Though the genre has ebbs and flows in popularity, the best Westerns of all time are a reminder of how big of an impact it has had on cinema. Though the Old West was not as long a period of time in history as it might have seemed, it set the stage for endless exciting stories to be told. From the lawlessness of the people to the conflict of the Civil War to the brutality of surviving in this world, filmmakers have always felt drawn to return to this time and created some of the best Westerns of all time.
As the genre has been a big part of cinema since its earliest days and continues on to this day, there are endless examples of Westerns to consider. But anyone familiar with the genre will immediately know the masterpieces that standout as the best of the best. These movies boast legendary filmmakers like Sergio Leone and John Ford, as well as modern auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers. They tell stories of flawed protagonists, inspiring heroes and grand adventures in the Old West. The best Westerns of all time feature more than a few selections that could be considered the best movies of any genre.
20 True Grit (2010)
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The Coen Brothers have dabbled in the Western genre before, but they took on the daunting task of retelling one of John Wayne's most iconic Western movies with True Grit. Despite the popularity of the Wayne version, the Coens sur it with this thrilling adventure which stars Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, a surly US Marshal hired by young Maddie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) to capture the man who killed her father.
The movie is a more faithful adaptation of Charles Pontis' original True Grit novel and the Coens unique sensibilities are perfect for the mix of Old West grim brutality and a lot of character-based humor. Bridges is terrific as the unlikely hero while Steinfeld turns in a star-making performance. They are ed by the likes of Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, but the movie allows each character, no matter how small the part, to pop off the screen.
19 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
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The Western genre doesn't feel like an obvious place to tell a story of celebrity and obsession, but it works when examining one of the most complex icons of the era. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford tells the story of the titular outlaw (played by Brad Pitt) meeting Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), an aspiring outlaw who would become the man to eventually kill James.
Director Andrew Dominik infuses the story with a melancholic tone as it challenges the popular notion of Jesse James as some anti-hero of the Old West with Pitt playing him as a paranoid and chilling murderer. Affleck gives a brilliant Oscar-nominated role showing Ford's transition from a disturbing irer to someone who believes he can replace James.
18 3:10 To Yuma (2007)
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Adapted from Elmore Leonard's short story, 3:10 to Yuma expands the simple tale into an action-packed Western adventure. Russell Crowe plays an outlaw who is captured and set to be transferred on a prison train by a group of escorts. However, his outlaw gang is determined to rescue him from reaching that train. Christian Bale also stars as the desperate family man who agrees to be one of the escorts on this dangerous mission.
James Mangold excels at directing grounded and practical action sequences that are still thrilling. The posse heroes is also a fun ensemble while Crowe and Bale are excellent at playing off each other as the two men who are at odds but find mutual respect.
17 Django Unchained (2012)
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It is no secret that Quentin Tarantino is a lover of the Western genre and made his first full-blown take with Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx plays a slave who is freed by a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) who he trains in his deadly trade. This leads to Django using his new skills to attempt to free his wife from the sadistic slave owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). This begins a sweeping and bloody epic filled with Tarantino's usual mix of unforgettable dialogue, dark humor, and ultra-violence.
The love Tarantino has for the genre is very clear all the way through and it guides him to do something exciting and new. His style is perfectly suited for such a brutal yet entertaining ride. The cast is also exceptional with Foxx bringing plenty of heroic swagger, DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson never being so unlikable as the villains, and Waltz stealing the show with his charming Oscar-winning turn.
16 Red River (1948)
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Only Clint Eastwood is as synonymous with Westerns as John Wayne, and legendary director Howard Hawks' 1948 Red River gave him one of his best characters to play. As bull-headed Tom Dunson, Wayne is an Texas cattle rancher who stakes a bold claim for his land only to fall on hard times in the years following the Civil War. With the help of his adopted son Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift), he sets out on a desperate cattle drive to Missouri.
Wayne's Dunson becomes more and more tyrannical, prompting Clift's Matt to split off and lead a separate drive, leading to a showdown between the father and son. Red River contains one of the classic Western movie moments, as Wayne says "Take 'em to Missouri, Matt!" Hawks follows that with the famous montage of the various cowboys, waving their hats in the air and yelling "Yee-haw!" It's such an iconic moment that the several homages to it included in City Slickers never cross into parody.
15 The Naked Spur (1953)
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Jimmy Stewart is perhaps best known for his roles in movies like The Philadelphia Story and It's A Wonderful Life, which helped define his on-screen persona as an essentially decent Everyman. He would appear in many different Westerns throughout his career, but the five films he made with German director Anthony Mann feature a darker approach to this persona. The best of these is arguably 1953's The Naked Spur, with Stewart starring as a bounty hunter named Howard Kemp.
While hunting down a murderer (a vicious Robert Ryan) for the reward on his head, Kemp enlists the help of an old prospector and a young soldier. When the villain is captured, the head games begin, as the killer has a young girl under his spell and uses her to pit all the others against each other. The movie turns into a kind of psychological thriller, as Kemp's demons push him nearly over the edge. It's one of the darkest, most fascinating Westerns ever made.
14 A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
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Made on a low budget and originally released in Italy in 1964, director Sergio Leone's A Fistful of Dollars gave Clint Eastwood his first starring role and introduced his "Man with No Name" character and the beginning of the Dollars Trilogy. Essentially a Western remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, Eastwood's character wanders into the middle of a feud between two factions fighting over control of a small Mexican border town. Then he pits the Rojo brothers against crooked Sheriff John Baxter's gang, playing both sides off of each other to make as much money as he can.
Leone's plots would become more intricate, but with A Fistful of Dollars, Leone reinvented a genre he believed had become stagnant while giving the world a striking new cinematic language for the Western. The film's success led to the birth of the spaghetti Western sub-genre.
13 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
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John Wayne and director John Ford's legendary collaboration spanned 24 films, many of them classics. 1962's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was one of their last together, and is considered the director's last great film. Senator Ransom Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart) returns to the frontier town of Shinbone for the funeral of farmer Tom Doniphon (Wayne) and in an extended flashback, we learn how Stoddard breezed into town as an idealistic lawyer who stands up to the vile criminal Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and is badly beaten for his trouble.
After toying with Stoddard, Valance nearly kills him in their inevitable confrontation, but Stoddard seems to shoot him dead. It was Doniphon who actually pulled the trigger, of course, in order to secure the happiness of the woman who chose Stoddard over him.
12 Tombstone (1993)
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Kurt Russell is no stranger to Westerns and Tombstone finds him taking on the role of the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp. The story of Earp and his brothers and their shootout at the O.K. Corral with the Clanton gang is the stuff of legend and has been adapted many times, with actors like Henry Fonda, Burt Lancaster and Kevin Costner having taken on the role in various films. For a generation of fans, however, it is Russell's Earp - and Val Kilmer's scene-stealing Doc Holliday - that stands out.
Like every other depiction of the famous shootout, Tombstone takes plenty of liberties with the history, but by now the legend has essentially become fact. The movie is brash and entertaining, with Russell giving a strong and forthright portrayal of Earp, the retired lawman who is drawn into the conflict with the Clantons. The ing cast is excellent, and while Kilmer walks off with his scenes as the borderline unhinged gambler and killer Doc Holliday, the film features the likes of Sam Elliot, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Rooker and long-time Western veteran actor Harry Carey, Jr. In a time that saw sweeping, epic dramas with Western backdrops and trappings, Tombstone was a proudly traditional throwback.
11 The Wild Bunch (1969)
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The Wild Bunch follows a gang of old and worn-out outlaws in 1913, played by genre veterans like Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and Robert Ryan. William Holden's Pike Bishop leads his gang in the robbery of a railroad office, only to be ambushed by Ryan, his former partner who now leads a band of bounty hunters. The pointlessness of all the death and destruction and hollow betrayals become recurring themes in the film.
Director Sam Peckinpah's Western tale of an aging band of outlaws seeking a final score after a double-cross presaged Tarantino's ultra-violent Westerns and served as something of an elegy for a generation of old-fashioned genre stars. It caused quite a controversy when first released and, for years, it was unavailable in its uncut, 144 minute form. The complete version adds a great deal of character background and motivation, giving Holden's Pike more dimension. Peckinpah's film features striking violence, a brand of hopelessness not often found in a Western, and his use of slow-motion and multi-angle editing techniques were revolutionary for the time.
