# Top Western Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 17, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123 "2008-11-17T15:25:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/21 "2008-11-17T18:50:34Z")
Does _No Country for Old Men_ count as a western? It wasn’t my favorite movie, I’m just wondering if it would count, though. ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/22 "2008-11-17T18:58:42Z")
My top 5 (In no particular order) The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance The Searchers The Wild Bunch A Fistfull of Dollars High Noon All of these are great. Classic westerns, I don’t know if the genere gets better than those 5. I would also second: Unforgiven The Outlaw Josey Wales Winchester '73 Red River The Magnificent Seven The Good The Bad and The Ugly & Tombstone As runner ups. Don’t know if Treasure of the Sierra Madre counts as a Western, but if it does throw it in there too. Maybe throw Hondo in there somewhere also. And FWIW I like Rio Bravo better than El Dorado. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/23 "2008-11-17T19:01:22Z")
_Once Upon a Time in the West_ is a great film _Young Guns_ is not a great film but it is very enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/24 "2008-11-17T19:06:48Z")
My top ones are (in no order) _Unforgiven_ _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance_ _Blazing Saddles_ _The Magnificent Seven_ And although it isn’t in my top five or so, because it hasn’t been mentioned I’ll suggest _The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford_. Great job by Casey Affleck (I know!) and Brad Pitt. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/25 "2008-11-17T19:12:14Z")
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid Shane The Man who shot Liberty Valance 3:10 to Yuma (2007 version) The outlaw Josey Wales ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/26 "2008-11-17T19:12:43Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > If you’re looking for something really good that he might not have seen, try _Seven Men From Now_, a Budd Boetticher western with Randolph Scott and Lee Marvin. The final showdown has gotta be one of the best ever. All the Scott/Boetticher films from the 50s–_The Tall T, Ride Lonesome, Comanche Station, Buchanan Rides Alone_–are fantastic and criminally underappreciated (though also admittedly hard to get a hold of). My favorite, though, has to be _ **Decision at Sundown** _, which easily makes my Top 10 westerns ever. Others on the list: _The Wild Bunch The Man from Laramie Dead Man Rio Bravo The Wind_ (probably the best silent western) _McCabe & Mrs. Miller Johnny Guitar The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Blazing Saddles_ Plus honorable mentions to two modern incarnations: _Lone Star_ & _Brokeback Mountain_. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/27 "2008-11-17T19:19:28Z")
Ooh, I forgot _Lone Star_. That’s a good one. ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/28 "2008-11-17T19:23:45Z")
_The Quick and the Dead_. It was somewhat silly, but it was fun. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/29 "2008-11-17T19:28:06Z")
Gunfight at the OK Corral was a good shoot em up.1957. It has been done a few times since.Where’s High Noon? ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/30 "2008-11-17T19:33:49Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > _The Quick and the Dead_. > > It was somewhat silly, but it was fun. I like it too. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/31 "2008-11-17T19:36:46Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Gunfight at the OK Corral was a good shoot em up.1957. It has been done a few times since.Where’s High Noon? In my post, #14! ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/32 "2008-11-17T19:44:19Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Where’s High Noon? > [@Sigmagirl](#): > > In my post, #14! Or my post, #22! ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/33 "2008-11-17T19:53:27Z")
My favorites are Support Your Local Sheriff Dances With Wolves True Grit Pale Rider Shane High Noon The Searchers Maverick (the TV shows with James Garner, not the recent movie) ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/34 "2008-11-17T20:00:18Z")
Lonely are the Brave The Missouri Breaks Little Big Man There Will Be Blood Raising Arizona 😃 They Died With Their Boots On The Long Riders You can watch Little Big Man and Dances With Wolves and have an essay contest! What fun! ---
**Author:** ![FallenAngel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@FallenAngel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallenAngel)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/35 "2008-11-17T21:58:06Z")
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Outlaw Josey Wales High Plains Drifter True Grit Rooster Cogburn The Shootist The Cowboys Pale Rider (Even if it does pretty much recycle the premise of High Plains Drifter) Tombstone A Gunfight ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2008, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/36 "2008-11-17T23:06:17Z")
Jeez, a lot of depressing stuff on people’s lists. I have almost all of John Wayne’s color westerns on DVD. My favorite, by far, is “The War Wagon.” John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. Western, action, a bit of comedy. One of your classic happy endings (Damn, too bad it was made in the days when sequels weren’t obligatory). And the best comeback line in movie history: (After shooting two bad guys): Lomax (Douglas): “Mine hit the ground first.” Taw (Wayne): “Mine was taller.” Also, a big recommendation for “Rio Bravo” (not to be confused with “Rio Lobo”) and its remake “El Dorado”. Watch those two back-to-back and have fun comparing. ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/37 "2008-11-18T00:14:41Z")
My Name Is Trinity The good the bad and the ugly A fistful of dollars. Because noone does american westerns like the italians. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/38 "2008-11-18T00:29:12Z")
We recently watched two John Ford Westerns that have already been mentioned here, but I’ll second or third 'em: _Stagecoach_ and _The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance_. _Stagecoach_ came out during an exceptionally good movie year: 1939, the same year as _Gone with the Wind_ and _The Wizard of Oz_. It’s the film that catapulted John Wayne to stardom, and Thomas Mitchell – who is probably best known as Uncle Billy in _It’s a Wonderful Life_ – won an Oscar for his role as the drunken doctor. I’d never seen it before, and even though I knew it was a classic, I was surprised how much I enjoyed it; I mean, I knew I would, but Damn! That was a good movie. _The Good, the Bad and the Ugly_ is a huge favorite of mine, too. As is _Once upon a Time in the West_. And _High Noon_. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/39 "2008-11-18T02:30:48Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > Jeez, a lot of depressing stuff on people’s lists. OK, then, how about these… \*Cat Ballou Paint Your Wagon\* ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2008, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123/40 "2008-11-18T03:11:11Z")
_Silverado_ - A loving throwback to the old good-guy/bad-guy westerns. Lawrence Kasdan knows how to put in a little bit of humor to make a story better. _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly_ - It’s been a while since I’ve seen the whole thing, and it is rather long. but the payoff at the end is amazing. I get absorbed into the stories of movies, and hardly ever notice music and the use of the camera, but here it’s brilliant and unmistakeable. The frenzy of Tuco searching for a grave, and the tension of the shootout are powerful, and the characters hardly say a word. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-western-movies/473123.md?page=3)