I have to disagree with this. It’s a contrast between the idealism of the (needless) sacrifice of soldiers for a pointless objective and the venality of the main characters, who lie, cheat, steal, and kill for money. I guess Blondie sort of redeems himself (to the extent that a scoundrel can) by blowing up the bridge.
Eli Wallach is great, though. And if you think The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly is too long, what do you think about Once Upon A Time In The West?
Stranger
I second Silverado.
“Now, I don’t wanna shoot you, and you don’t want to be dead.”
I saw it on a broadcast station a while ago, and it was chopped to ribbons. That entire sequence was cut, and the movie makes no sense without it.
[spoiler]It’s as they’re lighting the charges to destroy the bridge that Tuco and Blondie tell each other their half of the secret of where the gold is buried. How is Tuco running around in a cemetary if he doesn’t know what name he’s looking for?
It seems common for posters to the Ain’t it Cool News site to adopt the name of some movie character. If I ever post there, I want to be Arch Stanton.[/spoiler]
I like that part, but if you take it out of the movie you still have to replace that vital piece.
I want to get the DVD of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and just study the end of it a few times. It’s one of the best shot sequences ever made. And I want to take a stopwatch and time the final shootout. It could be 30 seconds, could be 2 minutes; I don’t know, time just stands still.
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
For a Few Dollars More
The Big Gundown
The Great Silence
Silverado
Not to mention being the source of one of the greatest lines in all movie history:
“Badges? We don’ need no steekin’ badges!”
I thought it was great, but I’ll leave it to Roger Ebert to explain it far better than I ever could. Also check out the Imdb listing, where it also gets very good reviews.
That phrase will NEVER die 
My vote is for The Missing, starring Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones. She’s a hardbitten rancher in 1885 southwest whose teenage daughter has been abducted by an Indian witch and some indian deserters from the Army. She’s forced to join forces with her father who abandoned the family several years before to live with the Apaches. Very good movie.
The major silent westerns:
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
In the Land of the Head Hunters (In the Land of the War Canoes) (1914)
Hell’s Hinges (1916)
The Last of the Mohicans (1920) *
The Covered Wagon (1923)
The Wind (1928)
The Silent Enemy (1930)
All are available on VHS or DVD.
Aaaahhh…Cowboys vs Dinosaurs.
I remember the film well.
The final scene, in which the dinosaur is trapped in the burning cathedral, is actually a very powerful piece of cinema.
There is also a sub-genre of horror/sci-fi Westerns, the most fun of which is Radio Ranch.
And my forthcoming StarRiders.
Well, one day :dubious:
I thought this was very good for a current western, but only mediocre when held up beside the greats from the 1920s-60s.
The only modern westerns I can think of that will really stand the test of time and achieve “classic” status are Tombstone and Unforgiven. This is IMVHO, of course.
I have to add my two cents for the following:
Shane - The pacing is incredible. A deep, sincere movie that will stay with you.
Lonesome Dove - Best casting. Ever. Phenomenal movie.
The Searchers - John Wayne’s best movie. A sweeping spectacle with a haunting ending.