Vote for Your Top 20 US Westerns

Don’t know as my list will be any better considered than anyone else’s but it will be more laboriously so. I still can’t decide what order they should go in and am having no luck separating the Ranowns from each other. I guess I’ll just put my list out soon in whatever form it currently sits. Whatever I decide will probably change tomorrow anyway. To be honest I could probably select 30 that would be pretty much interchangeable. :-\

I think you can all guess what one of those films is, but what about the other two?

I am guessing the one we can guess is The Wild Bunch. My other guesses are Unforgiven, My Darling Clementine or High Noon?

Let me see if I can do this. I don’t know if I can actually put them in any kind of order of preference, because I find that my “favorites” shift constantly.

  1. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (Sturges)
  2. RIDE LONESOME (Boetticher)
  3. RIO BRAVO (Hawks)
  4. TOMBSTONE (Cosmatos)
  5. VERA CRUZ (Aldrich)
  6. BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE (Boetticher)
  7. RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (Peckinpah)
  8. THE WILD BUNCH (Peckinpah)
  9. ONE EYED JACKS (Brando)
  10. HOMBRE (Ritt)
  11. BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (G. Roy Hill)
  12. THE GUNFIGHTER (King)
  13. THE PROFESSIONALS (Brooks)
  14. DAWN AT SOCORRO (G. Sherman)
  15. RIDE, VAQUERO! (J. Farrow)
  16. FOUR GUNS TO THE BORDER (Carlson)
  17. THE LAST OF THE FAST GUNS (G. Sherman)
  18. APPALOOSA (Harris)
  19. COMANCHE STATION (Boetticher)
  20. PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID (Peckinpah)

And there are many more, to be sure.
One thing I must mention, I am not a big fan of John Ford’s films. I like some of them (especially MY DARLING CLEMENTINE and THE SEARCHERS). I also understand why is so important to the history of cinema. But, his aren’t my favorite type of Westerns. That is why there isn’t anything by him in my Top 20.

And just as I am about to push “Post” on this…I keep thinking…I forgot some really important titles here!! I hate Top 20’s… ha ha!

Well, for what it’s worth, here’s my list.
As I said before there are at least another 10 films which could easily have been included (if not more) and the order is pretty arbitrary but it pretty much reflects the films I enjoy most and return to most often.

  1. Unforgiven
  2. My Darling Clementine
  3. The Far Country
  4. The Tall T
  5. Comanche Station
  6. Ride Lonesome
  7. The Naked Spur
  8. High Noon
  9. Stagecoach
  10. Jeremiah Johnson
  11. Man of the West
  12. The Ox Bow Incident
  13. Ride the High Country
  14. The Outlaw Josey Wales
  15. Bend of the River
  16. Broken Arrow
  17. Open Range
  18. Little Big Man
  19. Pale Rider
  20. Seraphim Falls

Thanks for the list Phil (finally!) and welcome back Chris, it’s been too long!

[quote=“Chris_Casey, post:63, topic:3170”]14. DAWN AT SOCORRO (G. Sherman)
15. RIDE, VAQUERO! (J. Farrow)
16. FOUR GUNS TO THE BORDER (Carlson)
17. THE LAST OF THE FAST GUNS (G. Sherman)[/quote]

Chris I’m quite surprised about these 4 considering the 100 - 200 others which could easily make such a list. The last one is even one I never have seen, or read about. I only know that it exists.

and btw welcome back Amigo …

Thanks for the welcome back comments, amigos!
I have gotten to the point where I do not “think” too much about cinema, anymore, Stanton. I am a bit bored by what I perceive as an increasing tendency of fans to over-intellectualize films (and art, in general, for that matter, including music). So, when someone asks what my Top 20, or so, films of any type are, I just go with the ones I really do like and tend to watch over and over. I don’t ponder which ones are the most important to the history of the genre or that are technically the best. Sure there are hundreds of other titles I could have picked, because there are hundreds of other U.S. Westerns I really love, but I didn’t pick them. I picked the ones I really like. I am not going to pick titles just because I think other people might want—or expect–me to pick them! ha ha! The key to the way I list “favorites” now is if the film is something I find myself watching again and again. If I tend to watch it once, or twice, a year…or more…then that is what I will put in a Top favorites list.

One important title that I managed to leave off my list above is WARLOCK ( Edward Dmytryk). That one could easily replace APPALOOSA on my list.

I pick for such lists always those I like the most, those I love, those which are the most entertaining, those I have watched the most.

And I has assumed that you (and everyone else here) did the same. So I’m still wondering that these 4 are the most entertaining for you.

The Wild Bunch and OuTW are for me doubtless the most entertaining westerns ever. Well even amongst the most entertaining films ever.

I know what you mean Chris !

Would this include (he, he) our recent, wildly off-topic discussion on post-modernism in art on this thread (it start’s with lordradish’ post: “Speaking of controversy…”): http://forum.spaghetti-western.net/index.php/topic,1292.240.html? :wink:

Over-intellectualisation of some films is a bad thing, but others were designed to be discussed, be analysed, be interpreted and doing so can lead me to see new things in movies I thought I knew very well, although that could well be just me.

I have gotten to the point where I do not "think" too much about cinema, anymore, Stanton. I am a bit bored by what I perceive as an increasing tendency of fans to over-intellectualize films

I plead guilty, but then again Chris & I are great friends, so he seems to be inclined to forgive me my sins …

Hey, welcome back Chris!

I don’t think I could make my own top 20 US westerns yet, I just haven’t seen that much of them. The Wild Bunch, Unforgiven and the newest True Grit would probably be in it though, as well as that little b-western called Colorado Sundown. Personally, when I make top something lists it’s always about what I love more (which admittedly, can sometimes be difficult to say).

John, what’s about the results?

I’m curious …

Uh… this week, I assure you.

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

Thanks for the effort John “Ruthless” Welles. :slight_smile:

Great stuff John and nice to see The Wild Bunch at the number one slot.

Some conclusions:

I would have expected The Wild Bunch to top the list without seeing any of the Top 20’s, it seems logical that the more violent type of westerns are more popular among spaghetti western fans, and Bloody Sam is of course identified with bloody violence.

Also predictable that Clint Eastwood would score high with his westerns, but it surprises me a little that his more thoughtful Unforgiven beats the more action-oriented efforts.

Ford and Hawks are still the kings of the classic western, and far more popular than others like Mann, Walsh or Boetticher.

High Noon is far more popular than Shane.

Surprisingly popular: The Hunting Party (but it is violent), Lawman (same story)

Surprisingly low marks: Ulzana’s Raid, Red River (Hawks is defined as the director of the Rio Trio, so it seems)

Apart from the good marks for Ford and Hawks, I find it good to know that more thoughtful, less violence-oriented movies like Butch cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Monte Walsh, Jeremiah Johnson, The Gunfighter, Warlock and Ride the High Country are still watched and loved by younger generations. There’s hope, for both the future and the past.

Nice work, John. Interesting list, there’s couple of titles I haven’t seen in top20 (or top24). I will be definitely watching those in future.

Two from the Top 50 I haven’t seen: Doc + 3:10 to Yuma (remake)
Not sure about Death Hunt (it’s a Bronson movie, if I’m not mistaken, and I often mix his films up, they all then to blur into one movie starring Chuck and Jill)