Westerns

[onthewall2983]

These came out in American theaters 50 years ago. As far as everything that has come out within that time I can't think of another year where three solid classics of one genre came out. Maybe 77 with Star Wars and Close Encounters ​comes close.

[elevenism]

AH. So there IS a Westerns thread.

OK. Here is my thing. I fucking LOOOOOOOOOVE Revisionist/Modern westerns, everything from Tombstone and Unforgiven to The Assassination of Jesse James..., Bone Tomahawk, the new True Grit and 3:10, ALL that shit. I LOVE it.
But, there just aren't MANY of them. I mean, i think i've SEEN all of the good ones. What i HAVEN'T seen are the OG westerns, aside from The Outlaw Josey Wales.

SO, i'm trying to find out which ones are the hot ticket.

I got The Wild Bunch and THe Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (i've not seen them yet.)
What else actually holds up today, though? Like, i'm not looking for a nostalgia trip for something i caught on Nick at Nite when i was 9 or whatever. I'm asking which ones are SERIOUSLY still worth watching, first time around.

[Jon]

AH. So there IS a Westerns thread.

OK. Here is my thing. I fucking LOOOOOOOOOVE Revisionist/Modern westerns, everything from Tombstone and Unforgiven to The Assassination of Jesse James..., Bone Tomahawk, the new True Grit and 3:10, ALL that shit. I LOVE it.
But, there just aren't MANY of them. I mean, i think i've SEEN all of the good ones. What i HAVEN'T seen are the OG westerns, aside from The Outlaw Josey Wales.

SO, i'm trying to find out which ones are the hot ticket.

I got The Wild Bunch and THe Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (i've not seen them yet.)
What else actually holds up today, though? Like, i'm not looking for a nostalgia trip for something i caught on Nick at Nite when i was 9 or whatever. I'm asking which ones are SERIOUSLY still worth watching, first time around.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Red River
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
The Wild Bunch

Any movie where John Wayne's character is an asshole is usually pretty good.

[Toadflax]

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Red River
Rio Bravo
The Searchers
The Wild Bunch

Any movie where John Wayne's character is an asshole is usually pretty good.

I haven't seen many classic westerns, but I just watched The Searchers for the first time last week and definitely second this recommendation.

I also second Liberty Valance, which is amazing.

[GulDukat]

Gunsmoke, ftw.


Matt Dillon is my favorite Western character. At 6'7 (before his boots and hat), James Arness was this huge, towering figure, a sort of cross between Wayne and Eastwood.

[VirtualBalboa]

I second The Wild Bunch and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. I mean, you may as well watch the whole Man with No Name trilogy. Someone also mentioned The Searchers, that's probably going to be the best bridge for you to connect "classic" with "revisionist" westerns. I find that High Noon is another "classic" example that was subversive during its time of release and is reminiscent of some of "revisionist" works mentioned. I just watched Two Mules for Sister Sara, that was a fun movie. If you're looking for more newer westerns, I thought Hostiles and Slow West were good. I love westerns, there's always more to watch though lol.

[muad'nin]

Australians make westerns, too.

One of our recent best, The Proposition



Written by Nick Cave. Directed by John Hillcoat, who went on to direct How To Destroy Angels’ ‘Ice Age’ video.

[VirtualBalboa]

Australians make westerns, too.

One of our recent best, The Proposition



Written by Nick Cave. Directed by John Hillcoat, who went on to direct How To Destroy Angels’ ‘Ice Age’ video.

This reminds me, there's also The True History of the Kelly Gang. I haven't watched it yet, but the director, Justin Kurzel, did an excellent adaptation of Macbeth in 2015. It's on my watchlist.

[GulDukat]

Love "The Man With No Name" trilogy, The Searchers, Hang 'Em High. Any Western with Eastwood.

[elevenism]

Love "The Man With No Name" trilogy, The Searchers, Hang 'Em High. Any Western with Eastwood.

Thank you guys, all. I love this damn community.

[MrLobster]

[GulDukat]

I'm looking at the top rated TV shows from 1959-1960. Four in the top ten are Westerns. And there are more Westerns in the bottom half. Shows how insanely popular Westerns were back then.

I've been watching a lot of the early Gunsmoke episodes, the ones that are black and white and 30 minutes. Some of them are super dark and sad. These episodes are seldom shown on re-runs and aren't on Paramount+ with the other seasons. It's a shame because it's damn fine television, up there with The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The early Gunsmoke has the same sort of vibe.

[mfte]

Shane!
Come back Shane!

[GulDukat]

Was Shane killed at the end?