My Favorite Westerns
Western is among my favorite genres of film. I love the aesthetic and the bizarre places many filmmakers have taken it. So I’ve made a list of my favorite films that take place in the old west. I hope you enjoy.
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18 titles
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohnny DeppGary FarmerCrispin GloverOn the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.Jim Jarmusch’s psychedelic, existential, iconic western is packed with great comedy, line delivery, performances and genius direction.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.A gritty masterpiece of action adventure cinema, with superb suspense and a western aesthetic that just makes the movie more intense.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.A western with great side characters, meanings and emotion, even if John Wayne and Howard Hawks said it was “unamerican”.
- DirectorLeah PurcellStarsLeah PurcellRob CollinsSam ReidA lonely bushwoman struggles to raise her children and run the family farm while her husband is away.A surprisingly compelling and disturbing new outback western with superb suspense and depressing bleakness.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsJean-Louis TrintignantKlaus KinskiFrank WolffA mute gunfighter defends a young widow and a group of outlaws against a gang of bounty killers in the winter of 1898, and a grim, tense struggle unfolds.A depressing, bleak and beautiful film.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."A powerful and iconic statement on old ways.
- DirectorSergio CorbucciStarsFranco NeroJosé CanalejasJosé BódaloA coffin-dragging gunslinger and a prostitute become embroiled in a bitter feud between a Klan of Southern racists and a band of Mexican Revolutionaries.A gritty spaghetti western with a dark, muddy aesthetic and iconic scenes.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJoel McCreaRandolph ScottMariette HartleyAn ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.A great western drama.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.The best Ford/Wayne collaboration.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsMillie PerkinsJack NicholsonWill HutchinsA mysterious woman persuades two cowboys to help her in a revenge scheme.A master class in suspenseful, low budget filmmaking.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosKevin JarreStarsKurt RussellVal KilmerSam ElliottA successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.What could’ve been just a good western is made a great one with the iconic performance by Val Kilmer.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsHenry FondaDana AndrewsMary Beth HughesWhen a posse captures three men suspected of killing a local farmer, they become strongly divided over whether or not to lynch the men.Truly tragic and sad film that fits insane levels of emotion and character into its brief runtime.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsPreston FosterBarbara BrittonJohn IrelandBob Ford murders his best friend Jesse James in order to obtain a pardon that will free him to marry his girlfriend but is plagued by guilt and self-disgust.It’s not just a b-western. It’s an existential, emotional and intense drama that is rare for the genre.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WaynePedro ArmendárizHarry Carey Jr.Three outlaws on the run risk their freedom and their lives to return a newborn to civilization.A sentimental and beautiful Wayne/Ford classic.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinAn ex-gunfighter defends homesteaders in 1889 Wyoming.An emotional, top-tier western.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.A beautiful, action-packed western that made me cry.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJames StewartJohn WayneVera MilesA senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
- DirectorRobert ParrishJohn SturgesStarsRobert TaylorJulie LondonJohn CassavetesFormer gunslinger Steve Sinclair (Taylor), is now a peaceful rancher, but things go wrong when his wild brother Tony (Cassavetes) arrives with his new gun--and his new fiancée, former saloon girl Joan Blake (London).