My Western List
by gfroehlich316 | created - 04 Jan 2014 | updated - 04 Jan 2014 | PublicThis is a list of my favorites that I believe are some of the greatest. I'm a sucker for classic Western's. I love the drawn out gunfights and the beautiful woman. I only put the first five in order, after that it's too hard to grade for me.
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1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,857 | Gross: $6.10M
It's just awesome. One of the best showdowns ever. Only #2 may be better.
2. The Wild Bunch (1969)
R | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien
Votes: 90,414 | Gross: $12.06M
Only lunatics look at over a hundred soldiers and laugh at them before a shootout.
3. The Searchers (1956)
Passed | 119 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
An American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond
Votes: 96,372
I hope anyone who loves Westerns has seen this. If you haven't, you need to stop what you're doing and punch yourself in the face.
4. Open Range (2003)
R | 139 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Diego Luna, Abraham Benrubi
Votes: 78,187 | Gross: $58.33M
I think Robert Duvall may be one of the best cowboys ever. "It's Bluebonnet and don't you tell no one."
5. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
PG-13 | 166 min | Western
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.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 349,283 | Gross: $5.32M
It has to have the longest opening scene ever. Great gunfights and Claudia Cardinale.
6. The Professionals (1966)
PG-13 | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode
Votes: 18,850 | Gross: $19.54M
Claudia Cardinale again, but seriously Burt Lancaster is the definition of cool.
7. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant 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.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,893 | Gross: $184.21M
It's just awesome. The buffalo hunt, the music and the scenery.
8. Tombstone (1993)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
A successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
Directors: George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre | Stars: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton
Votes: 166,466 | Gross: $56.51M
Val Kilmer did not win an award for what is an awesome portrayal of Doc. Someone explain it to me.
9. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired 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."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,443 | Gross: $101.16M
Well then, he shouldn'ta decorated his saloon with my friend. Clint's the best.
10. The Big Country (1958)
Passed | 166 min | Drama, Romance, Western
A New England sea captain in the 1880s arrives at his fiancée's sprawling Texas ranch, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston
Votes: 21,138
For those who haven't seen it, I think it has the best fist fight ever on film. Charlton Heston and Gregory Peck fight like real men and as God intended.
11. El Dorado (1966)
Passed | 126 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher who's trying to steal their water.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt
Votes: 30,453
Just a great movie.
12. Big Jake (1971)
PG-13 | 110 min | Drama, Western
In 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.
Directors: George Sherman, John Wayne | Stars: John Wayne, Richard Boone, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne
Votes: 14,427 | Gross: $16.35M
This is just classic Duke kicken a**.
13. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman
Votes: 331,252 | Gross: $53.61M
Russell Crowe should make more Westerns.
14. Bandolero! (1968)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Western
Mace Bishop (James Stewart) masquerades as a hangman in order to save his outlaw brother, Dee (Dean Martin), from the gallows, runs to Mexico chased by Sheriff July Johnson's (George Kennedy's) posse and fights against Mexican bandits.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: James Stewart, Dean Martin, Raquel Welch, George Kennedy
Votes: 5,734
It's starts off with a funny twist and ends sad. Plus it has Raquel Welch so.......
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
PG | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
Votes: 226,812 | Gross: $102.31M
I know I said Burt Lancaster was cool, but Paul Newman definitely pushes that statement.
16. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
PG | 135 min | Drama, Western
Missouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Bill McKinney
Votes: 79,902 | Gross: $31.80M
I think this is my personal favorite to watch, I have a hard time watching anything else when it's on.
17. Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)
G | 92 min | Comedy, Western
In the old west, a man becomes a Sheriff just for the pay, figuring he can decamp if things get tough. In the end, he uses ingenuity instead.
Director: Burt Kennedy | Stars: James Garner, Joan Hackett, Walter Brennan, Harry Morgan
Votes: 12,707
Jack Elam's wandering eye just makes me laugh. It is one of my favorite Western comedies.
18. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Approved | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Seven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach
Votes: 102,612 | Gross: $4.91M
All cool guys.
19. True Grit (1969)
G | 128 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Jeremy Slate
Votes: 51,459 | Gross: $31.13M
Why would anyone remake this movie?
20. Young Guns II (1990)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Drama, Western
Billy the Kid and his band of outlaws are pursued across New Mexico territory by Sheriff Pat Garrett, whom the young gunslingers must face-off with if they are to reach the safety of the border.
Director: Geoff Murphy | Stars: Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christian Slater
Votes: 39,063 | Gross: $44.14M
One of my favorite current Westerns.
21. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
R | 160 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Robert 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.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 192,907 | Gross: $3.90M
Not your typical Western, but good insight into a true time in history. The music is terrific.
22. A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)
Approved | 95 min | Western
Comedy western in which a traveler bets more money than he can afford in a poker game, and unusual events follow.
Director: Fielder Cook | Stars: Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Paul Ford
Votes: 4,656
Takes place at a card game in the back room of a saloon. Jason Robards is great.
23. McLintock! (1963)
Passed | 126 min | Comedy, Western
Wealthy rancher G. W. McLintock uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace between farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers
Votes: 16,623
Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne in a Western comedy is just great.
24. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A hobo accidentally stumbles onto a water spring, and creates a profitable way station in the middle of the desert.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, David Warner, Strother Martin
Votes: 10,538 | Gross: $3.50M
It's just your typical Peckinpah style cool movie. Stella Stevens is a beauty in this also.
25. The Cowboys (1972)
GP | 134 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Rancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of cattle rustlers is trailing them.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst
Votes: 15,873 | Gross: $16.35M
Sorry for so much John Wayne but he just makes it look easy and he made it enjoyable to watch Westerns. I'm grateful I get to watch them.
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