Vote for Your Top 20 US Westerns

[Novecento]

Pat Garrett (the Turner Preview Cut only) and Heaven’s Gate are two of the greatest films I’ve seen - Western or otherwise.

[stanton]

@Novecento

Pat Garrett (the Turner Preview Cut only)

Come on, the difference between the versions is not that great. And it is a masterpiece for me in all 3 versions. I loved it already in the theatrical version, which has its own qualities.

[Dean]

I like the editing better in the Turner version, but the gunshots sound like shit.

What’s the story behind the lyrics being taken out of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door in one of the cuts?

[scherpschutter]

I think they’re in the 05 cut, but not in the Turner Cut

[stanton]

Thy lyrics were in the theatrical version, but there was a phase in which Peckinpah, after Jerry Fielding made negative comments about them, was uncertain if he should use them. The unfinished preview cut (now known as the Turner version) was compiled at that time. There are also 2 scenes missing in that version, one of them made it in the theatrical version (an excellent scene), the other one was first used in an otherwise heavily cut TV version. Both are in the 2005 cut, which basically follows the theatrical version, with adding all but one of the other scenes to be found in the preview cut.

[Novecento]

@stanton

@Novecento

Pat Garrett (the Turner Preview Cut only)

Come on, the difference between the versions is not that great. And it is a masterpiece for me in all 3 versions. I loved it already in the theatrical version, which has its own qualities.

For me, all the supposedly minor trims, alterations, adjustments etc really add up across the picture. I tend to view films as a composite whole and when images or scenes don’t flow nicely into one another I find it disruptive (I am not talking about the plot here). Sure, if you write down on paper all the differences then they might not appear to amount to much, but when I watch it as a whole I find they significantly ruin the overall effect.

[stanton]

I’m also not talking about the plot, which like in all great films is not that important for me.

Still, the film is a masterpiece for me in all 3 versions. But for me the Turner version is the weakest, and the 2005 cut the best.

In the end most things which make the film that special are in all 3 versions to find.

[Novecento]

@stanton

… the other one was first used in an otherwise heavily cut TV version…

Don’t forget the deleted scene only in the CBS TV cut

04132014 080 "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid" DELETED SCENE

@stanton

Still, the film is a masterpiece for me in all 3 versions. But for me the Turner version is the weakest, and the 2005 cut the best.

I’ve never seen the theatrical version nor the TV version

I find Peckinpah’s Turner Preview cut to be poetic and elegiac in style. I just don’t feel the same way watching the 2005 cut. Anyway, we have discussed this plenty of times before

[Novecento]

Any other fans of Heaven’s Gate out there then? I think Michael Cimino was criminally underrated as a director.

[Dean]

I’ve only seen the documentary on the making of Heaven’s Gate, which was very interesting in its own right.

The film is on my list to see though, as I love The Deer Hunter.

[Bill_san_Antonio]

Same here, never seen it and it’s been on my list of films I need to see for ages.

[ENNIOO]

@Novecento

Any other fans of Heaven’s Gate out there then?

Count me as one. Enjoyed it first time around in the 80’s .Like most films not 100% perfect, but one that improves all the time for me.

[tomas]

@Novecento

Any other fans of Heaven’s Gate out there then? I think Michael Cimino was criminally underrated as a director.

You bet. Great movie. Same goes to Deer Hunter.

[IllThinkAboutIt (MMcG)]

I am jumping in late here with a top 20 - never really rated my favourite westerns before and found it hard to balance between older/newer, serious/comedy westerns:
1 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
2 The Hateful Eight
3 Unforgiven
4 Django Unchained
5 The Assassination of Jesse James
6 The Outlaw Josey Wales
7 Tombstone (Kurt Russell)
8 Two Mules For Sister Sara
9 The Wild Bunch
10 Chisum
11 Jesse James (Tyrone Power)
12 True Grit (John Wayne)
13 Rooster Cogburn
14 Rio Bravo
15 Maverick
16 Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner)
17 Pale Rider
18 Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson)
19 Blazing Saddles
20 Paint Your Wagon

[John_Russell]

From Hell to Texas is a real sleeper. If you haven’t seen it give it a look.

[last.caress]

1. Unforgiven (Eastwood, 1992)
2. High Plains Drifter (Eastwood, 1973)
3. True Grit (Coen Brothers, 2010)
4. The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah, 1969)
5. The Revenant (Iñárritu, 2015)
6. Tombstone (Cosmatos, 1993)
7. Hostiles (Cooper, 2017)
8. 3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)
9. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik, 2007)
10. The Hateful Eight (Tarantino, 2015)
11. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Peckinpah, 1973)
12. One-Eyed Jacks (Brando, 1961)
13. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Eastwood, 1976)
14. True Grit (Hathaway, 1969)
15. The Quick and the Dead (Raimi, 1995)
16. The Homesman (Jones, 2014)
17. Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012)
18. Bone Tomahawk (Zahler, 2015)
19. The Searchers (Ford, 1956)
20. Pale Rider (Eastwood, 1985)

Haven’t done this in a couple of years so I thought I’d update, although I’ve only added a couple and stirred the other elements a tiny amount.

[Bill_san_Antonio]

Has @John_Welles been around here lately? He compiled the lists but it haven’t been updated for years.

Btw, it would be nice if the top20 would be in the first post of the topic. Now it’s tricky to find.

[scherpschutter]

Here’s the list compiled by John (to make things easier for everybody)

@John_Welles

With 16 lists, here is the inaugeral SWDB Top 20 U.S. Westerns of All Time!

1. [size=18pt]The Wild Bunch[/size] – 237

2. Pat Garret & Billy the Kid – 124

3. Unforgiven – 118

4. High Noon – 115

5. Ride the High Country – 89

6. Rio Bravo – 86

7. High Plains Drifter – 83

8. One-eyed Jacks – 80

9. The Outlaw Josey Wales – 79 / Ride Lonesome – 79

10. The Searchers – 75

11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – 71 / My Darling Clementine – 71

12. Pale Rider – 64

13. The Magnificent Seven – 62

14. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – 58

15. Tombstone – 54

16. Jeremiah Johnson – 53 / Lawman (1971) – 53

17. El Dorado – 51 / The Professionals – 51

18. The Gunfighter – 49

19. The Naked Spur – 46

20. True Grit (2010) – 45

21. Dead Man – 44 / Little Big Man – 44

22. Vera Cruz – 42

23. Hombre – 41

24. The Ox-Bow Incident – 40

25. The Hunting Party – 39 / Warlock – 39

26. Shane – 38

27. The Man from Laramie – 37

28. The Tall T – 36

29. Two Mules for Sister Sara – 35

30. Forty Guns – 34 / Stagecoach – 34

31. The Far Country – 32

32. The Ballad of Cable Hogue – 30

33. Doc – 29 / McCabe and Mrs. Miller – 29

34. Bend of the River – 27 / Open Range – 27

35. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – 26 / Ulzana’s Raid – 26

36. The Culpepper Cattle Company – 24 / Day of the Outlaw – 24 / Major Dundee – 24

37. Posse – 23

38. Chato’s Land – 22 / Fort Apache – 22 / Monte Walsh (original) – 22
    Man of the West – 21 / Posse from Hell – 21 / Yellow Sky – 21

39. Comanche Station – 20

40. 3:10 to Yuma (remake) – 19 / The Shooting – 19

41. Heaven’s Gate – 18

42. Duel at Diablo – 17 / 3:10 to Yuma (1957) – 17

43. Django Unchained – 16 / Winchester ’73 – 16

44. Buchanan Rides Alone – 15 / Gunfight at the O.K. Corral – 15 / Hang’em High – 46. 15 / Silverado – 15 / She Wore a Yellow Ribbon – 15

45. The Big Country – 14 / Last Train from Gun Hill – 14

46. Johnny Guitar – 13 / Macho Callahan – 13 / Support Your Local Sheriff! – 13

47. Colorado Territory – 12 / Cowboys and Aliens – 12 / 100 Rifles – 12

48. Blazing Saddles – 11 / Deathhunt – 11 / Shanghai Noon – 11

49. The Hired Hand – 10

50. Blood on the Moon – 9 / Mackenna’s Gold – 9 / Man with the Gun – 9 / Seven Men from Now – 9 / Soldier Blue – 9 / The Tin Star – 9

51. The Badlanders – 8 / The Shootist – 8 / Tom Horn – 8 / True Grit – 8 / The True Story of Jesse James – 8

52. Breakheart Pass – 7 / Dawn at Socorro – 7 / Hour of the Gun – 7 / Terror in a Texas Town – 7

53. Boss Nigger – 6 / The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean – 6 / The Quick and the Dead – 6 / Ride, Vaquero! – 6 / Something Big – 6 / Tell Them Willie Boy is here – 6

54. Barbarosa – 5 / Broken Arrow – 5 / The Deadly Trackers – 5 / Four Guns to the Border – 5 / The Spikes Gang – 5

55. The Last of the Fast Guns – 4 / The Last Hard Men – 4 / The Long Riders – 4 / The Stalking Moon – 4 / Union Pacific – 4 / Young Guns – 4

56. Appaloosa – 3 / Barquero – 3 / Rancho Notorious – 3 / Red River – 3 / Santa Fe Trail – 3 / The Violent Men (1953) – 3

57. Buck and the Preacher – 2 / Doge City – 2 / The Paleface – 2 / Three Amigos – 2 / Time for a Killing – 2 / Wagonmaster – 2

58. Cat Ballou – 1 / Dances with Wolves – 1 / Louis L’Amour’s Quick and the Dead – 1 / Man without a Star – 1 / Rio Grande – 1 / Seraphim Falls – 1 / Welcome to Hard Times – 1 / Wyatt Earp – 11 / Zachariah – 1

[tomas]

I think I’ve never done this since I haven’t seen lot of classics, but I am getting through it now…
Does Last Of The Mohicans count?
Aussie flicks probably dont count…
I’m surprised that nobody voted for Missouri Breaks.

1. Unforgiven
2. Outlaw Josey Wales
3. McCabe & Mrs Miller
4. Hateful 8
5. Proposition
6. Last Of The Mohicans
7. Missouri Breaks
8. Jeremiah Johnson
9. Tombstone
10. Assassination Of Jesse James By Bob Ford
11. Little Big Man
12. Deadman
13. Heaven’s Gate
14. The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean
15. High Planes Drifter
16. Deathhunt
17. Patt Garret & Billy The Kid
18. Bad Company
19. Hombre
20. Cold Mountain
21. True Grit (2010)

[The_Man_With_a_Name]

@tomas

I’m surprised that nobody voted for Missouri Breaks.

I thought I did. Definitely one of the best.