Modern Westerns:The Ultimate List
I keep hearing that the western genre is deceased and that Unforgiven has been the last jewel of the genre.I couldn't disagree more.Certanly,Unforgiven revived the genre and broke all the of the Wild West myths and stereotypes but post-Unforgiven films are the finest examples of the western genre primarly because of the complexity brought to the character and story development.
The list includes movies from 1980-present
The list includes movies from 1980-present
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- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
- CreatorDavid MilchStarsTimothy OlyphantIan McShaneMolly ParkerA show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.Altough it's not a movie but this tv-show is an absolute masterpiece with the most accurate,complex and grittiest depiction of the Wild West in both tv and cinematic history.Nothing in this tv-series is black and white,there are no classic western heroes and villains,every character is a flawed individual with a dark side.Strong graphic violence and sex scenes are present throughout the series.You won't find any western stereotypes and cliches here...Western can't get better than this.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsBrad PittCasey AffleckSam ShepardRobert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsRay WinstoneGuy PearceEmily WatsonA lawman apprehends a notorious outlaw and gives him nine days to kill his older brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsJeff BridgesMatt DamonHailee SteinfeldA stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.
- DirectorS. Craig ZahlerStarsKurt RussellPatrick WilsonMatthew FoxIn the dying days of the old west, an elderly sheriff and his posse set out to rescue their town's doctor from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
- DirectorMartin KoolhovenStarsGuy PearceDakota FanningEmilia JonesFrom the moment the new Reverend climbs the pulpit, Liz knows that she and her family are in great danger.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsSamuel L. JacksonKurt RussellJennifer Jason LeighIn the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerRobert DuvallDiego LunaA former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosKevin JarreStarsKurt RussellVal KilmerSam ElliottA successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsRussell CroweChristian BaleBen FosterA small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMichael MoriartyCarrie SnodgressA mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
- DirectorKristian LevringStarsMads MikkelsenEva GreenJeffrey Dean MorganIn 1870s America, the fury of a notorious gang leader is unleashed when a peaceful American settler avenges the death of his family. Then as his cowardly fellow townspeople betray him, he is forced to hunt down the outlaws alone.
- CreatorJoe GaytonTony GaytonStarsAnson MountColm MeaneyRobin McLeavyThe Civil War is past, but former Confederate soldier Cullen Bohannon can't put it behind him. Fresh are the memories of the death of his wife, killed at the hands of Union soldiers, an act that sets him on a course of revenge.
- StarsKevin CostnerBill PaxtonMatt BarrDramatization of the bitter blood feud between the two families on the West Virginia/Kentucky border in the years after the Civil War.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohnny DeppGary FarmerCrispin GloverOn the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
- DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsMichelle WilliamsBruce GreenwoodPaul DanoSettlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.
- DirectorDavid Von AnckenStarsPierce BrosnanLiam NeesonAnjelica HustonAfter the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate colonel hunts down a former Yankee officer with whom he has a grudge.
- DirectorJohn MacleanStarsKodi Smit-McPheeCaren PistoriusAorere PakiA young Scottish man travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves, attracting the attention of an outlaw who is willing to serve as a guide.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsSharon StoneGene HackmanRussell CroweA female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father's death.
- DirectorEd HarrisStarsEd HarrisViggo MortensenRenée ZellwegerTwo friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
- DirectorMateo GilStarsSam ShepardEduardo NoriegaStephen ReaIn Bolivia, Butch Cassidy (now calling himself James Blackthorn) pines for one last sight of home, an adventure that aligns him with a young robber and makes the duo a target for gangs and lawmen alike.
- StarsRobert DuvallTommy Lee JonesDanny GloverTwo former Texas Rangers renew their spirit of adventure as they and several other residents of a small Texas town join a cattle drive to the Montana Territory.
- DirectorTom DeyStarsJackie ChanOwen WilsonLucy LiuA Chinese man travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped Princess. After teaming up with a train robber, the unlikely duo takes on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss.
- DirectorJoachim RønningEspen SandbergStarsPenélope CruzSalma HayekSteve ZahnIn turn-of-the-century Mexico, two very different women become a bank-robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorizing their town.
- CreatorJeffrey BoamCarlton CuseStarsBruce CampbellJulius CarryChristian ClemensonA bounty hunter rides the Old West, fighting bad guys, many with futuristic-type gadgets.
- DirectorSeth MacFarlaneStarsSeth MacFarlaneCharlize TheronLiam NeesonAs a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.
- StarsJoseph M. MarshallIrene BedardGil BirminghamTales from the American West in the 19th century, told from the perspective of two families, one of white settlers and one of Native Americans.
- DirectorThomas SchlammeStarsClancy BrownBridget ReganJake McLaughlinSet in the 1840s, show centers on a group that follows their dreams and heads west from Missouri across the uncharted country.
- DirectorGore VerbinskiStarsJohnny DeppArmie HammerWilliam FichtnerNative American warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice.
- StarsRobert DuvallThomas Haden ChurchGreta ScacchiA veteran cowboy and his nephew save five Chinese girls from prostitution while trekking from Oregon to Wyoming.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsTom SelleckIsabella RosselliniKeith CarradineWyoming, 1892: Monte's been cowboy for ranchers all his life but he's no longer young and big business is taking over the ranches.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsDavid CarradineStacy KeachDennis QuaidThe origins, exploits and the ultimate fate of the Jesse James gang is told in a sympathetic portrayal of the bank robbers made up of brothers who begin their legendary bank raids because of revenge.
- DirectorDick LowryStarsTom SelleckSuzy AmisRachel DuncanAfter the Civil War, a returning Confederate veteran must reclaim his Arizona land and homestead from the Yankee carpetbaggers who illegally occupy it.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsTom SelleckVirginia MadsenWilford BrimleyRafe promises a dying friend to look after his wife and 40,000 acre ranch in Wyoming. A powerful businessman wants the ranch and widow by whatever means necessary.
- DirectorJan KounenStarsVincent CasselMichael MadsenJuliette LewisIn 1870, after a brutal run-in with an outlaw in a brothel, Mike Blueberry becomes marshal in Arizona where he keeps the peace between whites and Apaches, but an influx of gold-hunters threatens to lead to violence.
- StarsSteve ZahnRyan MerrimanKeith D. RobinsonThe adventures and love lives of young Texas Rangers Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae leading up to their retirement to the city of Lonesome Dove.
- DirectorTakashi MiikeStarsHideaki ItôKôichi SatôQuentin TarantinoA nameless gunfighter arrives in a town ripped apart by rival gangs and, though courted by both to join, chooses his own path.
- StarsJon VoightBarbara HersheyRicky SchroderHead back to Lonesome Dove in this sequel to one of the most-loved miniseries of all time.
- StarsTom BerengerSam ElliottGary BuseyUndersecretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt resigns to form a volunteer militia unit called "The Rough Riders" to fight in the Spanish-American War.
- StarsF. Murray AbrahamKeith CarradinePatricia ChildressIn this prequel to "Lonesome Dove", two young men join the Texas Rangers unit that's on a mission to annex Santa Fe.
- StarsJames GarnerSissy SpacekSam ShepardCaptain Woodrow Call, now retired from the Rangers, is a bounty hunter. He is hired by an eastern railroad baron to track down Joey Garza, a new breed of killer.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsKevin CostnerDennis QuaidGene HackmanFrom Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, a man becomes a myth in this thrilling journey of romance, adventure, and desperate heroic action.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsKevin KlineScott GlennKevin CostnerA misfit bunch of friends comes together to right the injustices which exist in a small town.
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsHeath LedgerOrlando BloomGeoffrey RushAn innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.
- DirectorLogan MillerNoah MillerStarsEd HarrisJanuary JonesJason IsaacsIn the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTommy Lee JonesCate BlanchettEvan Rachel WoodIn 1885 New Mexico, a frontier medicine woman forms an uneasy alliance with her estranged father when her daughter is kidnapped by an Apache brujo.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsWill SmithKevin KlineKenneth BranaghThe two best special agents in the Wild West must save President Grant from the clutches of a diabolical, wheelchair-bound, steampunk-savvy, Confederate scientist bent on revenge for losing the Civil War.
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsTom SelleckLaura San GiacomoAlan RickmanSharpshooter Matt Quigley is hired from Wyoming by an Australian rancher paying a very high price. But when Quigley arrives Down Under, all is not as it seems.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsJason PatricGene HackmanRobert DuvallThe story of the Apache chief and his armed resistance to the U.S. Government's subjugation of his people.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsViggo MortensenOmar SharifZuleikha RobinsonIn 1890, a down-and-out cowboy and his horse travel to Arabia to compete in a deadly cross desert horse race.
- DirectorJon FavreauStarsDaniel CraigHarrison FordOlivia WildeA spaceship arrives in 1873 Arizona to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. All that stands in their way: a posse of cowboys and natives.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsJeff BridgesEllen BarkinJohn HurtThe early career of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickock is telescoped and culminates in his relocation in Deadwood and a reunion with Calamity Jane.
- DirectorLes MayfieldStarsColin FarrellScott CaanAli Larter5 Southern friends return home when the war ends 1865. But Yankee soldiers and Pinkerton are busy helping a railroad baron grab land from farmers along the planned railroad west. The 5 friends fight back.
- DirectorGene QuintanoStarsEmilio EstevezWilliam ForsytheJordi Mollà"Cowboy" has killed the son of a rancher who is now on his heels. He meets a Confederate soldier searching for a treasure. But others have picked up the scent of the gold as well, and soon the duo is pursued by Union and Mexican soldiers.
- DirectorJimmy HaywardStarsJosh BrolinMegan FoxJohn MalkovichThe U.S. military makes a scarred bounty hunter with warrants on his own head an offer he cannot refuse: in exchange for his freedom, he must stop a terrorist who is ready to unleash Hell on Earth.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsNatalie PortmanJoel EdgertonEwan McGregorA woman asks her ex-lover for help in order to save her outlaw husband from a gang out to kill him.
- DirectorSngmoo LeeStarsJang Dong-gunKate BosworthGeoffrey RushA warrior-assassin is forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands after refusing a mission.