero has an existential crisis as he realizes the cliches in which he’s trapped. It’s pretty fun. _Once Upon a Time in Mexico_ is a great modern-day Western. Johnny Depp is a riot, as always. And I know you said it had to be on DVD, but for a change of pace, consider the novel _Blood Meridian_, by Cormac McCarthy. It’s not an easy read, but it’s utterly riveting. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/13 "2005-09-24T15:29:37Z")
> [@Soylent Gene](#): > > the greatest of them all…Fistful of Dollars I strongly disagree here, even if you’re just limiting it to that series. _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ was head and shoulders above the other spaghetti westerns, imo. Head and shoulders over most movies period, actually. I’d also like to echo _Red River_ (“Take 'em to Missouri, Matt”), _Unforgiven_, _Tombstone_, and _Shane_, all listed above. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/14 "2005-09-24T15:34:14Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > If you want to see some Westerns that poke fun at Westerns, take a look at The Villain (Kirk Douglas) and Evil Roy Slade (John Astin). Also _Support Your Local Sheriff!_ and _Support Your Local Gunfighter_ (James Garner), the former is better than the latter. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/15 "2005-09-24T15:55:06Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Also _Support Your Local Sheriff!_ and _Support Your Local Gunfighter_ (James Garner), the former is better than the latter. Definitely. I love the bit with the jail that has no bars and the bucket of red paint 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/16 "2005-09-24T16:01:55Z")
Ummm Blazing Saddles is the comedy western. (besides Evil Roy Slade) High Noon Unforgiven Dances with Wolves Wayatt Earp (yes the Costner version) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance Shane The Cheyenne Social Club True Grit The Cowboys (also note that The Magnificent Ambersons is _not_ a sequal to The Magnificent Seven) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/17 "2005-09-24T16:10:06Z")
Wow…no one has yet mentioned Sergio Leone’s magnum opus, [Once Upon A Time In The West](http://imdb.com/title/tt0064116/). It may not be the greatest Western ever made (though it is a great one) but the 10+ minute opening sequence is one of the most memorable opening scenes in movie history, as is the camera panning up from the murderer of a child to show Henry Fonda. Not such a big surprise today, I guess, but then it was stunning. I never really cared for Westerns as a kid or teenager, but I’m a big fan of anti-Westerns (Westerns that don’t follow the rules of the genre) like [Unforgiven](http://imdb.com/title/tt0105695/), and the undoubted king of these films, the one that finished off the genre for good (other than a couple of Brat Pack movies and the occasional Clint Eastwood offering) is [The Wild Bunch](http://imdb.com/title/tt0065214/). Sam Peckinpah, the director, was a real misanthropist, so it you liked this check out the [Ride The High Country](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056412/) and the darkly grotesque [Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071249/). This bucking-the-genre trend really kicked off with [The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance](http://imdb.com/title/tt0056217/), which slyly acknowledges the fact that most of what is thought about the Old West is a fabrication to make it seem more noble. This may be Jimmy Stewart’s finest performance, and it’s John Wayne’s second best, just short of [The Shootist](http://imdb.com/title/tt0075213/). Also already mentioned, [Shane](http://imdb.com/title/tt0046303/) is another one with several layers of things going on, and an ending where the hero might ride off into the sunset, but not without sacrifice. [High Plains Drifter](http://imdb.com/title/tt0068699/) may not be Eastwood’s best film, but it is definitely not your typical Western, and you can’t beat a Western where he makes a midget the mayor and proceeds to burn down the town to save it. I’m kind of partial to [Two Mules For Sister Sara](http://imdb.com/title/tt0065134/) too, even though it’s not on anyone’s Top 10 list of greatest westerns. And you can’t get away without seeing [The Treasure of Sierra Madre](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040897/). Bogart may badly overact in this one (he’s much better in _African Queen_) but it’s a great film nonetheless. And of course, [Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid](http://imdb.com/title/tt0064115/) is a lighthearted anachronistic take on Westerns with a now-classic ending which has been both imitated (_Thelma and Louise_) and parodied (the entertaining [Shanghai Noon](http://imdb.com/title/tt0184894/)). While they aren’t Westerns per se, many of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai-era pictures draw heavily from the genre traditions of both Westerns and film noir, and in return serve as the germ for actual Westerns like _A Fistful of Dollars_ (_Yojimbo_) and _The Magnnificent Seven_ (_The Seven Samurai_). And I’m mortally convinced that Michael Mann was either deliberately or unconsciously remaking _The Wild Bunch_ when he made _Heat_. Anyway, enjoy. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![mambocrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@mambocrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mambocrow)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/18 "2005-09-24T16:32:22Z")
To those listed already, I’d add: **They Call Me Trinity** (1971), and **Trinity Is Still My Name** (1972) Comedic, entertaining westerns both. For good dramatic westerns, I’d add: \*\*Once Upon A Time In The West \*\* Maybe the best Sergio Leone spaghetti western, Henry Fonda as the bad guy, and Claudia Cardinale’s heaving bosoms. **The Ox Bow Incident** 1943 Henry Fonda as a good guy. Not much action, but good drama. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/19 "2005-09-24T17:05:21Z")
I’m a big fan of quirky, highly sytlized Westerns. So with that here is my list of favs: **Once Upon a Time in the West** \*\*The Good, the Bad and the Ugly \*\* **The Magnificent Seven** **The Valley of Gwangi** **Tombstone** ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173/20 "2005-09-24T17:17:24Z")
Tsk. No love for _Little Big Man_ or _The Terror of Tiny Town?_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-westerns/323173.md?page=2)