And the BEST Western of all time is...

Maybe not the best, but one I haven't seen mentioned yet and one of my favorites: Dead Man. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Johnny Depp and Gary Farmer, and featuring Crispin Glover, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, John Hurt, Iggy Pop, Billy Bob Thornton, Gabriel Byrne, Alfred Molina, and an extended (and brilliant) cameo by Robert Mitchum, filmed in glorious black and white with soundtrack by Neil Young.
 
The Good the Bad and the Ugly for me.

But mostly I just commented to say I just saw the worst western in recent memory on Netflix, Texas Rangers. My god, it was like City Slickers without any comedy.

The costumes, the acting, the horrible mispronunciation, I was about ready to stab someone about 20 minutes in. Sorry, just really had to share my pain with a few fellow aficionados.
 
Josey Wales and High Plains Drifter (where's the Blu-Ray!?) have always been my favorite Eastwoods...

But I prefer High Plains Drifter. Just cant beat the haunting, brooding mood. And the moment the whip lands on the saloon floor is cinematic gold...

Unforgiven is third on my list from Clint, then the Spaghetti Trilogy. And yes - I suffered through Paint Your Wagon!


Other than Eastwood...


From the 80's was Silverado. Light and clean, tip of the hat to the classics. Hard to beat. Brought the genre back into the light.

In the 90's, other than Clint's oscar-winner, for me it is Tombstone. Hollywood western, not doubt, not terribly gritty, in fact, a bit glitzy. But fun all around and well crafted.

2000's would be a toss up between True Grit and 3:10 To Yuma. Both finely crafted films, deftly handled, and films that told a great story masterfully well, using the genre as a setting, rather than as a crutch.

But to recapitulate...

If I could have only one western in my collection, it would be High Plains Drifter.
 
While I LOVE The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, I think A Fistful of Dollars is slightly better, but I love both.

Also love Silverado, Tombstone & Once Upon a Time in the West.

In my opinion Sergio Leone can do no wrong with Westerns.
 
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Both versions of True Grit are serious contenders as well.

I have to say, I was deeply impressed by the TG remake. So pleased I got the book the next day and read it in like three sittings, ha ha!

"Time just gets away from us." My god that's an awful lot said in six words, huh?
 
Surprised no one mentioned Appaloosa. It had one of the most realistic shootouts put on film; and who doesn't love a 10 gauge shotgun???

Outlaw Josey Wales is my favorite Eastwood western but there are quite a few runners up.


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My ALL-TIME favorite is still LITTLE BIG MAN!! It was a marvelous combination of historical truth, tongue-in-cheek humor, stylized fiction, fantastic characters, stunning photography and an intelligent, thought-provoking message about the American West and all the cliches associated with it.
 
My favorite of all time is Unforgiven!!!

You just shot a unarmed man....He shoulda armed himself!
 
To my original three, I'd like to add: Quigley Down Under. Tom Selleck is the penultimate cowboy, and Alan Rickman is the prototype for what a bad guy should be, in all his films.
 
To my original three, I'd like to add: Quigley Down Under. Tom Selleck is the penultimate cowboy, and Alan Rickman is the prototype for what a bad guy should be, in all his films.

Quigley Down Under is great and a favorite of my father. You know what's weird though? My girlfriend's dad is the spitting image of Tom Selleck, same mustache and hair and everything.
 
I'm still sticking with The Searchers or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

I mean come on, the latter has John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin!
 
As pointed out early in this thread, it comes down to what you want in a western. I echo the nods for The Magnificent Seven and The Good, Bad and the Ugly. Those two were my favorites growing up (though give a slight nod to 'Seven').

Personally, I love the Silverado and the cinematography. The opening scene after Emmit shoots the guy off the roof of the small shed he is in and then opens the door to that panoramic view of the sunrise is just fantastic. Yes, its cliched from top to bottom, but that's part of what makes it so much fun for me.
 
I love Paint Your Wagon.

I do too and I HATE (most) musicals.
To anyone who HASN'T seen "Paint Your Wagon", give it a shot... just watch for the story and try to ignore the songs (which aren't all that bad).
It's nowhere near as bad as The Simpsons made it look. :lol
 
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