Lefty Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I have a particular fondness for the western genre in the world of cinema, Here is my top 6 in order of favorites. 1. The Wild Bunch. The unedited director's cut is the best western movie ever made IMO. Great cast, groundbreaking production that took violent realism to a new level in westerns. Good story, great dialog throughout. Gritty and no holds barred is how I see it. 2. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Another cult classic from the iconic Sam Peckinpah. No movie has ever really told the story of these two western figures accurately, but Sam touches on a lot of aspects of the story that no one else does. Again, superb dialog, gritty realistic violence and a fine cast that includes many of the great character actors of the day. 3. Unforgiven. Clint received a lot of accolades for this movie and they were well deserved IMO. I like the story, the earthiness, the realistic violence, and again I feel this movie has some great and unique dialog. I never tire of seeing it. 4. The Outlaw Josey Wales. Another great result from Clint, I can watch this movie over at any time and always enjoy it. Chief Dan George played a big part in making this an entertaining movie. He had so many good lines. 5. McCabe and Mrs Miller. This movie is Robert Altman's contribution to the western genre and it is a very enjoyable story, unusual setting and it really has no comparison in the western world. I consider it Warren Beatty and Julie Christie at their best. The soundtrack by the great Leonard Cohen fits the story perfectly. 6. True Grit (1969). Yes I do admit to being a Duke fan in the western genre, and this is probably my favorite of all his movies. I really love the showdown between Rooster and Lucky Ned Pepper. Never tire of watching and listening to their verbal exchange that culminated with Ned saying "I call that bold talk for a one eyed fat man!" to which Rooster indignantly retorted: "Fill your hand you son of a bitch!" I judge movies a great deal by how much I like to rewatch them and of those movies, there are at least 3 that I've seen a good 50 times each. I got into #5 a little later in life and am still catching up on my views of it. 2 Quote Link to comment
duke007 Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 1.. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 2.. Fistful of Dollars 3.. For a Few Dollars more 4.. The Magnificent Seven 5.. Once upon a time in the West 6.. Blazing Saddles The first clip in which Clint says to the guys that they have upset his "Mule" is a classic imho Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 One of my all time favourites is "Little Big Man". One of Arthur Penn's best. 1 Quote Link to comment
redrock Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, good call Lefty. One of the most underrated westerns of all time. Kris Kristofferson's best ever movie role, and an excellent Pat Garrett played by James Coburn. Only flaw is Bob Dylan's cameo. The cunt can't act. BUT he makes up for it with possibly the best soundtack to a western ever! If you've not seen this movie give it a try. 1 Quote Link to comment
Lone Ranger Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I have always been a big fan of westerns since I used to watch John Wayne films as a kid and when Lefty said name six I could not as for me their are too many to choose from that I watch time and time again. I just looked through my dvd's and picked out those films. Noteble exception The Magnificent Seven as I prefer the original Akira kurasawa's Seven Samuria 1) The Searchers 2) The Unforgiven 3) Pale Rider 4) Rio Bravo 5) Vera Cruz 6) High Noon 7) Once upon a time in the west 8) Stagecoach 9) Red River 10) My darling Clementine 11) The man who shot Liberty Valence 12 Eldarado Quote Link to comment
thaibound Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 what i love about a "favorite western" list is that --unlike some serious 'best of' list -- it virtually never contains a real dog. lefty's 6 picks are right on--though i'm tempted to force him to limit himself to "one per director, please". which might force him to accept the lone ranger's (gee, u think a guy w/that moniker might like *westerns*?) first pick--the searchers. iconic perfection. i'd love to see a tech genius slip clint in and out of the duke's character in that one. the 2 greatest western figures of all time to my mind. but now that i'd have the Duke safely ensconced in my Top 5, i'm gonna have to replace 'true grit' with the most eastern of westerns--it does have injuns of the native american stripe (although no cowboys) and the northernmost hills of the americas pretty much were the western frontier back during the French & Indian War, so i'm going with Michael Mann's over-the-top, incredibly manipulative, and utterly effective (largely thanks to Daniel Day Lewis' tour de force performance): Last of the Mohicans. more popcorn, you will never eat. Quote Link to comment
Snick Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Stage Coach Magnificent Seven Anything directed by Cline Eastwood, but 'High Plains Drifter' has always been one of my favorites. So many I just can't remember. and if we can include Blazing Saddles, so be it...Blazing Saddles ! I'll also add Firefly the TV series, some of the episodes were total westerns. Quote Link to comment
dazedandconfused Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Great thread Lefty. Some of us of a 'certain age' grew up on a diet of playing cowboys and Indians, Western Movies and TV series - and I lived in the UK not the US! I could happily spend all weekend on the sofa watching many, if not all, of those already mentioned above. My personal favourites include: The Searchers (obviously) Heavens Gate (so badly deserves a reappraisal) Silverado (fun, great action and a literal who's who of mid 1980's actors) Once upon a time in the West (though Leone later went one better with Once upon a time in America) High Noon (Gary Cooper in conscience turmoil, lovely soundtrack song by Tex Ritter) .....and Shenandoah as well (slightly sentimental maybe but James Stewart on top of his game) Quote Link to comment
iceberg Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Tombstone,as it's one of my favorite westerns or movies for that matter of all time.I've watched so many times and never get tired of it, it may not be fully accurate but still it's a great movie. http://youtu.be/VC1-4SzXKF0 Quote Link to comment
Jimslim Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Heavens Gate (so badly deserves a reappraisal) Heavens Gate was a great movie . I like any movie where the Indians aren't the bad guys , not many of them around though . The Unforgiven was brilliant one of the few I never tire of watching . The scene at the end when ol' Clint turns into a mean son of a bitch again and walks into the bar to avenge his murdered friend is a classic - "Who own's this shithole of an establishment ? You fat man speak up !" 1 Quote Link to comment
williethepimp Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 in no particular order...... the outlaw josey wales soldier blue Mckennas gold the magnificent 7 a man called horse little big man Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Ahhhh yes "Soldier Blue"!!! Good one Willie. I forgot it but enjoyed it way back when. And "A Man Called Horse"is also a classic. How about: "High Noon" "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" "Dances with Wolves" "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" "Young Guns" "Duck you Sucker" "El Topo" Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 What about TV Westerns like: Rawhide (Clint Eastwood's start) Rifleman Gun Smoke Have Gun Will Travel Wanted: Dead or Alive (Steve McQueen's start) Quote Link to comment
williethepimp Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 SiamSam' timestamp='1343082339' post='27726'] What about TV Westerns like: Rawhide (Clint Eastwood's start) Rifleman Gun Smoke Have Gun Will Travel Wanted: Dead or Alive (Steve McQueen's start) Bloody hell-Have gun will travel-youre showing our age there Sam... What about Bonanza?.....manys the time I straddled the sofa and rode the range with Hoss and Little Joe Rawhide was a classic...and remember Cheyanne,with Clint Walker.....? Wagon Train....another classic never saw the Steve Mcqueen one Sam... Quote Link to comment
SiamSam Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Yup, showing my age for sure but I too straddled whatever to ride the range and explore the frontiers with my heroes. Those were fantastic journeys and great fodder for our imaginations. Bonanza was terrific especially before Adam left the series. Great stuff. I remember "Cheyenne" as well, so good call. You need to see the Steve McQueen "Wanted: Dead or Alive" stuff. Fucking classic. Lefty is too young to remember Quote Link to comment
katana57 Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Pale Rider..."There's nothing like a piece of Hickory" Cincinatti Kid(if it qualifies) Tell 'em Willie Boy's Here and last but not least...... Evil Roy Slade Quote Link to comment
deepthroat Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Outlaw Josey Wales Pale Rider Unforgiven Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Silverado (surprised no one mentioned this one yet). Quote Link to comment
dazedandconfused Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Silverado (surprised no one mentioned this one yet). I did! Nice to know someone else out there likes it.... Quote Link to comment
Lefty Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 Dances With Wolves has exceptional cinematography. As good as any movie ever IMO. I had gone for years only seeing the theatrical version though. A year or so ago, I found a torrent of the extended version and I enjoyed it even more. It is so sad though, that was the only downer to it. Anyone else take a shine to the gay Indian boy, "Smiles Alot"? What a cutie. Evil Roy Slade is fucking hilarious. Good call katana. On a par with Blazing Saddles for me, when it comes to gut busting laughter. If I pick 6 from 6 different directors, as was suggested, that would be more difficult, but goes: 1. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah) 2. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood) 3. McCabe and Mrs Miller (Robert Altman) 4. True Grit 1969 (Henry Hathaway) 5. Death Hunt (Peter R. Hunt) (perhaps a stretch as western. Yukon Territory 1931) 6. tie between Open Range (Kevin Costner) and Cat Ballou (Elliot Silverstein) As for TV westerns. The bar none best TV western series of all time has to be Deadwood. The character Al Swearengen, brilliantly portrayed by Ian McShane, is IMO the most well done character on any TV series of any genre ever. Just a hair behind him though for a fine job of acting was Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock. Quote Link to comment
deepthroat Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 A few I loved as a kid but haven't seen since then: Two Mules For Sister Sara - nearly forgotten Eastwood western with Shirley Maclaine directed by Don Siegel Rio Lobo - The Duke, Dino and Ricky Support Your Local Sheriff Support Your Local Gunslinger The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean - Paul Newman A Gunfight - Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash Quote Link to comment
redrock Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 One I watched a few weeks ago that hasn't been mentioned. Big Jake. John Wayne at his best! He's hard as nails. There's a cracking line that runs all the way through the movie. "So what's your name stranger?" "Jake. Jake McCandles." "Oh, sorry Mr McCandles, I thought you was dead." Quote Link to comment
Lefty Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 A few I loved as a kid but haven't seen since then: Two Mules For Sister Sara - nearly forgotten Eastwood western with Shirley Maclaine directed by Don Siegel Rio Lobo - The Duke, Dino and Ricky Support Your Local Sheriff Support Your Local Gunslinger The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean - Paul Newman A Gunfight - Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash That would be Rio Bravo, and I like it too, My #2 Duke movie. Quote Link to comment
Hefe Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 OK, I can watch again & again: 1 The Searchers One of my favorite movies ever, who says the Duke couldn't act? 2 Red River 3 The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 4 Lonesome Dove miniseries 5 The Wild Bunch 6 Ride the High Country 7 Treasure of Sierra Madre Not really a western but I liked Tender Mercies & just for being borderline insane: Johnny Guitar (with it's lesbian cowgirl shootout) Quote Link to comment
redrock Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Treasure of Sierra Madre? Is that the old black and white movie with Humphry Bogart? Three guys going gold prospecting in the mountains? No really a western. Bloody good movie though. Quote Link to comment
Lone Ranger Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 One I watched a few weeks ago that hasn't been mentioned. Big Jake. John Wayne at his best! He's hard as nails. There's a cracking line that runs all the way through the movie. "So what's your name stranger?" "Jake. Jake McCandles." "Oh, sorry Mr McCandles, I thought you was dead." Not hardly Quote Link to comment
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