Summary

• The Western genre has evolved over time, with different subgenres exploring more violent and self-reflective themes.
• Genre-blending has become common in Western movies, with directors like Tarantino and the Coen Brothers putting modern spins on classic ideas.
• Western movies have successfully utilized genre mixing to offer fresh interpretations and subvert expectations, adding new elements to old ideas.

Western movies have seen many iterations over the years, including many films that have mixed it with other genres. The Western genre is essential to American pop culture and film history, with its golden age of heroic cowboys, gunslingers, and lawmen from the 1940s through the 1960s. However, the style of Westerns significantly evolved, reflecting cultural changes. The Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone in the '60s popularized the subgenre, exploring more violent, anti-hero-like characters. In the '70s, the revisionist Western subgenre began examining the history of the Wild West from a more grounded, self-reflective perspective.

In the 21st century, the Western genre is far from its height of popularity. Directors like Quentin Tarantino, the Coen Brothers, and Jeymes Samuel have put modern spins on classic ideas, and genre-blending has been done frequently to mix classic tropes with fresh interpretations. The horror genre has seen a significant rise in genre mixing with films like Get Out and The Cabin in the Woods, with the concept being that adding a second genre can be used to subvert expectations. Many Western movies have utilized this method to offer a new spin on old ideas.

10 Bone Tomahawk (2015)

Directed by S. Craig Zahler

With Tombstone actor Kurt Russell starring, Bone Tomahawk begins just like a traditional Western film with a small unit sent on a rescue mission. However, the 2016 film unexpectedly leads into a terrifying horror situation. There are notable comparisons between Bone Tomahawk and The Searchers, as the film establishes its plot similarly before switching almost entirely to horror in the third act, as Russell and his men discover a tribe of cannibalistic cave dwellers. The Western setting adds to the suspense and intensity of the horror genre.

9 No Country For Old Men (2007)

Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

The Coen Brothers' No Country For Old Men is one of the most well-regarded Westerns of the 21st Century, having won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The film's '80s setting combines Western aesthetic with crime thriller genre tropes, leaning heavily into suspense. Javier Bardem's performance as the psychopathic, sadistic killer Anton Chigurh is one of the most mind-blowing performances in Westerns and has been cited as a massive influence on modern villain roles. The Coen Brothers are best known for crime films, and the genre-blending works perfectly.

8 Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron (2002)

Directed by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook

The universal animated film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is one of the best horse movies of all time. Like many animated films from the early 2000s, Spirit is a ton of fun for both children and adults, mixing classic Western adventure elements and the frontier setting. Spirit explores ideas about the untamed wilderness and the American expanse, with Hans Zimmer's score contributing emotional resonance to the film's narrative.

7 Near Dark (1987)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Kathryn Bigelow has been making awesome movies for decades, including the unconventional vampire movie Near Dark, which blends its horror presence with the Western genre. The film follows a young man who becomes entangled with a vampire gang in the Southwest. It's a road movie set in a neo-Western setting akin to No Country for Old Men, with the vampires resembling modern-day outlaws roaming the desolate landscape in search of blood.

6 Blazing Saddles (1974)

Directed by Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles is not only a classic Western film, it's one of the best comedy movies of all time. The '70s movie is a satire on traditional Western tropes, exploring the social commentary of the genre. Blazing Saddles examines the inherent racism of glorifying the Wild West in mainstream media. The film's commentary is ahead of its time, exploring ideas similar to a revisionist Western through comedy.

5 Back to the Future Part III (1990)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Back to the Future Part III is primarily a science fiction film like its predecessors, but time-traveling to the Wild West allows its characters to incorporate their usual antics in a fun new setting. The film pays homage to classic Westerns, incorporating several tropes like saloons, showdowns, and train robberies. The setting is quintessentially Western, with the narrative embracing the deep history of the genre. The Back to the Future series is silly but incredibly entertaining, and the third installment is extra fun for those who can catch the classic Western movie references.

4 McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

Directed by Robert Altman

Robert Altman's unique filmmaking style has had a lasting influence on several genres, and McCabe & Mrs. Miller notably revolutionized the Western genre. The classic film established precedence for the revisionist Western subgenre, which focused on a more grounded, realistic Wild West as opposed to the almost mythological tales of gunslingers and bandits commonly depicted in the genre. In of McCabe & Mrs. Miller genre-bending, it's primarily a drama and character study film set in a Western setting.

3 Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Directed by Ang Lee

Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain is one of the most famous non-traditional Westerns ever made. The film, which starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, explores the romance between two cowboys, subverting its Western setting by exploring its characters' intimacy and emotional nuance. Some of the best revisionist Westerns, like Unforgiven, examine more complex characters than the traditional Western, but very few films have seen such profound romance in a Western setting.

2 Dead Man (1995)

Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Jim Jarmusch is another fascinating filmmaker whose work in the independent scene has consistently stood out as inventive and memorable. His film Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp, mixes the Western genre with fantastical elements. Dead Man has been described as an acid Western and a psychedelic Western, known for its strange, profound subversion of the Western genre. Its mystical elements make it one of the most fascinating, unique experiences in '90s cinema.

1 Logan (2017)

Directed by James Mangold

Given the immense popularity of superhero movies in the 2010s, mixing a comic book film with traditional Western tropes was a fantastic idea. Director James Mangold used his skill set from the more conventional Western, 3:10 to Yuma, in his Wolverine movie, and Logan ended up being one of the most celebrated films in its genre. The film is set in a bleak, barren, dystopian society, and the film's violent tone resembles a neo-Western film. It's the gold standard for a gritty, subversive superhero film with prestige acting, writing, and directing involved.