The time has come for another movies list – this time it is the top 10 westerns. It is a fascinating genre that has provided the film world with some of the greatest cinemaphotography in all moviedom.
10. The Searchers 1956, John Ford
Ethan Edwards, an ex-Confederate soldier from the Indian Wars, finds that his family has been massacred and his niece captured by the Comanches and vows to bring her back and kill everyone of the Indians who did this to him. He travels for five years in order to find her and when he does realizes even though she has been found she has become one of them.
9. Rio Bravo 1959, Howard Hawks
The sheriff of a small town in southwest Texas must keep custody of a murderer whose brother, a powerful rancher, is trying to help him escape. After a friend is killed trying to muster support for him, he and his deputies – a disgraced drunk and a cantankerous old cripple – must find a way to hold out against the rancher’s hired guns until the marshal arrives.
8. A Fistful of Dollars 1964, Sergio Leone
An anonymous, but deadly man rides into a town torn by war between two factions, the Baxters and the Rojo’s. Instead of fleeing or dying, as most others would do, the man schemes to play the two sides off each other, getting rich in the bargain.
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969, George Roy Hill
Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rock, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them.
6. For a Few Dollars More 1965, Sergio Leone
Two bounty hunters are after the same man, Indio. At first, they go their own ways, but eventually get together to try and find him. But are they after him for the same reason?
5. High Noon 1952, Fred Zinnemann
A retiring lawman about to leave town with his new bride seeks allies among the fearful townspeople when an outlaw he put in prison returns with his gang to take revenge in this classic western.
4. Unforgiven 1992, Clint Eastwood
The town of Big Whisky is full of normal people trying to lead quiet lives. Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff ‘Little Bill’ tries to build a house and keep a heavy-handed order. The town whores just try to get by.Then a couple of cowboys cut up a whore. Unsatisfied with Bill’s justice, the prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as ‘The Schofield Kid’, and aging killer William Munny.
3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948, John Huston
Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin, both down on their luck in Tampico, Mexico in 1925, meet up with a grizzled prospector named Howard and decide to join with him in search of gold in the wilds of central Mexico. Through enormous difficulties, they eventually succeed in finding gold, but bandits, the elements, and most especially greed threaten to turn their success into disaster.
2. Once Upon a Time in the West 1968, Sergio Leone
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad in this long frontier epic. Mysterious pasts and the strength of loyalties is explored amid lightning fast gun battles and stylish vistas.
1. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly 1966, Sergio Leone
The Good is Blondie, a wandering gunman with a strong personal sense of honor. The Bad is Angel Eyes, a sadistic hitman who always hits his mark. The Ugly is Tuco, a Mexican bandit who’s always only looking out for himself. Against the backdrop of the Civil War, they search for a fortune in gold buried in a graveyard.
Afterword
Do you think I have left off a great movie or put them in the wrong order? Tell me what you would have done differently.
Sources: Synopsis details courtesy of IMDB
No western list is complete without a mention of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Probably the best movie I have ever seen.
Yes, this is a great movie. The duo of John Wayne and James Stewart makes the movie unforgettable.
I think that the New 3:10 to Yuma deserves something….
-Andrea Carlena Beauman
i would have to agree with that one
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME. A list of the Top 10 westerns that includes “Dances with Wolves” but leaves off “The Searchers”?! PUH-LEEZE.
Also, “Little Big Man” and “My Darling Clementine” should be here.
So there.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is by far the greatest, Pale Rider was good to, and Tombston was ok to
Good list. I might have added Pale Rider. You can never have too much Clint Eastwood.
how can you put “dances with wolves” on a western list and leave the “magnificent seven” off?
Excuse me, but where is “Shane”?
Okay – Randall is right – I forgot about The Searchers – I have now replaced item 10 with that.
Steve: Magnificent Seven is great – you are right – consider it number 11
mregan: in position 12! I loved the book and the film but I think the items above surpassed it for a position on the top 10.
8 comments in 7 minutes – I touched a raw nerve it seems
whats the name of the movie with gene hackman and russel crowe about a shootout, sharon stone and a very very younge leonardo dicaprio are in it too
Shane, Magnificent Seven, Outlaw Josie Wales, Silverado, Stagecoach…
I must admit I have never watched a western all the way through…
Well, I’m not counting ‘Blazing Saddles’ as a western!
It’s on my ‘to do’ list of music & films!
I would have thought Mackenna’s Gold deserved at least an honorable mention. Gregory Peck and Omar Sharif were terrific!! One of those films which left a mark when i was a kid apart from the usual Clint Eastwood stuff..
Eric – The Quick and the Dead
And what about Maverick?
The Outlaw Josie Wale is great! So is the Magnificent Seven.
Speaking of Mg. Seven, jfrater should do a list of top 10 american movies adapted from foreign ones. Not many people realize that the Magnificent Seven was based on the Seven Samurai, a old (and decidedly better) Kurosawa flick. Fistfull of Dollars is also filmed, almost scene for scene, from Yojimbo, another Kurosawa movie. There a bunch of other good ones too (and not just crappy J-horror crossovers, either).
Too many Sergio Leone movies. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST and THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY would have sufficed. I agree with the other commenters about 3:10 TO YUMA(2007). The best western of all of course, is LONESOME DOVE, but that is a mini series not a movie.
Ah, good ‘ol John Wayne. My stepfather is obsessed with him and owns nearly every one of his movies. He even has a picture standing next to the statue in John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, CA
I’ve got them all but #2. And why is this quote ALWAYS misquoted? Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!!”
Along with “Play it again for me Sam” What is with Humphrey Bogart movies and quotes? Old Yellowstain!
If TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE counts, then THE WILD BUNCH should also have made the list. Four spaghetti westerns, but SHANE, RED RIVER, LITTLE BIG MAN, DANCES WITH WOLVES, and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE were left off. At least the list maker had the good taste to NOT include EL TOPO.
Looking through the list again, I don’t think “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” should be on a Western list. It’s a good movie, no doubt, but I don’t think it’s a Western movie.
Looks like Yogi and I have the same tastes when it comes to Westerns. We even posted at the same time. Don’t blame me I’m just trying to win the contest.
You’re right Yogi. The Italian westerns were as a class second rate and wildly inaccurate historically, though admittedly sometimes enjoyable.
..”Liberty Valance” and “Red River” are certainly among the top ten, and without question, “The Searchers” is the greatest western ever filmed.
What about Young Guns and Tombstone?
Rick B:
Technically, “Badges? We ain’t got no stinkin badges!” is correct, as it is a direct quote from Blazing Saddles, which is making fun of that famous line. There is a great list on this site, “top 15 movie misquotes” or something similar and that one is in there, along with the extensive comments in the thread that explain why that one is probably false.
The Proposition, The Wild Bunch, and The Three Burials of Melquidas Estrada are all worthy contenders.
What about Lonesome Dove?
Do you think Babette’s Feast could be considered a western as it occurred during the period? It is definitely not Western in the sense that it is not set in the American West – but it does still have a bit of a western feel about it.
i’m not much for westerns, but was kinda expecting to see Stagecoach (John Wayne and Oscars!)
i’m more likely to watch “comedy/westerns” like Maverick or Blazing Saddles, but I did like “the Quick and the Dead” and “Quigley Down Under”.
Young Guns! LOL! The “Brat Pack” western!
“The Outlaw Josie Wales” should be #1, but HAS TO be on the list somewhere!
how about dirty harry?
disregard that comment.i just remembered clint eastwood was in it.ooooops
You gotta see Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman. GREAT MOVIE
Wow!! Loved the list! Thank you soo much. I feel like watching them all over again!!
I was afraid that this list might contain “The Quick and The Dead”…its such a wannabe movie!!
But I’m a little confused about “Treasure of Sierra Madre”??!
Hope you make it into a top 15 or 20 list, which includes “Young Guns”!!
they should all be john wayne movies…he was the king!
and where is rooster cogburn and the cowboy way?
oh!!! and the entire series of gunsmoke. pick any episode…
copperdragon: I really enjoyed Maverick! Jodie Foster was really funny in that movie.
John Wayne in The Cowboys. The best cattle drive movie of all time.
Best John Wayne westerns in no particular order.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Cowboys
True Grit
The Sons of Katie Elder
The War Wagon
The Shootist
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
Rooster Cogburn
I’m shocked that the Magnificent Seven isn’t in here! Whats going on?
Not to mention “Blazing Saddles”…
Cripes! Lord Calvert is right. What about TRUE GRIT? The book is one of the great underappreciated American novels.
I liked The Outlaw Josie Wales and the more modern The Quick and the Dead.
Great list though!
Three words: THE. WILD. BUNCH.
Would Desparado be considered a western?
Where’s “The Villian” a.k.a. “Cactus Jack”. Staring Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Handsome Stranger. You don’t get much more cowboy than The Governor.
I love my spaghetti westerns, but even I think that the first two of the Man With No Name Trilogy pale in comparison to The Wild Bunch and the Magnificent Seven. I would change those.
Some others that at least deserve a mention are the new 3:10 to Yuma, Pale Rider, Tombstone, High Plains Drifter, and Shane.
How about a Top 10 B&W Westerns? My stepdad is always complaining that the color ones just don’t have the same quality storyline. Shoot, there is no way I’m gonna win this contest before I leave work. not unless this hits 199 in the next 2 hours.
My great uncle produced The Shootist.I can’t beleive you did not put The outlaw Josey Wales or Big Jake.
Am I a dork for liking Young Guns???? LOL.
Re: The Contest
I think the contest (and the comments) would benefit if the winning comment came from a random, unknown number selected by you, Jamie, rather than from a number announced at the beginning. This would prevent clustering around the announced number and would reduce the number of poor quality comments. If the goal is to reach a target number of comments than you could publicly state that the random unknown number is somewhere between 150 and 250. Just a thought.
does anyone else see something wrong with cover of the good, the bad and the ugly? Maybe its juse me but I read it as the good and the bad the ugly, or the good the ugly and the bad, either way it just don’t make no sense. It could just be me though.
kaylensmommy2006: I like that movie…
longball: A fun fact about Gunsmoke: James Arness was actually 6′ 7″ tall. Everyone always thought Ken Curtis was really short but he was actually 6′ tall.
The Outlaw Josey Wales and Pale Rider are great! And I, too, have a soft spot for Young Guns. “Not no more, Billy” Love it!
For the young’uns who love YOUNG GUNS, PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID was better. “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is one of the great songs ever written for a movie.
One of my favorite westerns is “Dead Man” with Johnny Depp and Crispin Glover. It is very, very weird and kind of trippy, but there is a great, emotional soundtrack to it.
John Wayne IS Westerns! Does “Back to the Future III” count (JK)?
Celeste, good call with DEAD MAN. You just reminded me of DEADWOOD. It’s not eligible for this list, but it’s a must see for western lovers. Another fun film, not worthy of a top ten ranking, is CAT BALLOU.