I second The Shootist, and most emphatically second The Searchers.
But I am shocked, nay, appalled that no one has yet mentioned Shane.
As for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, I really enjoyed it, but I can understand why others wouldn’t. The way some of the overly stylized scenes drag on bored the hell out of my friends, but since I was diggin’ the music I enjoyed myself.
Tuco: [trying to read a note] “See you soon, id…” “id…” “ids…”
Man With No Name: [taking the note] “Idiots.” It’s for you.
My dad says that his favorite western was a John Wayne film named “The High and the Mighty”.
Does anyone know where I can find a copy of this??? I’ve looked online a bit, checked a couple stores, and even called the library. HELP!!!
Back to the Future 3
Ah’m with yew, dave99. How the hail SHANE was left ayut is way beyond me. I’m shocked into inseanceability!
It’s in my top 10.
Definitely the best one made in the last thirty years.
As for best ever…
I’d say never done better.
I’m also partial to The Outlaw Josey Wales.
As for blending comedy and westerns, anyone seen They Call Me Trinity?
My brother told me about a really funny Western he saw once where two guys are arguing about why they can’t hit each other; one says neither of them can get shot because they’re both main characters, whereupon the other guy shoots him and says, “I can, because I betray you”
Or something like that.
And there’s also a bit where the hero (presumably) shoots off the trigger fingers of 30 guys with a six shooter without reloading.
Can someone help me out with this one? Title? Actors? Key grip?
JCThunder,
The High and the Mighty isn’t a western. Wayne plays a pilot on an airplane that’s in trouble. You can’t find it because copyright problems have kept it out of circulation. Why didn’t you just check the Internet Movie Database, where you could have found that information?
Gotta side with Maholoth and say that The Seven Samurai was the best western ever. Genre isn’t beholden to geography.
As for best “traditional” western, I would say A Fistful of Dollars . . . though Yojimbo was probably a bit better.
Best TV western? How about Deep Space Nine? Of course, I’m a bit young to remember any other TV western. . .
I too am mildly shocked that “Shane” was not mentioned sooner.
For a more modern Western, though, “The Outlaw Josey Wales” has little competition. It might even be darker than “Unforgiven” in some respects.
The Leone spaghettis are almost their own genre. Great, though.
Of the Duke’s, “The Shootist”, “The Searchers”, “True Grit” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”.
Gibson and Foster in Maverick. Definitly. I LOVED that movie. And here, I thought I was the only one…
Most of my choices have been mentioned - from the Searchers to Local Sherrif to Josey Wales to Butch and Sundance.
The only films I can think of that I really liked that hasn’t gotten a notice was John Wayne’s Three Godfathers. I have not seen it since I was a kid, but I remember thinking it was great because it was a bit different and the Sons of Katie Elder - I liked Dean Martin in that one.
There was a quote from the old Mary Tyler Moore show that has worked its way into family’s cache of great lines.
Lou: “Is there anything real on? Like a western.”
I agree “My Darling Clementine” is the best. A haunting film with some memorable scenes including when the towns-folk go off to build their church.
I don’t know where to find it, but I remember it from when I was a kid. Your father’s memory is playing him false as this was not a western. John Wayne played the part of a heroic (what else) airline pilot. In moments of introspection, he would whistle the theme song of the movie, also titled “The High and The Mighty.” One of the other actors in the thing referred to John Wayne as an “ancient pelican.” And there my memory ends.
“Shane” is my vote for the best ever western, even if Alan Ladd was only about four feet tall.
Just watched Shane again a fe days ago. The cinematography was beautiful. The story (while inferior to the book) is excellent and draws upon deep archetypa conflicts. The performances, for the most part, are solid.
But
The fight scenes were absurd. Alan Ladd lacked the gravitas his role demanded. It had perhaps the most annoying child in movie history. And the soundtrack was absurdly intrusive. Hey, I can still admire it for what it did well, but I can’t place it among the “best ever”.
#1 El Dorado : John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. 'nuff said
#2 The Shootist: Best statement on choosing your own way out and passing along your traditions ever filmed
#3 I desperately want to put Outlaw Josey Wales here, BUT it had Sondra Locke in it, and she is without question the very worst actress ever to disgrace a screen in the entire history of cinema. Let’s just say I adore the script and Eastwood’s work here and would give it high marks if not that horrid bit of miscasting.
As a result, #3 is High Plains Drifter – the film of which Pale Rider is sort of kind of inspired by, and done much more brutally
#4 Tombstone – Well filmed, very little attention given to historical detail (which as we all know can seriously detract from the quality of a movie) and an amazing performance by Val Kilmer
Lastly, I can’t help it. I hate Unforgiven. I see the point Eastwood was trying to achieve with the deconstruction attempt, etc., but I thought it was badly acted, badly filmed, heavy handed and just generally wretched.
IMHO Sergio Leone made the best “shoot-em-up” westerns of all time. My favorite is Once Upon a Time in the West, but a very close runner up is For a Few Dollars More, and this is primarily due to Lee Van Cleef’s character. Van Cleef was just absolutely fantastic in it.
BTW: When the hell is Once Upon a Time in the West going to be released on DVD?? I’ve been waiting forever.
The High and the Mighty is definitely a good film! I think it’s the first “diaster” films (or at least “airline disaster”).
You will not find this film.
The copyright is owned by the evil Batjack Productions and they are not releasing it. It might be because of a copyright dispute, or it might be that they’re jerks. I know there was a thread about this about a year ago, but it seems to have been deleted.
But back to the westerns. I like Silverado, The Long Riders, The Outlaw Josie Wales, and Lonesome Dove; all of which have already been mentioned. But another one of my favourites is Heaven’s Gate. Michael Cimino’s reputation was damaged by this film, which was almost universally panned in U.S. cinemas and was pulled after being out for only three days. “A $40 million disaster” (a lot of money for a movie in 1980) was what it was called. This is roughly the story of “Cattle Kate”, who was lynched for rustling in turn-of-the century Wyoming (the film is set in Montana). “Kate” ran a brothel and ranchers alledged that she was accepting stolen cattle – in fact, encouraging people to steal cattle – as payment for her girls’ services. Vilmos Zsigmond’s cinematography is absolutely beautiful. The attention to detail is so great you can practically smell it. I didn’t care for the extended graduation scene at the beginning of the film (long as it was, and also setting up the relationship between Kris Kristofferson and John Hurt), but ya gotta admit: It was artistically done!
Heaven’s Gate is not often (if at all) seen on teevee. It’s a long film (2:35). And it’s reputation seems to keep people away in droves. But I strongly recommend it. Here is a link to Amazon.com’s reviews of it.
DOH! Sorry, Heaven’s Gate is actually 219 minutes long, or 3 hours, 39 minutes.
Star Wars.
Traditional westerns: I haven’t really watched them since I was a kid, they never did that much for me (Except for syndicated episodes of The Rifleman. What a cool TV show!). So, with that, my favorites are all fairly recent movies, like Unforgiven, Young Guns (nice and cheesy), and Quigly Down Under.
I vote for High Noon and The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Spiritus Mundi
I guess I thought that it was also partially deadpan comedy on Eastwood’s part. It’s been a long time since I saw it, though. I also thought Chief Dan George had some pretty good lines.