My A-list of high quality westerns

Classics, film noir, summer blockbusters, and cult classics.
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Blackthorn
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My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by Blackthorn » Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:29 am

My top two are:

Lonesome Dove

Culpepper Cattle Company

These two are my favorites because of the realistic characterizations, shootout scenes and costuming, as well as overall plot lines.

Others are:

Ulzana's Raid

Hondo

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

The Shootist

Stagecoach (1939)

Man Who Loved Cat Dancing

McCaber and Mrs Miller

Outlaw Josey Wales (it has flaws, but I like it.

Monte Walsh, the Lee Marvin version.
Last edited by Blackthorn on Sat Aug 25, 2018 12:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything….Albert Einstein

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Herb Roflcopter
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by Herb Roflcopter » Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:07 am

I'm embarrassed to admit I haven't seen most of those movies; usually I try to see as many as I can of a certain genre, especially ones that are the standards of high cinema. But somehow most of these slipped by me.

I did love Stagecoach, and I have seen most of Clint Eastwood's filmography. Not so much of his recent efforts, but from the 1960's to the 1990's, I'm fairly caught up.

Just off the top of my head, and in no particular order- my own list of top-notch Westerns:

-For a Few Dollars More

-High Noon

-Stagecoach

-High Plains Drifter

-Pale Rider

-Dances With Wolves

-Once Upon a Time in the West

-Fistful of Dollars (I suppose I'm also a bit of a Leone enthusiast)

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AeroDillo MkII
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by AeroDillo MkII » Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:08 am

Worth pointing out that The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a standout not only because you get both a conventional and revisionist western, depending how you want to watch it, but also Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart, and John Wayne for the price of a single ticket. Try as it might Hollywood hasn't managed to get that kind of acting horsepower on the same reel since.

Funny aside relevant to said movie:

Years ago I worked a gunshop where one of the regulars was an old Hollywood stuntman. He'd gotten into it in the late '40s and picked up a fair bit of work in westerns because a) he knew how to sit a horse and b) also impressed John Ford by knocking himself cold the first time he was told to take a hit and fall off during a chase scene. Woke up with Ford and Wayne standing over him. Per him, John Wayne said he wanted that Texas kid for his next picture because he by-God knew how to take a dive.

Anyway...

He appeared as a extra in Liberty Valance, though he didn't have any actual stunts or action scenes. As he told it, John Wayne was alright most of the time could but could turn into a regular prima donna if he didn't like how the show was progressing and there were a fair number of directors he could buffalo. John Ford was decidedly not one of those, and whoever John Wayne thought he was, it was Ford at the controls.

Alternately, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin reportedly got along with Ford for the most, all three having been-there-and-done-that in the late dustup of 1941-45. So one day John Wayne's having a snit. Ford half-turns in his chair, points to the other two leads, and calls loud enough for the whole lot to hear:

"Hey, Marion - how's it feel working with a couple of real heroes?"

Probably we can chalk that one up with apocryphal. Still funny enough to pass on, though. :mrgreen:

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n11pilot
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by n11pilot » Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:22 am

Dillo, that was a damn funny story.

Blackthorn and Herb, your lists are very good and I have seen most of the films mentioned. I would like to add:

-The professionals

-Shane

-El Dorado (Or one of the other two films that used the exact same script.)

-The Searchers

The Magnificent Seven 1960 Yes, I know it is a rip off of The Seven Samurai but six guns beat swords.

-Winchester 73

RetroRebel
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by RetroRebel » Sat Aug 25, 2018 9:17 pm

The Western being one of my favorite genres, I certainly agree with all of the above films being classics. However, one I don't often see mentioned is a little movie called Will Penny.

Will Penny is reportedly lead actor's Charlton Heston's favorite movie that he acted in and I can see why. It's very low-key in its story and characters. No dramatic high noon duels or other western cliches. Just the story of a cowpuncher, a single mother and her son, and a scruffy clan of bandits. Very understated yet full of character. Definitely a movie that stands the test of a great Western.

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Cousi
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by Cousi » Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:14 pm

No love for Appaloosa? I really enjoyed that one. I'm not a huge western fan, but I've seen several of the ones listed here and do not disagree with the assessments given. My top 5 would be (in no particular order):

Appaloosa
Magnificent Seven (1960, although the remake of the re-imagining wasn't bad, it's just not in the same stratosphere)
True Grit (1969, although the remake was dam good)
The Man With No Name or "Dollars" series: Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (yes, I know its not one movie but I'm giving it two slots so deal with it)

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Blackthorn
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by Blackthorn » Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:50 pm

RetroRebel wrote:
Sat Aug 25, 2018 9:17 pm
The Western being one of my favorite genres, I certainly agree with all of the above films being classics. However, one I don't often see mentioned is a little movie called Will Penny.

Will Penny is reportedly lead actor's Charlton Heston's favorite movie that he acted in and I can see why. It's very low-key in its story and characters. No dramatic high noon duels or other western cliches. Just the story of a cowpuncher, a single mother and her son, and a scruffy clan of bandits. Very understated yet full of character. Definitely a movie that stands the test of a great Western.
Good point, RR, I should have included Will Penny in my A list. It's a perfect western, in my book.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything….Albert Einstein

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Blackthorn
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by Blackthorn » Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:54 pm

Cousi wrote:
Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:14 pm
No love for Appaloosa?
I enjoyed Appaloosa, with Ed Harris and Vigo Mortenson, but I didn't like The Appaloosa with Brando.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything….Albert Einstein

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n11pilot
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by n11pilot » Wed Aug 29, 2018 9:10 pm

Blackthorn wrote:
Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:54 pm
Cousi wrote:
Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:14 pm
No love for Appaloosa?
I enjoyed Appaloosa, with Ed Harris and Vigo Mortenson, but I didn't like The Appaloosa with Brando.

Agreed! Appaloosa was very good and more or less true to the book. I think the problem with making a list of favorite Westerns is that it is such a rich genre that a lot of very good films are overlooked simply because of so many from which to choose.

Doug Palumbo
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Re: My A-list of high quality westerns

Post by Doug Palumbo » Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:51 am

My favorite westerns in no particular order:

1. Unforgiven

2. Silverado

3. Tombstone

4. True Grit (John Wayne)

5. High Noon

6. Rio Bravo

This is a semi-fluid list depending on mood but Silverado is always in the to three.

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