Susano Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Also, Open Range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yansuf Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time With the release of Star Wars III, I've been thinking about Campbell's idea of the monomyth, and wondering if it would be reflected by the 20th Century American mythos, the Wild West as presented in the movies. If you were to make a list of the ten or 12 movies that absolutely define the genre of the Western, movies only please no TV series, what would you include on the list? The only one that I am sure of at this point is The Magnifecent Seven. How the West Was Won is on the "maybe" list, but I realize that I may be too emotionally attached to that move and it may not be as good as I think it is. Anyone? If we want to define the genre, we need to concentrate on older movies than most of the ones selected in this thread. The genre was defined before the first spaghetti western movie was filmed. Stagecoach Ox-Bow Incident My Darling Clementine Red River High Noon Hondo Shane Gunfight at OK Corral 3:10 from Yuma (original) Rio Bravo The above pretty much defined the western. There are many GR8 westerns that were made later, but the definitions were made by the end of the 1950's. Of the later films, I admit to a fondness for Silverado, and Quigley Down Under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtelson Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Silverado High Noon The Man who Shot Liberty Valance Destry Rides Again Sukiyaki Western Django Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time BTW... if you want to see a pretty awesome Pulp-era Western, watch The Good, The Bad, The Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Just as a toss in' date=' I'm wondering if "Last of the Mohicans" would apply. I really liked that movie, even if it was a bit "predictable". It strikes me that LotM, along with Quigley, are really the only good westerns to have been made in some time. Even though the genre is still being made, most of what comes out now is poop. It seems.[/quote'] Most of what comes out of any genre is poop nowadays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Yes...Yul Brynner was probably the best thing about The Ultimate Warrior...actually, probably the only thing good about that one. Or...Were You talking about The Ultimate Warrior? After all, most "professional wrestlers" should probably receive some sort of acting award...probably for "Most 'Over The Top' Performance in a Supporting Role"... The Ultimate Warrior was always good for over the top acting performances by a wrestler. Me and my dad made fun of one of those for weeks one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Well, not really a great movie, I have to mention Nevada Smith with Steve McQueen. Good reference, if you want to go for the man searching for criminals to achieve revenge angle. Anyhow, for TV series. Gunsmoke has got to be mentioned. Plus High Chapparral (which I loved as a kid but cant find anywhere nowadays) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narratio Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Got to start with Stagecoach, but what about John Fords cavalry films, don't they count as westerns? 'She Wore A Yellow Ribbon' for example was mined for several spaghetti westerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbriar Posted November 16, 2009 Report Share Posted November 16, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time For an East meets Western Red Sun was OK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fedifensor Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Several people have mentioned The Shootist, but no one has mentioned why. It's John Wayne's last movie, and the story of a gunfighter dying of cancer has eerie parallels to the actor's own impending death. I've put it on the top of my list. Others I like include the various Clint Eastwood westerns (particularly Unforgiven), Quigley Down Under, Purgatory (though it isn't a "pure" Western due to the supernatural elements), Maverick, Support Your Local Sheriff, and The Quick and the Dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time I love spaghetti westerns, but.... High Noon, Pale Rider, Unforgiven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brionl Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time The "great" ones have mostly already been mentioned, but one interesting one is Sukiyaki Western Django. A Fistful of Dollars re-re-interpreted as a six-guns & Samurai film by a Japanese director. The dialog is in English, but apparently hardly any of the cast actually spoke it so they were just memorizing sounds. You may want to turn on sub-titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemming Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time The "great" ones have mostly already been mentioned' date=' but one interesting one is Sukiyaki Western Django. A Fistful of Dollars re-re-interpreted as a six-guns & Samurai film by a Japanese director. The dialog is in English, but apparently hardly any of the cast actually spoke it so they were just memorizing sounds. You may want to turn on sub-titles. Interesting, since Fistful of Dollars was drawn from Yojimbo which was influenced by earlier westerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vondy Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Interesting' date=' since Fistful of Dollars was drawn from Yojimbo which was influenced by earlier westerns.[/quote'] Kurosawa is on record sayinga major source for Yojimbo was the Glass Key (1942), which was itself a film adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's eponymous novel (1931). The scene where the hero is captured and tortured before he escapes is a shot by shot copy. The plot of Yojimbo closely follows Hammett's novel Red Harvest (1929) even more than it does the Glass Key which has a few similar scenes and themes. There's debate over it. But having dogeared copies of all of Hammett's works, as well as having watched Yojimbo a few times, I think its categorically undeniable he ripped these two works as his source. Kurosawa's lawsuit over Fistfull, even though he won the case, was dubious at best and only passed muster because Hammett was dead. It boiled down to: "He ripped off my ripoff!" The Glass Key and Red Harvest, incidentally, are seminal works of the Hardboiled genre, and had a major impact on subsequent writers. I think the Glass Key is the finer novel - and Hammett's finest in terms of literary value - but Red Harvest is a pugnacious piece of work in its own right. Every time I see Fistfull or Yojimbo I always think - Red Harvest! Which is not to say I don't enjoy them. But its not for either director's original vision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brionl Posted September 5, 2010 Report Share Posted September 5, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Interesting' date=' since Fistful of Dollars was drawn from Yojimbo which was influenced by earlier westerns.[/quote'] I know, that's why I said "re-re-interpreted". There's even a line near the beginning where they tell the hero "don't think you are some kind of Yojimbo". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted September 6, 2010 Report Share Posted September 6, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time The "great" ones have mostly already been mentioned' date=' but one interesting one is Sukiyaki Western Django. A Fistful of Dollars re-re-interpreted as a six-guns & Samurai film by a Japanese director. The dialog is in English, but apparently hardly any of the cast actually spoke it so they were just memorizing sounds. You may want to turn on sub-titles. It's not a re-interpretation of Fistful, it's a reworking of the film Django. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palaskar Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time I'm surprised no-one mentioned "Lightning Jack" (or was it "Lightning Jack McQueen?) A fun departure from the mainstream. Others, in rough order: Unforgiven The Quick and the Dead ack, my brain is fried. Gotta go. Be back when I remember the rst. Here we go: Bruce Cassady and the Sundance Kid For a Fistfull of Dollars The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly That Zorro movie with Antonio Banderas (The Mask of Zorro) sticks in my mind too, though it only qualifies as a 'Western' by taking place in California around 1850(?) or so. Oddly, the Magnificent Seven doesn't stick in my mind as much as these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Oi! You lot! What about the Trinity movies?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susano Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time While fun, I'm not going to rank them with the greatest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrkonen Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Re: Greatest Western Movies of all Time Greatest westerns of all time eh? well while I have my own favorites I have to say that this is a VERY subjective list as westerns are surprisingly varied in how they are portrayed. Course me being a simple violence loving midwesterner have to say the following: 1: Unforgiven 2: Tombstone 3: 3:10 to Yuma (The 1957 one and the modern one are both excellent) 4: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 5: High Plains Drifter 6: Appaloosa 7: Young Guns (This was a tough one) 8: The Outlaw Josey Wales 9: Two Mules for Sister Sarah (yes I like Eastwood) 10: No Country for old men (While not a typical western it does fit the category) I know it's a crime to not have at least one John Wayne movie here it's just that I wasn't around for his movies I always liked Eastwood more I suppose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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