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| List of the Best Western Movies of All Time |
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From Leone to Ford, the western genre has been a veritable playground for filmmakers displaying their craft in tales of Old West morality and gunslinger justice.
While deciding which particular elements make a western movie truly great is best left up to healthy discourse and late night sports bar discussions, what can't be debated are the effects the classic spaghetti westerns and even the modern-day revival westerns have had on movie watchers throughout the years.
Below is our list of the best and greatest western movies of all time. While many of the classic choices can be found on the list, you're likely to run across a few that don't often appear in typical discussions of best western movies. In compiling our list of best western movies, we considered many factors including longevity, critical acclaim, and popular fan appeal among well-seasoned western movie lovers. in other words, it won't be just a long list of John Wayne movies!
If you don't find your favorite, be sure to let others know about it in the comments section at the end of the list. Who knows, it may eventually get added.
Unforgiven (1992) - The script floated around Hollywood for nearly 20 years before Clint Eastwood finally made the picture. He was rewarded with 4 Oscars, including a Best Picture win, which can only be claimed by three other westerns.
The Searchers (1956) - Features one of the most successful director/actor duos to ever come out of Hollywood in John Ford and John Wayne. Modern audiences may be turned off by the treatment of the Indians, so be forewarned.
The Good, the Bad and The Ugly (1966) - A Sergio Leone spaghetti western classic. Also known as Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo as most of the Spanish and Italian dialogue was dubbed in English after filming had completed.
The Wild Bunch (1969) - Sam Peckinpah directs William Holden, Ernest Borgnine and Robert Ryan in one of the best western movies of all time. Rumor has it that more blank rounds were fired during production than were fired during all of the Mexican Revolution of 1914. That means it must be good.
Red River (1948) - Many might put this John Wayne classic at the top of any list of best westerns. An argument for that can certainly be made. Howard Hawks directs the script from Borden Chase who adapted his own Saturday Evening Post story.
Shane (1953) - "There never was a man like SHANE. There never was a picture like SHANE" reads the film's tagline. And many would argue that a movie as good hasn't been made since. Certainly belongs at the top of any list. Stars Alan Ladd and was the last film of Jean Arthur.
High Noon (1952) - Gary Cooper is Marshal Will Kane, a lawman who refuses to turn his back on his enemies, despite his own townsfolk who refuse to defend him. The film was criticized in its time as being un-American as it was linked to the rampant McCarthyism of the era.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Robert Redford and Paul Newman collaborate on one of the best western movies of all time. Features B.J. Thomas' rendition of Burt Bacharach's Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head. Steve McQueen and Warren Beatty were both offered the role of the Sundance Kid.
