Best Western Movies

Western movies, or Westerns, are the determining genre of Hollywood. These are some of the oldest, most enduring, and characteristically American films. The central or main plot of any Western movie is normally rooted in the archetypal conflict between the good and the bad.

The genre is also based on the simple and classic goal of maintaining law and order on the frontier in a fast-paced action story. The typical elements in Western movies include lots of guns and gun fights, horses and horseback chases, massacres, robberies, holdups, etc.

The hero(es) is usually a law enforcement officer, army officer, rancher or a ludicrously skilled gunfighter.

Johnny Guitar (1954) - This movie by Nicholas Ray is a western where the lead characters, Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge, fall in love with the same man, and fight with each other to win his love.

The hero, Sterling 'Purity-Of-Essence' Hayden, who works as a driller, carries a guitar instead of a gun throughout the movie, but at the end he picks up a gun to show that he can play a completely different tune.

Ride in the Whirlwind (1965) - Ride in the Whirlwind is a fast-paced movie written by Jack Nicholson, about three ranchers who are mistakenly considered outlaws. They find themselves chased by the long arm of the law, which leads them to take a family hostage in order to protect themselves.

The Shooting (1967) - This movie is existential, haunting, and mysterious. The plot involves three people, Warren Oates, Will Hutchins, and Millie Perkins, who tend to get into trouble. Perkins manipulates Hutchins into helping her to kill someone. This movie is hypnotic and gets the onlooker hooked till the end, and has a twisted ending.

The Great Silence (1968) - They call him "Silence", because wherever he goes the silence of death follows. This is a bizarre and unique film directed by the Italian master Sergio Corbucci. It is a tale about a dumb gunslinger, who takes revenge against a gang of corrupt hunters. This movie has more than its fair share of bloodshed.

Little Big Man (1970) - This movie is about a 121 year old halfbreed Indian (Dustin Hoffman), who tells his life story about how he's able to drift between the Whites and the Indians and live without any problems among them. This film is light and funny, and is fabulously entertaining.

High Plains Drifter (1973) - The plot of the movie revolves around three outlaws who murder the town's sheriff and burn the town, after they are released from jail. This movie will definitely give you the creeps when you are watching it.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) - Warren Oates, the protagonist of the movie, goes in search of Alfredo Garcia's body, to bring back his head for a handsome reward. On finding the body, he severs the head, and on the way back talks to it, to keep him company. The story has a thrilling climax, when Oates returns the head to its original place.

Keoma (1976) - This movie is about Keoma (played by Franco Nero), a half-breed Swedish arms dealer. This movie is an homage to Sam Peckinpah, an American filmmaker and screenwriter, well-known for The Wild Bunch (1969).

Ravenous (1999) - This movie is a dark comedy and a horror movie combined in one. It shows a local cannibalistic legend about eating a man's flesh to gain power. The movie is full of mystery, and the final battle between the coward and the villain (Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle) is incredible.

The Proposition (2005) - This movie, written by rocker Nick Cave and directed by John Hillcoat, is set in 19th century Australia. The plot revolves around the protagonist, played by Guy Pearce, who is captured to kill his older brother in exchange for his younger brother's life.

• Stagecoach (1939)
• The Ox-bow Incident (1943)
• My Darling Clementine (1946)
• Fort Apache (1948)
• Red River (1948)
• Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

• The Gunfighter (1950)
• Winchester '73 (1950)
• Bend of the River (1952)
• High Noon (1952)
• Shane (1953)
• The Naked Spur (1954)
• The Searchers (1956)
• Rio Bravo (1959)
• Flaming Star (1960)
• The Magnificent Seven (1960)
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

• Ride the High Country (1962)
• For a Few Dollars More (1965)
• The Good, the Bad and The Ugly (1966)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
• The Wild Bunch (1969)

• True Grit (1969)
• Little Big Man (1970)
• Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
• The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
• Lonesome Dove (1989)
• Dances with Wolves (1990)
• Unforgiven (1992)
• Open Range (2003)
• 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Off to the popcorn bucket, you all, now!