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Best Westerns

Started by Chedney Honks, April 11, 2021, 08:15:31 PM

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Chedney Honks

It's a genre with which I have very little familiarity outside of popular culture, Sunday afternoon loose ends and the Red Dead Redemption games. Recently, though, I've started to explore further and I bloody love what I've seen so far.

There's something about the isolation and unstable civil structure which raises the stakes and makes these small-scale scenarios much more heightened and tense. I'm sure there are grander Westerns than I've seen and I'm looking forward to sinking much deeper into the genre. In the meantime, these are some of my favourites, and I'd be really interested in yours.
___

Day of the Outlaw - 1959

Robert Ryan stars as a grizzled cattleman in a land dispute with a homesteader, under the pretence of taking his frankly stunning wife, Tina Louise. And then it goes elsewhere. Set against a beautiful, snowy, desolate Wyoming, it's a siege movie by any other name with a chilling, tense final act. Folk singer Burt Ives is excellent as the morally ambiguous leader of a group of bandits and most of his men are impressively disturbing in their own way. There are some excellent understated but threatening performances here. One of the most powerful scenes involves a dance, infused with latent sexual violence. Great ending, as well.

I've got plenty more to add but wanted to get the ball rolling without concrete spoilers (please).

Ooh, I like a good western. Will keep an eye on this.

El Topo and High Plains Drifter are great ones that instantly spring to mind.

There were a few nice modern ones I saw a couple of years ago, all together, weirdly. Hadn't seen a western for years and years and then ended up watching 5 or something in a row.
Can't remember them all but I think 3 were Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Slow West and Bone Tomohawk.

petercussing

Keoma (my fav that has this insanely marvelous song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x3YHoE115U which has the most fantastically awesome silly singing ever)
Django (the og one, there are about a million films that got called stuff like Django goes banana and Django punch a guy which are nout to do with it, soome of which are good, fyi, it's just Django)
Once Upon a time in the West
Fist full o dollar mate
Fist full of Dynameezy which has the much better aka name Duck, you sucker! (Basically most Leone is good, if you dig one you'll dig most)
The Wild Bunch               of some guys
High Noons.
Quigley Down under (lolz not really that's a funny joke)

I like spag westerns but not U.S. ones so much and went through a phase of looking at them and listening to the words they said, but i watched so many in such a short space of time and they are all fairly similar so i can't remember many names. I'll try and remember some as i watched a shit loads.

kalowski

The Searchers
Ride the High Country
The Wild Bunch
The Outlaw Josey Wales
My Darling Clementine
Shane
High Plains Drifter
Stagecoach
The Cowboys
Once Upon a Time in the West
The "Dollar" trilogy
Run of the Arrow

El Unicornio, mang

Not a big fan of "traditional" westerns but love the grimy stuff like the ones Sergio Leone put out in the 60s, rewatched the Dollars trilogy recently and For a Few Dollars More was a lot better than I remember, my 2nd fave of the 3 now.

Dusty Substance


Not being a fan of any pre-Clint/Sergio Western, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from 1962. It's pretty much the last of the big old American Westerns, before everything went a bit counter-culture and revisionist Western.

mothman

Quote from: Dusty Substance on April 11, 2021, 09:20:48 PM
Not being a fan of any pre-Clint/Sergio Western, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from 1962. It's pretty much the last of the big old American Westerns, before everything went a bit counter-culture and revisionist Western.

Good call. It's almost a proto-revisionist; "print the legend" could as well be a valedictory for the old style of western!

The gritty modern-style realistic westerns have their place but the classics do too. I rewatched... shit, had to check! Rio Bravo over Christmas (of three versions of the same plot starring John Wayne, it's the one with Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson, 1959; remade as El Dorado in 1966 with Robert Mitchum and James Caan, and more loosely as Rio Lobo in 1971). It's still bloody exciting. I've always beeen a sci-fi nerd but there wasn't much growing up in the Seventies, so The High Chaparral was my favourite TV show that wasn't Star Trek.

beanheadmcginty

Just make sure you watch Tombstone and not Wyatt Earp by mistake.

Mister Six


zomgmouse

Of those not mentioned:

Winchester '73 - seemingly one of the first major releases to be a little "revisionist". James Stewart is extremely good here, started his string of films with Anthony Mann.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral - a Banger. Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster are big strong men with guns. Great theme song.

The Great Silence - not only a spaghetti western but also a snow western, don't see many of those around. Jean-Louis Trintignant and Klaus Kinski battle it out.

EOLAN

Red River hasn't been mentioned yet. A great film ruined by a horrible atrocious ending - but just ignore that bit.

Oh and Blazing Saddles is quite good as well.

Psmith

I think the theme from Red River they used in Rio Bravo as a sing song https://youtu.be/1uuAjwvtxEM.
For comedy,Support your local Sheriff with James Garner and Jack Elam is worth a look.

Buelligan

Recently, True Grit (both but I like the new one best, is that wrong?), News of the World, Deadwood (I think it counts).

Also, BurL Ives, mate.  Or was it a joke?  Maybe it was a joke.

Chedney Honks

Haha, a missed autocorrect but I will always refer to him as Burt Ives from now on.

phantom_power

Quote from: Dusty Substance on April 11, 2021, 09:20:48 PM
Not being a fan of any pre-Clint/Sergio Western, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance from 1962. It's pretty much the last of the big old American Westerns, before everything went a bit counter-culture and revisionist Western.

I watched that recently and it was indeed great. I think it is a bit revisionist but not full on Leone.

A Fistful of Dynamite is a sprawling epic and a lot more political than I was expecting

I also remember liking Silverado, which was an 80s attempt at a western revival. And similarly Young Guns is a lot of fun but quite trashy

The Quick and the Dead is a great sort-of-Western


Buelligan

Yes, Silverado, as an 80s window into westernworld with loving nods to the past, was very good. 

Endicott

The Shootist.

I'm not really a fan of Wayne, but this his last film is very good.

kalowski

Quote from: Endicott on April 12, 2021, 10:25:21 AM
The Shootist.

I'm not really a fan of Wayne, but this his last film is very good.
Yes, it is.

kalowski

Can I add Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar and Sam Fuller's 40 Guns.
And I know I mentioned it in my first reply, but if you've not seen The Searchers you must. An utterly brilliant film. Wayne's best performance as the racist, and probably criminal, Ethan Edwards. So many wonderful moments in that film.

Buelligan

Yeah, seen it coupla times, it is a beloved film but I just can't.  It was where someone got the brand name Red or Dead from I believe.  Love Old Mose.

Quote from: Endicott on April 12, 2021, 10:25:21 AM
The Shootist.

I'm not really a fan of Wayne, but this his last film is very good.

Wise words.

wooders1978

Quote from: Buelligan on April 12, 2021, 07:43:48 AM
Recently, True Grit (both but I like the new one best, is that wrong?), News of the World, Deadwood (I think it counts).

Also, BurL Ives, mate.  Or was it a joke?  Maybe it was a joke.

I liked the new one better as well 'grit wise

Bone tomahawk
Unforgiven
Hostiles

Are some of my faves that haven't been mentioned yet (sorry if you have and I missed it)

phantom_power

The Long Riders is a good 70s (well, 1980) violent western in the Peckinpah vein

Slow West is a good modern one, and The Proposition is a western in all but setting (Australia)

druss

Quote from: El Unicornio, mang on April 11, 2021, 09:07:49 PM
Not a big fan of "traditional" westerns but love the grimy stuff like the ones Sergio Leone put out in the 60s, rewatched the Dollars trilogy recently and For a Few Dollars More was a lot better than I remember, my 2nd fave of the 3 now.
I've seen For a Few Dollars More a lot more times than TGTBTU. I'd struggle to make the case that it's a better film, it definitely has less depth but I prefer the main revenge story. I've always thought that the showdown at the end had a lot higher stakes than the one in TGTBTU which was basically just 3 cunts facing off against each other. Revenge makes for a far more emotionally powerful showdown than greed which is why I've always preferred the endings of FAFDM and Once Upon a Time in the West to TGTBTU's ending, even if overall it's the better film. TGTBTU's ending has the best cinematography though.

Utterly bewildered at anyone who prefers Fistful of Dollars to FAFDM.


Buelligan

Quote from: phantom_power on April 12, 2021, 10:50:36 AM
The Long Riders is a good 70s (well, 1980) violent western in the Peckinpah vein

Slow West is a good modern one, and The Proposition is a western in all but setting (Australia)

Fuck me, The Proposition - only seen it once and it curled my toes.  Maybe should watch it again.  I think Australian films like that do sit well alongside the western tradition, kind of denigrates them to lump them in but nevertheless, it's not wrong either.  Been trying to watch Sweet Country (another in that vein) but I just get too angry.  Terrible me.

kalowski

BTW I recently read a "ten best westerns" list and nine out of the ten were all classics I'd seen,many mentioned here, and then there was Meek's Cutoff. I'd never heard of it. It's on Amazon Prime so I'll try and watch this week.
Anyone know it?

Chedney Honks

Good to read a bit of discussion.

bgmnts

Basic bitch opinion but Magnificent Seven, Sergio Leone and neo-Westerns like Unforgiven, Tombstone and The Quick and the Dead are all the shit.

3:10 to Yuma is decent too.

greenman

Quote from: Buelligan on April 12, 2021, 07:43:48 AM
Recently, True Grit (both but I like the new one best, is that wrong?), News of the World, Deadwood (I think it counts).

That's probably the last Coens film I'd rate up there with their very best, I think manages to keep the line between drama and comedy just about perfect.

More into atmospheric drama than typical western I spose but I do love the Atmosphere of Heavens Gate.

Buelligan

Another shout for Tombstone.  Val Kilmer was superb.  Another westernish thing he did that's really worth seeing IMO but perhaps, much much less well known, Thunderheart.  One of my favourites.

kalowski

Quote from: greenman on April 12, 2021, 12:59:27 PM

More into atmospheric drama than typical western I spose but I do love the Atmosphere of Heavens Gate.
I do too, but the film is hard going. But it looks magnificent.