Tried to post this a little while ago, but the forums screwed up on me. Again.
Since the subject came up in the True Grit thread, I figured it may be nice for those of us who like Westerns to list out our favorite ones here, so that those who have never been exposed to the Western as a cinematic art form can have an introduction to the genre.
Here are mine, along with accompanying quotes:
The Sons Of Katie Elder - Remember Four Brothers? Yeh, that's a remake of this movie. John Wayne, Dean Martin, and Dennis Hopper.
John Elder: All we want to do is make you end up rich and respectable. You fight us every step of the way.
Bud Elder: I don't want to be rich and respectable. I want to be just like the rest of you.
Rio Bravo - One of three Wayne movies that are oddly similar, this one has an all-star cast. The Duke, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson, Ward Bond, and Walter Brennan.
Stumpy: That'n was a good'n! Hehe!
The Cowboys - Made towards the end of Wayne's life, he was already showing signs of the lung cancer that would eventually end his life when he made this one. Roscoe Lee Browne co-stars.
Jebediah Nightlinger: [praying to God before he's about to hanged by Asa Watts and his gang] I regret trifling with married women. I'm thoroughly ashamed at cheating at cards. I deplore my occasional departures from the truth. Forgive me for taking your name in vain, my Saturday drunkenness, my Sunday sloth. Above all, forgive me for the men I've killed in anger
[eyes shifting to Asa Watts] ...and those I am about to.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Get the special extended cut if you can find it. The scene "The price of a pistol" was cut from the cinematic release, but yet it's one of the best scenes in the movie. Also, this movie has the best showdown scene out of any I've ever seen. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach.
Tuco: [trying to read a note] "See you soon, id... " "id... " "ids... "
Blondie: [taking the note] "Idiots". It's for you.
Once Upon A Time In The West - A movie more about the loss of real men in society and the vanishing heroes of yesteryear. if this one doesn't move you, nothing will. Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, and the gorgeous Claudia Cardinale.
Frank: Morton once told me I could never be like him. Now I understand why. Wouldn't have bothered him, knowing you were around somewhere alive.
Harmonica: So, you found out you're not a businessman after all.
Frank: Just a man.
Harmonica: An ancient race. Other Mortons will be along, and they'll kill it off.
Flaming Star - Elvis Presley's only good movie, IMO. He plays a Kiowa halfbreed trying to reconcile which society he belongs to.
One Indian: Kiowa Pacer. Is it true, earth, round like ball, white man live on all sides?
Pacer Burton: That is true.
Another Indian: Tell me, why men on bottom not fall off?
Pacer Burton: I've never been there. Maybe they do.
[they all laugh]
The Quick And The Dead (1987) - From the novel by Louis L'Amour, a prolific Western author. A Wyoming family is being hounded by bandits and a mysterious gunslinger shows up to escort them. In fact, his books pretty much define the genre through and through. Sam Elliot plays the lead role.
Con Vallian: Why is it that the man who begs for mercy never gives it?
The Quick And The Dead (1995) - Has nothing to do with the novel or the first movie. This one is about a quickdraw contest being held in a city headed by a corrupt sheriff. Great cast - Sharon Stone, leonardo DiCaprio, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Tobin Bell, lance Henriksen, and Gary Sinise.
Kid: No no no no, you see it's a gun fight. We both have guns. We aim, we fire, you die.
Westward The Women - An army of women in Conestoga wagons leave their homes in the East to travel West to find new husbands and new lives. Deals with pretty heavy issues considering it was made in 1951. Robert Taylor plays the lead role.
Patience Hawley: [to the awaiting bridegrooms] You can look us over, but don't think you're going to do the choosing! All the way from Independence, I've been staring at two things: one was this picture and the other was the rump of a mule... and don't ask me which was prettier!
Two Mules For Sister Sara - A mercenary heading to Mexico to work for rebels rescues a nun along the way and lets her tag along. I had a Dread Commando based largely on how Eastwood plays his part in this one. Clint Eastwood and Shirley MacLaine.
Sara: Dear Mary, Mother of God, help this no-good atheist to shoot straight.
Quigley Down Under - A displaced cowboy takes a distance marksman job in Australia. Tom Selleck, Laura San Giacomo and Alan Rickman.
Elliott Marston: Ah ha. Legendary Sharps.
Matthew Quigley: You know your weapons. It's a lever-action, breech loader. Usual barrel length's thirty inches. This one has an extra four. It's converted to use a special forty-five caliber, hundred and ten grain metal cartridge, with a five-hundred forty grain paper patch bullet. It's fitted with double set triggers, and a Vernier sight. It's marked up to twelve-hundred yards. This one shoots a mite further.
Elliott Marston: An experimental weapon with experimental ammunition.
Matthew Quigley: You could call it that.
Elliott Marston: Let's experiment.
Against A Crooked Sky - A boy goes off searching for his kidnapped sister, picking up an alcoholic and an aging indian as companions along the way. Richard Boone leads this one.
*can't think of a memorable quote right off hand, and IMDB only lists one*
Cheyenne Autumn - Powerful. Two Cheyenne cheifs lead their starving tribesmen away from the reservation looking for food. Jimmy Stewart, Edward G. Robinson, Ricardo Montalban (KAHHHHNNNN!), Richard Widmark, and Carroll Baker.
Doc Holliday: Forgive me, mademoiselle.
Miss Plantagenet: What the hell kind of talk is that?
Wyatt Earp: Now, as I understand it, a mademoiselle is a madam who ain't quite made it yet - only younger and friskier. I'd call it a compliment.
Now, I'm off to watch Gunsmoke. No, really, I have the DVR set to record it every time it comes on TV Land.
"The Unforgiven"
"Tombstone" (with Val Kilmer)
"Quigley Down Under"
"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"
"Blazing Saddles"
"The Magnificent Seven"
And, oddly enough:
The SF series 'Firefly'
Unforgiven (Eastwood)
Wyatt Earp (Costner)
The Long Riders (many Keaches, Carradines, Quaids, and Guests)
Little Big Man (Dustin Hoffman)
Shane (Alan Ladd, Jack Palance)
I guess Little Big Man is my all time favorite.
If Voltaire wrote a western, it'd be Little Big Man.
I hate DiCaprio for Titanic, but I LOVED him in The Quick And The Dead. Always wanted to run him in a D&D game- the young fighter/rogue who is *ALMOST* as good as he thinks he is.
"I am just TOO fast."
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Unforgiven
The Good The Bad The Ugly
For a fistful of Dollars
Once upon a Time in the West
Maverick
Support Your Local Sheriff
Rio Grande
The Man who shot Liberty Valance
Winchester '73
3:10 to Yuma (remake)
True Grit (the original for now, I haven't seen the remake yet)
edit: Two Mules For Sister Sara (almost forgot about this one)
I'm not a big western fan, I like good western movies as I like good movies of nearly any genre, but I would't go out of my way to watch a movie because it is a western.
Unforgiven
The Good The Bad The Ugly
For a fistful of Dollars
Once upon a Time in the West
Maverick
Support Your Local Sheriff
Rio Grande
The Man who shot Liberty Valance
Winchester '73
3:10 to Yuma (remake)
True Grit (the original for now, I haven't seen the remake yet)
edit: Two Mules For Sister Sara (almost forgot about this one)
I'm not a big western fan, I like good western movies as I like good movies of nearly any genre, but I would't go out of my way to watch a movie because it is a western.
The new 3:10 was quite good.
I like pretty much all the ones mentioned plus:
High plains drifter
The Beguiled
The assassination of Jeese James by the coward robert ford
Deadwood (if we're allowed TV)
Do There will be Blood and No Country for Old Men count as Westerns?
Tombstone
Unforgiven
Good, Bad, Ugly
Outlaw Josie Wales
Man who shot Liberty Valence
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Shane
Hombre
Silverado
Unforgiven
The Good the Bad and the Ugly - I like the first two films in this series as well, but what makes this one my favorite is Eli Wallach as Tuco the bandit. He is AWESOME in this movie. Yes, he's a crook, no, you cant trust him, yes he's fairly cunning (good enough to get the drop on blonde in the inn and ruthless enough to send his flunkies in to get killed first so that he can approach unnoticed by the rear) but his mannerisms and his own warped sense of fairness and the scene with his brother make this a win for me.
The Long Riders
The Quick and the Dead (the Sam Raimi version) - Someone upthread hit the nail on the head as fara Leonardo DiCaprio's performance in this movie. Also one of Russell Crowe's first american films I think. Keith David, Lance Henriksen, Gene Hackman, Tobin Bell, Pat Hingle and Gary Sinse round out the great cast.
Quigley Down Under (I LOVE the final duel vs. Alan Rickman and his henchmen and Quigley's last words to him...)
Wyatt Earp ( I know that most everyone else is partial to Tombstone and I am too. I didn't much care for this movie when I saw it in the theaters. But after catching on home video a few times with the opportunity to pause it and walk away for a few minutes I think it's one of my favorite Westerns. Costner's portrayal of Earp is very layered and he's really not that likable of a man. Prone to violence, terse to the point of being offensive (there's an exchange between him and the wives of his brothers than highlights this), but cares very deeply for his brothers and Doc Holiday. He also cares about justice, ALOT. In fact I point to his portrayal as a fine example of Lawful Neutral.
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Seems like a lot of similar tastes
Unforgiven This one may be my favorite Clint Eastwood movie.
Quigley Down Under Tom Selleck has done other westerns but this one is just an all around good/fun movie
The Good the Bad and the Ugly of course
True Grit (the original; haven't seen the new one yet)
Support Your Local Sheriff - A very funny western send-off -
Magnifecent Seven get's an honorable mention but I prefer Seven Samurai
Young Guns - I haven't seen this one in a long time but I remember it as being fairly faithful to the actual characters and events
-and my favorite John Wayne Movie- The Shootist. It was a perfect last movie for an iconic actor.
In no particular order: Rio Lobo, El Dorado, McLintock, The Good the Bad the Ugly, Pale Rider, Tombstone, True Grit (original, haven't seen the new one), Unforgiven...
To start. :)
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Tombstone: Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday is one of my favorite cinematic characters of all time.
Unforgiven: This movie has such an edge to it. Very different from any other western.
Hot Lead and Cold Feet: A nostalgic blast from my childhood. I remember watching it over and over on HBO. My guess is that it probably wouldn't live up to my childhood memories if I watched it again today. *sigh*
The Road Warrior: Yes, the Mad Max one. If you look at the storyline, it's a western. It just has cars instead of horses.
Quigley Down Under: Solid, enjoyable film.
The Quick and the Dead (90's version): Cheesy, overstylized fun.
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In no particular order: Rio Lobo, El Dorado, McLintock, The Good the Bad the Ugly, Pale Rider, Tombstone, True Grit (original, haven't seen the new one), Unforgiven...
To start. :)
Most of the major ones have already been hit. I'll add three:
The Searchers (1956) which is pretty much required watching even if you hate westerns.
No Name on the Bullet (1959) where Audie Murphy plays the bad guy VERY well.
Guns for San Sebastian(1968) is one of my favorites. Stars Anthony Quinn and Charles Bronson.
Amending my list because folks have added ones that I plain forgot about...
"Silverado"
"Outlaw Josie Wales"
"Open Range" (2003)
I mentioned "Magnificent 7" before but I have to agree with Wicht... the "The Seven Samurai" is better and I would call it as close to a Japanese 'Western' as you are likely to see.
Comedies:
Support Your Local Sheriff
Support Your Local Gunfighter
(Both of these are available on DVD)
I also have a soft spot for the original 'Maverick' TV series.
"Outlaw Josie Wales"
This is the one I was trying to remember earlier.
Wyatt Earp ( I know that most everyone else is partial to Tombstone and I am too. I didn't much care for this movie when I saw it in the theaters. But after catching on home video a few times with the opportunity to pause it and walk away for a few minutes I think it's one of my favorite Westerns. Costner's portrayal of Earp is very layered and he's really not that likable of a man. Prone to violence, terse to the point of being offensive (there's an exchange between him and the wives of his brothers than highlights this), but cares very deeply for his brothers and Doc Holiday. He also cares about justice, ALOT. In fact I point to his portrayal as a fine example of Lawful Neutral.
I liked Wyatt Earp a lot better for some reason.
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I like pretty much all the ones mentioned plus:
High plains drifter
The Beguiled
The assassination of Jeese James by the coward robert ford
Deadwood (if we're allowed TV)Do There will be Blood and No Country for Old Men count as Westerns?
Wikipedia had 'old men as a "contemporary western" or something on their list of westerns, so hellz yeah.
I wasn't thinking about The Beguiled as a western, but I reckon it is; I love that movie.
I thought it was a romantic comedy tho.
JFK.
The Good the Bad and the Ugly - I like the first two films in this series as well, but what makes this one my favorite is Eli Wallach as Tuco the bandit. He is AWESOME in this movie. Yes, he's a crook, no, you cant trust him, yes he's fairly cunning (good enough to get the drop on blonde in the inn and ruthless enough to send his flunkies in to get killed first so that he can approach unnoticed by the rear) but his mannerisms and his own warped sense of fairness and the scene with his brother make this a win for me.
This +100
This movie is a perfect example of a well-made layered movie in which every time you watch it, something new that youve never noticed before sticks out at you. Amid all the fighting and ugliness of the 3 main characters, just try to not be moved when Tuco and Blondie blow up the bridge to honor the general's dying request. Or when Blondie offers the dying union soldier his cigar. And if the Ennio Morricone score doesnt do anything for you in the final 3-way showdown, then, brother, you must be dead.
Lots of great stuff named above, but Id like to add
Ride the High Country a Sam Peckinpah classic
and
the Terrence Hill Trinity movies
and
Gregory Peck as The Gunfighter
Shane, Magnificent Seven, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, The Wild Bunch, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Cowboys, Blazing Saddles, Three Amigos, Once Upon a Time in the West, Nevada Smith, Silverado...does Johnny Depp in Jarmusch's Dead Man count?...ooo and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, and Lonesome Dove...I know Im missing some
The Cavalry Trilogy
Sergeant Rutledge
The Shootist
True Grit (The orignal accept no substitutes)
The Searchers
Rio Bravo
Red River
Once upon a Time in the West
High Noon
Shane
Pale Rider
The Dollar Movies
Open Range (surprised no-one else mentioned this)
Two Mules for Sister Sarah.
McClintock..(for the mud hole scene if nothing else)
Open Range (surprised no-one else mentioned this)
Check up-thread just a bit. I got ya covered. :)
The Cavalry Trilogy
Sergeant Rutledge
The Shootist
True Grit (The orignal accept no substitutes)
The Searchers
Rio Bravo
Red River
Once upon a Time in the West
High Noon
Shane
Pale Rider
The Dollar Movies
Open Range (surprised no-one else mentioned this)
Two Mules for Sister Sarah.
McClintock..(for the mud hole scene if nothing else)
Given my penchant for old-schoolness, I can't believe I'm saying this, but check out the new version of True Grit. The story is the same, just told from a different perspective.
I'm sort of distressed that no one has mentioned Ed Harris' Appaloosa, which he adapted from the Robert B. Parker novel, produced, directed, co-starred in, and wrote and sang the end theme song for. Not only is this an AWESOME western, it also showcases Ed Harris' obsession with detail: the dialogue is taken directly from the novel, word for word; the costume designs are all taken from period catalogs; and at one point he forced them to redo the train set because the rails were the wrong gauge. Viggo Mortensen is great in this one, Jeremy Irons plays the villain, and not even Renee Zellwiger as the femme fatale can ruin it.
Another new classic for any fan of "Lonesome Dove" is Broken Trail, in which Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church protect a set of kidnaped Chinese sisters in the Old West. A worthy successor to "Lonesome Dove" and "Open Range."
As for the Duke, it's hard to pick favorites. "Big Jake," "Fort Apache," and "Rio Bravo" all stand out for me.
I hope the inevitable Dark Tower movie doesn't suck.
Lots of good suggestions. I didn't see this one on anyone's list --
Bite the Bullet -- Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, James Coburn. 1975
ANd the inevitable Dark Tower movies will suck. It can't be helped.
ANd the inevitable Dark Tower movies will suck. It can't be helped.
Yep. I see many castings of people like Kevin Sorbo in that series.
Yep. I see many castings of people like Kevin Sorbo in that series.
ANd the inevitable Dark Tower movies will suck. It can't be helped.
Is Kevin Sorbo actually in it? Cuz if he is, I can't wait to rub it in a certain Hercules-loving friend of mine's face.
Is Kevin Sorbo actually in it? Cuz if he is, I can't wait to rub it in a certain Hercules-loving friend of mine's face.
Dunno. I know he's going to be in the sequel to The Sword and the Sorcerer, thus ruining a long-awaited sequel to one of my favorite childhood movies. Sure, it's campy and was made on a shoestring budget, but the sword's cool.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
A Fistful of Dynamite
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Wild Bunch
Dead Man
Dollars Trilogy,
Fistful of Dynamite,
Once Upon a Time in the West,
Unforgiven,
Pale Rider,
High Plains Drifter,
The Alamo,
Rio Grande,
The Searchers,
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence,
The Beguiled,
Valley of Gwangi!
Let's face it, Clint is the man and anything with the Duke is gonna be special.
Fistful of Dollars
A Few Dollars More
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Absolutely astounding.
Outlaw Josie Wales
Unforgiven
Lonesome Dove
3:10 to Yuma - first one. The remake is, aside from Ben Wade's crazy henchman, a feeble attempt to capitalize on Crowe's charisma at the expense of the story.
True Grit - remake. This may be better than the Wayne version.
The Frisco Kid
and alot that have been mention by others.
Though I hope we can add Cowboys & Aliens to the list.
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Here are the ones I've seen and liked. (Even John Wayne and Clint Eastwood made some stinkers.)
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
The Searchers
Rio Bravo
The Alamo
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
McClintock
Sons of Katie Elder
El Dorado
The War Wagon
True Grit
The Undefeated
Chisum
Rio Lobo
Big Jake
The Cowboys
Cahill, US Marshal
Rooster Cogburn
The Shootist
A Fist Full of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Hang ‘em High
High Plains Drifter
Support Your Local Sherriff
Support Your Local Gunfighter
Maverick
Silverado
The Shakiest Gun in the West
Blazing Saddles
Quigley Down Under
A Man Called Horse
My Darling Clementine
A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Magnificent Seven
Silverado
The Magnificent Seven
Blazing Saddles
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969, Newman/Redford)
True Grit (1969, John Wayne)
Evil Roy Slade (1972, John Astin)
High Noon (1952, Gary Cooper)
Cat Ballou (1965, Jane Fonda)
Firefly (TV Series)
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Outlaw Josey Wales is epic.
The Sons Of Katie Elder
+1
Just about any western with John Wayne in it is just awesome. But "The Sons of Katie Elder" is my personal favorite, I think I saw it enough growing up that I can quote it verbatum lol (my dad is a huge wayne fan). Any of the others with the duke is playing Rooster Cogburn are a close second.
• Silverado ("Now I don't want to kill you, and you don't want to be dead")
EMMETT: Which way you going?
PADEN: Where's the pinto going?
The Outlaw Josey Wales - Eastwood's best Western IMHO, with Unforgiven running a very close second. TOJW is the best and most accurate depiction of the immediate post-Civil War West I've ever seen on film.... amazing attention to detail.
The Shootist - another marvelous depiction of the time, with the Old West inevitably giving way to the New. John Wayne going out as one suspects he would prefer to be remembered.
The Long Riders - another well done film with a great "feel" for the time and incidents portrayed. The casting of the Keach, Carradine, and Quaid brothers to play the various members of the gang (who were brothers in RL) was brilliant.
True Grit - both versions. Wayne at his cranky best in the first, while the remake held closer to the original story and was a surprisingly good film as well.
Sunset - not a Western per se, but fun to watch. A good storyline ("except for a few lies") and an interesting reflection on the reality that was and the legend that has been created to represent it.
Blazing Saddles - Either this or Young Frankenstein is the best and funniest film Mel Brooks ever made. After 20+ years I still can't decide.
Firefly / Serenity - Don't be silly. Of course it's a Western. ;D