The 50 Greatest Westerns (Barry Stone)

Town Hall Books & Resources
61

I said exactly that on here, somewhere. I want to like High Noon more than I do because the film’s premise is smart but I just can’t get past that f#cking tune, which doesn’t stop the whole way through.

The Searchers is good, though, and I certainly haven’t been told/conditioned to like it. I think John Wayne’s a bit of an overrated knobend, generally.

I think there’s definitely a truth to what you’re saying Aldo about some movies’ high regard being the very thing that keeps them in high regard, but I believe that to be true only to a point. I’m not sure that I believe it to be true of most film critics and, if it is true of film students, well, what percentage of the film-watching/commenting community do they represent? One percent? One-tenth of one percent? People find their own “classics” (which is why popular aggregators of such info, like IMDb’s Top 250 list, is always toploaded with newer movies). My wife thinks Forrest Gump is an all-time classic and whenever she repeats that opinion to me I always consider flinging hot Bovril at her. Swings and roundabouts! :slightly_smiling_face:

62

When I did media studies the first film we had to critique was THE MATRIX?!
CITIZEN KANE got bypassed for slow motion shoot outs.
Film groups/clubs are the breeding ground for snobbery. The are where you are told what a masterpiece is and what makes it. It is never up for question. And Aldo is right when he said:

most critics and film students don’t have the strength of character to actually say, "You know what? …
The instilled rhetoric rings very hollow when a tutor or student cannot answer simple questions about a film that may challenge its lofty status.

63

Critics are susceptible to trends like all of us. Citizen Kane is technically extraordinary. Whenever I review a laudatory review of the film that fails to mention the technical aspects, I have to roll my eyes. High Noon is one of the greatest American westerns ever in my opinion.

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64

Agreed, 100%. :+1: First time I saw it - expecting something dry, outdated and overrated - I was floored by how modern it looked and felt. The movie was ahead of its time, way ahead.

65

Because clearly they haven’t seen Shoot the Living, Pray for the Dead.

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66

I loved them when I was a kid because I liked pretty much anything with Indians and cavalry. I find some of them a bit difficult now, not because of the content, but the locations. Everything takes place in Monument Valley even if it’s supposed to be the plains. The Searchers is supposed to be set in Texas and the location is so obvious that I just can’t suspend disbelief. It might seem hypocritical as a lover of spaghetti westerns but I just feel Ford’s films would be so much better if he used locations that at least resembled the places they were supposed to be.

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67

Didn’t think this needed a thread of its own, I figured it could just go on here: The Independent newspaper yesterday published their take on the 20 best Westerns of all time. It’s a very conservative, safe list but I thought you gentlemen might want to peruse it anyway:

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68

It is a conservative list but, to be fair, it’s a very good one. No bummers on there.

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69

Here’s another list, and a rather interesting one. There is a web site called They Shoot Pictures Don’t They, and since 2006 they publish a big list compiled of other best-of lists. But they do not use every list, but only more “serious” lists from critics, film historians, filmmakers etc. Like all lists it represents a consens (not a truth), but one by those who should know much more about film than the usual IMDB voter.

These are the westerns which are in the Top 1000:

Title Director 2021
1. Searchers, The Ford, John 9
2. Rio Bravo Hawks, Howard 54
3. Once Upon a Time in the West Leone, Sergio 65
4. Wild Bunch, The Peckinpah, Sam 69
5. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Ford, John 93
6. My Darling Clementine Ford, John 132
7. Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Leone, Sergio 138
8. Stagecoach Ford, John 143
9. McCabe & Mrs. Miller Altman, Robert 206
10. Unforgiven Eastwood, Clint 209
11. Red River Hawks, Howard 211
12. Johnny Guitar Ray, Nicholas 246
13. High Noon Zinnemann, Fred 368
14. Heaven’s Gate Cimino, Michael 417
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Hill, George Roy 418
16. Dead Man Jarmusch, Jim 419
17. Shane Stevens, George 498
18. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid Peckinpah, Sam 542
19. Wagon Master Ford, John 598
20. Fort Apache Ford, John 765
21. Lusty Men, The Ray, Nicholas 844
22. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Ford, John 873
23. Duel in the Sun Vidor, King 878
24. Man of the West Mann, Anthony 886
25. Misfits, The Huston, John 922
26. Outlaw Josey Wales, The Eastwood, Clint 927
27. Ride the High Country Peckinpah, Sam 951

Of course questionable as every other list …

The Lusty Men (a rodeo film) and The Misfits are post westerns, set in the then present amongst the troubled descendants of the old cowboys. And in the case of The Lusty Men I have no idea why it is held in such high regard. It is for me an ok film, but overall just a conventional drama in the 6/10 region. Neither the directing nor the story are remarkable.

70

Dead Man is the interesting one here for me.
It’s a film I’ve always liked but surprised it appear so high in a list of great westerns

71

But it is not a list of great westerns, it is a list for every film, I only took the westersn out of it.
The number behind the directors shows the actual rank in the complete list. So at least 5 westerns are in the top 100. Not bad for an once more despised than valued genre.

Here are the first 100 for further consideration:

Title Director Rank
1. Searchers, The Ford, John 9
2. Rio Bravo Hawks, Howard 54
3. Once Upon a Time in the West Leone, Sergio 65
4. Wild Bunch, The Peckinpah, Sam 69
5. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Ford, John 93
6. My Darling Clementine Ford, John 132
7. Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Leone, Sergio 138
8. Stagecoach Ford, John 143
9. McCabe & Mrs. Miller Altman, Robert 206
10. Unforgiven Eastwood, Clint 209
11. Red River Hawks, Howard 211
12. Johnny Guitar Ray, Nicholas 246
13. High Noon Zinnemann, Fred 368
14. Heaven’s Gate Cimino, Michael 417
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Hill, George Roy 418
16. Dead Man Jarmusch, Jim 419
17. Shane Stevens, George 498
18. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid Peckinpah, Sam 542
19. Wagon Master Ford, John 598
20. Fort Apache Ford, John 765
21. Lusty Men, The Ray, Nicholas 844
22. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Ford, John 873
23. Duel in the Sun Vidor, King 878
24. Man of the West Mann, Anthony 886
25. Misfits, The Huston, John 922
26. Outlaw Josey Wales, The Eastwood, Clint 927
27. Ride the High Country Peckinpah, Sam 951
28. Blazing Saddles Brooks, Mel 1033
29. Topo, El Jodorowsky, Alejandro 1092
30. El Dorado Hawks, Howard 1125
31. Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Dominik, Andrew 1155
32. Naked Spur, The Mann, Anthony 1157
33. Meek’s Cutoff Reichardt, Kelly 1214
34. Last of the Mohicans, The Mann, Michael 1223
35. Pursued Walsh, Raoul 1233
36. Magnificent Seven, The Sturges, John 1295
37. Ride Lonesome Boetticher, Budd 1306
38. Dances with Wolves Costner, Kevin 1401
39. Forty Guns Fuller, Samuel 1405
40. One-Eyed Jacks Brando, Marlon 1448
41. Man from Laramie, The Mann, Anthony 1468
42. Winchester '73 Mann, Anthony 1471
43. Fistful of Dynamite, A Leone, Sergio 1501
44. Ulzana’s Raid Aldrich, Robert 1545
45. Little Big Man Penn, Arthur 1572
46. Fistful of Dollars, A Leone, Sergio 1633
47. Jeremiah Johnson Pollack, Sydney 1698
48. Hud Ritt, Martin 1706
49. Ballad of Cable Hogue, The Peckinpah, Sam 1713
50. Rio Grande Ford, John 1727
51. Ox-Bow Incident, The Wellman, William 1735
52. Colorado Territory Walsh, Raoul 1736
53. Seven Men from Now Boetticher, Budd 1748
54. Canyon Passage Tourneur, Jacques 1772
55. For a Few Dollars More Leone, Sergio 1857
56. Far Country, The Mann, Anthony 1887
57. Shooting, The Hellman, Monte 1894
58. Bad Day at Black Rock Sturges, John 1897
59. 3:10 to Yuma Daves, Delmer 1909
60. Vera Cruz Aldrich, Robert 1931
61. Big Sky, The Hawks, Howard 1944
62. Great Train Robbery, The Porter, Edwin S. 1989
63. Two Rode Together Ford, John 2213
64. Big Country, The Wyler, William 2247
65. Bend of the River Mann, Anthony 2265
66. They Died with Their Boots On Walsh, Raoul 2278
67. Pale Rider Eastwood, Clint 2304
68. Django Corbucci, Sergio 2321
69. Tombstone Cosmatos, George P. 2337
70. Rancho Notorious Lang, Fritz 2455
71. Day of the Outlaw de Toth, André 2502
72. Great Silence, The Corbucci, Sergio 2543
73. Iron Horse, The Ford, John 2558
74. Track of the Cat Wellman, William 2617
75. Silver Lode Dwan, Allan 2709
76. Way Out West Horne, James W. 2722
77. Cheyenne Autumn Ford, John 2726
78. Tall T, The Boetticher, Budd 2766
79. Gunfighter, The King, Henry 2780
80. Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, The Huston, John 2851
81. Companeros! Corbucci, Sergio 2900
82. They Call Me Trinity Barboni, Enzo 2920
83. Westward the Women Wellman, William 2995
84. High Plains Drifter Eastwood, Clint 3234
85. Big Trail, The Walsh, Raoul 3294
86. River of No Return Preminger, Otto 3313
87. Lonely Are the Brave Miller, David 3378
88. Ride in the Whirlwind Hellman, Monte 3443
89. Cat Ballou Silverstein, Elliot 3545
90. Covered Wagon, The Cruze, James 3649
91. Wonderful Country, The Parrish, Robert 3658
92. Run of the Arrow Fuller, Samuel 3698
93. Professionals, The Brooks, Richard 3700
94. Yellow Sky Wellman, William 3727
95. Horse Soldiers, The Ford, John 3790
96. 3 Bad Men Ford, John 3796
97. Shootist, The Siegel, Don 3895
98. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Sturges, John 3914
99. Destry Rides Again Marshall, George 3939
100. Furies, The Mann, Anthony 3951