Yes, but then it should have a prefix, like Tom Betts mentions Sci-Fi westerns, Mexican Revolution westerns, Alaska Gold Rush westerns 
There are âmodern day westernsâ like Dirty Harry
Some say Brokeback Mountain was a âgay westernâ
They are not just âwesternsâ
Hell, even the Italian version got the name âspaghetti westernâ just because of itâs origin :
Learn many things on this site ;).
Klondike Western is whatitâs called. Like North to Alaska.
I think it was Andre Bazin, who once said that High Noon wasnât a real western.
He disliked westerns which wanted to be more than a western by bringing in a supposed âseriousnessâ.
His definition of a western implied to play by the rules, and breaking them disqualifies as a western.
So the quality lies in the variation of well known genre patterns.
Of course this is also a problematic definition as any. Who e.g. sets the rules?
After reading all of these âqualificationsâ of a western, I have decided that there are no westernsâŠits all a figment of my imagination, or maybe a figmentation of my imagine. :o
I thought I was dreaming actually :D.
[quote=âstanton, post:44, topic:1320â]I think it was Andre Bazin, who once said that High Noon wasnât a real western.
He disliked westerns which wanted to be more than a western by bringing in a supposed âseriousnessâ.
His definition of a western implied to play by the rules, and breaking them disqualifies as a western.
So the quality lies in the variation of well known genre patterns.
Of course this is also a problematic definition as any. Who e.g. sets the rules?[/quote]
Even this âplaying by the rulesâ and being disqualified when breaking them is problematic
Film making is not a game, in the sense that chess or soccer are games: you cannot play chess or footbal and breaking the rules at the same time, playing a game means respecting the rules.
In art, creating something new, being innovative, often, maybe inevitably, means breaking rules, clichés or whatever they are called
I think too it was Bazin who said High Noon wasnât a real western, because it wanted to be more than just a western, that is âchange the rulesâ. He didnât dislike High Noon, but in this view, for this reason, the film simply was ânot goodâ.
Others thought Shane was not good, because it wanted to immortalize the western myth, in other words: freeze the rules forever (I donât think Shane tried to do that, but thatâs not essential here)
Personally I have a preference for innovative westerns that âplay with the rulesâ, âchange rulesâ, such as The Great Silence, The Wild Bunch, The Gunfighter, The Great Gundown or The proposition. I like straightforward westerns, spaghetti or not, but if I have to make a choice, I go for the innovative ones. The problem with Bazin probably was that he was too much of a theoretician: his own theory, his own view was sacred, and often made him say things against better judgement. Theories are fine, but if you become domatic, they become a problem.
And Tom: Weâre having fun, just having fun
Besides, from a San Francisco point of view the west is in the east
[quote=âscherpschutter, post:47, topic:1320â]Even this âplaying by the rulesâ and being disqualified when breaking them is problematic
Film making is not a game, in the sense that chess or soccer are games: you cannot play chess or footbal and breaking the rules at the same time, playing a game means respecting the rules.
In art, creating something new, being innovative, often, maybe inevitably, means breaking rules, clichés or whatever they are called
I think too it was Bazin who said High Noon wasnât a real western, because it wanted to be more than just a western, that is âchange the rulesâ. He didnât dislike High Noon, but in this view, for this reason, the film simply was ânot goodâ.
Others thought Shane was not good, because it wanted to immortalize the western myth, in other words: freeze the rules forever (I donât think Shane tried to do that, but thatâs not essential here)
Personally I have a preference for innovative westerns that âplay with the rulesâ, âchange rulesâ, such as The Great Silence, The Wild Bunch, The Gunfighter, The Great Gundown or The proposition. I like straightforward westerns, spaghetti or not, but if I have to make a choice, I go for the innovative ones. The problem with Bazin probably was that he was too much of a theoretician: his own theory, his own view was sacred, and often made him say things against better judgement. Theories are fine, but if you become domatic, they become a problem.
And Tom: Weâre having fun, just having fun[/quote]
As I said itâs problematic too.
And problematic fun
Whatâs about Movies with Inuits. Are they also Western?
Reminds me on a discussion I had with someone who doesnât like western . He stated he likes GBU because according to western rules it isnât a western but a great Action Comedy or an Adventure . I donât know the reasons anymore (maybe because of the Treasure and the Civil War) but he couldnât convice me. 
Me either.
One person called GBU a combination of western pastiche, comedy and opera 
What the hell! ??? OPERA!
Yes, and many SWs are very operatic with their ritualized duels set to music for example, so this is quite true
hence, the nickname âhorse opera.â
;D
Maybe its just that I identify opera with a lot of singing where as spaghettis have very little dialogue most of the time.
American westerns are called horse operas, Spags are called shooting operas. (Pferde Oper - SchieĂ Oper)
[quote=âAceHigh, post:55, topic:1320â]hence, the nickname âhorse opera.â
;D[/quote]
One funny thing I read somewhere from Christopher Frayling:
âEven if the term Horse Opera was originally given to the Hollywood western, it took the land of Puccini to show what the term really meansâ
does " north star"(1996) count as a western with horse drawn sledges?
I think it does if you consider it one. We shouldnât try to make any general definitions, each to his own. We should just list everything that might be coinsidered SW or Eurowestern in database, let each user decide what is a western for him.