The 20 Greatest Westerns

The Western is the most endearing genre in film for me; its framing of people against vast, untouched wilderness, its stylised set of laws and the struggles and hardships of frontier life all amalgamate into a genre that is consistently evolving. Not to mention men on horseback against a sunset always look fantastic. I have seen an overwhelming volume of Westerns to the point where it feels like it is the only genre I can confidently make a 'greatest list' for.
I set a criteria for this: ten films felt too narrow a margin, so twenty was chosen as a more accommodating figure, one that could provide the range required to cover this immortal genre. Secondly, I limited my choices to one film per director. This was hard, but necessary in preventing messers Leone, Ford and Eastwood from dominating this list. The list therefore contains twenty different 'voices' or interpretations of the Old West that come from nearly every decade in the genre's history. And finally, there is no order to this list. My general thinking was combing through all my favourite Westerns, and eliminating them whenever a director reappeared again. As it happens, this culminated in a pretty solid list. 

The Classical Western: 

1. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 1948)

A towering picture, John Huston re-teams with Humphrey Bogart to tell a more unconventional tale of the Old West. Three men journey into the hills to earn their fortune during a gold rush, inevitably leading to suspicion, greed and violence. Bogart steals the show in a performance that deteriorates into madness, no doubt influencing the creation of Gollum. Gripping, dark and with a pretty perfect ending, this deconstructs the gold rush as a cause for the reduction of humanity and sanity.  

2. Shane (George Stevens, 1953)

"Come back Shane!" is not just one of the final lines in this quintessential Western; it is a perfect representation of the genre as a whole. Alan Ladd's title character leaves the town he has just assisted, and the young boy Joey he has educated, to take his gun toting abilities elsewhere, ensuring the town remains its purity. Shane has memorable performances, a menacing villain and sumptuous cinematography, but ultimately it is a solid story just told exceptionally well.

3. High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)

In the early 1950s America was dominated by the Red Scare; a crippling fear of communism. The Hollywood blacklisting singled out numerous filmmakers for suspected sympathetic views towards communism, and Fred Zinnemann's real time Western acts as an attack on this Red Scare. Gary Cooper is left to fend for himself when he hears some notorious criminals are returning to town. Left alone by his people who reject his plea to help, it singles out the need for Americans to assist one another (and that doing so does not make you a communist). 

4. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

Howard Hawks could also be represented on here with 1948's Red River, but Rio Bravo acts as a brilliant companion piece to High Noon, of which Hawks and star John Wayne were appalled by Gary Cooper's need for help in it. Rio Bravo was made out of spite, with Wayne as the tough sheriff who rejects help, believing Americans can handle problems alone. The politics does not exactly work out (Wayne is assisted by Dean Martin and Montgomery Cliff) but for rousing action, fun characters and some brilliant, claustrophobic photography that only once goes above head height, Rio Bravo is the 1950s in a bottle. 

The Revisionist Western:

5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)

John Ford, the founding father of the genre, could have made the list with Stagecoach (1939) or The Searchers (1956) but for his most potent and vocal work, it is the The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance that endures. Moving away from Monument Valley, Ford set out to revise a genre that he helped create by choosing to shoot in black and white and entirely on sound stages. With John Wayne, James Stewart and Lee Marvin, this ode to a by-gone time sees law arrive to the frontier in the form of Stewart, who clashes with the gun-centric Wayne about how to deal with bandit Valance (Marvin). Most famous for its immortal line "when the legend becomes fact, print the legend", it is fully aware of the embellishment of the Western stories at the cost of reality. 

6. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

Sam Peckinpah (Bloody Sam) is too oft overlooked as an important director. His shocking usage of violence and camerawork paved the way for John Woo, Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino and this is the finest example of his skill. Book-ended by two vicious gun battles, The Wild Bunch does not shy away from showing civilians caught in the crossfire or the bloody aftermath of a body being riddled with bullets. Filled with fascinating imagery, the story sees an ageing group of outlaws attempt one last job as the frontier starts to shrink and time catches up with them. A film about the changing of the guard (the frequent shots of children, the look of confusion at seeing a car for the first time), it gives outlaws one last ride in the sun. 

7. The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)

Yes, Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven is perhaps the more substantial and richer piece of film, but there are others like it. On the other hand, there is nothing quite like The Outlaw Josey Wales, a perfect picture in almost all aspects. Eastwood plays Josey, a Civil War soldier hunted by the Union but also undertaking his own personal quest for revenge. Allegedly a Vietnam War allegory, the action is rousing and the landscapes are lavish. But its the ensemble of characters that stick, showcasing the lives of other's on the frontier: Native American Lone Waite, some travelers, bounty hunters, and ex-soldiers like Josey himself: all looking for a place to set up and call home. Funny, with a balanced tone and great dialogue, this is supreme entertainment. 

The Western as Parable: 

8. The Ox-bow Incident (William A. Wellman, 1943)

Clocking at a refreshing 75 minutes, The Ox-bow Incident serves as a damning indictment of lynch mobs and vigilantes. For lead character introductions, few can match this as Henry Fonda enters a town, gets drunk, knocked out and then throws up. Before long he has joined the townsfolk as they ride into the hills without the sheriff, looking to hang some suspected killers. A very bleak picture, it is a vivid portrait about the flaws in taking the law into your own hands and somehow maintains a relevancy to the world today. There is a corker of a shot involving the obscuring of Fonda's eyes with someone else's hat, pointing towards the blindness of the townsfolk. 

The Spaghetti-Western:

9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1966)

One of the most popular sub-genres of all time, the Spaghettii- Western refers to Italian made frontier films that are pretty liberal with violence and blood. Sergio Leone is of course the master, and choosing between TGTBATU and his richer Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) was near impossible. But this is the more famous and iconic, and also the more entertaining. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach are the titular characters and their dash to find some buried money at a cemetery makes for some rousing set pieces and one of cinema's greatest musical scores from Ennio Morricone. If not enjoyed the first time, watch it again. Until you do. 

10. The Great Silence (Sergio Corbucci, 1968)

Sergio Corbucci is the other key figure when it comes to Spaghetti-Westerns. His 1966 film Django is great fun, but The Great Silence is a more accomplished and unique film. Set in a blizzard enveloped town, it deals with gunslingers and bounty hunters, in particular the mute hero Silence and the detestably evil Loco. It does have an absolute downer of an ending, but its rich context as an allegory for the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X steer this towards true greatness. And silence. 

The Animated: 

11. Rango (Gore Verbinski, 2011)

By default, Rango is the selected animated Western. Perhaps incredibly bold to place on this list (my granddad would be appaled), I nevertheless feel that it deserves to be on here, both for its medium and its comedy focus. Yes its not set in the Old West (cars at the beginning), but hey, neither is Blazing Saddles (1974). Roger Deakins fills the screen with stunning visuals and the script has a neo-noir mystery edge, but it is also a chance for a nobody to be a somebody, gaining skills rather than entering the town with all the gun play and match striking mastery audiences usually expect. And Bill Nighy's Rattlesnake Jake is a marvelous creation.

The Audience Favourites:

12. The Magnificent Seven (John Sturges, 1960)

A Christmas time and pub quiz favourite, The Magnificent Seven is good old fun. Everyone knows the story: seven men defend a settlement from thieving bandits, but the cast, iconic scenes and famous theme song make this is a true gem. No it does not have much to say, but it does not need to- its escapism. And for a pub quiz learn these names: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz.

13. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)

"What do you mean you can't swim? The fall will probably kill ya." 'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head.' That final freeze frame. These are what Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are my most known for, as well as the iconic pairing of Robert Redford and Paul Newman. It may be more buddy film than Western, but the winning lead duo elevate the material tenfold and the finale is one for the ages. 

Frontier and Survival Westerns: 

14. Jeremiah Johnson (Sydney Pollack, 1972)

Robert Redford is mountain men Jeremiah Johnson, who takes himself up into the hills to live off the land and start a new life. Encountering all manner of far-frontier characters, this is a very entertaining snow Western with some nifty action scenes and breathtaking photography of Utah's National Park. Johnson's journey and eventual foundation of a family acts as a microcosm for the whole westward expansion concept; taming the untamed landscape. 

15. The Revenant (Alejandro Innaritu, 2015)

More of a proto-Western, The Revenant was a big box office hit, lead in part for its famous Leonardo DiCaprio performance and the technical prowess of it all. Shot entirely on location with natural lighting only, the wilds of the northern frontier have never looked so beautiful, so dangerous and so god damn cold. Indeed, the camera work is some of the best committed to film. With a near spiritual atmosphere generated through a haunting score and the isolation DiCaprio's Hugh Glass faces, the film is not afraid of vicious violence and gore. The most technically spellbinding film on this list. 

21st Century Westerns: 

16. Open Range (Kevin Costner, 2003)

Kevin Costner revived the genre with 1990's Dances With Wolves, but this is perhaps the more 'Western' of the two that deals with another trope found in the genre: a man returning to a former life of violence. Eastwood's Unforgiven did it brilliantly, but here there is an added potency due to Costner's lead character still having people he cares about around him, not least Robert Duvall and Annette Benning. If it takes a long time for a gun to go off, the final shootout is worth it for its immersive sound design and to see Costner's troubled character finally unleashed. A reminder that the genre still has flair, just don't count the bullets. 

17. The Assassination of the Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)

I nearly gave this space to a neowestern like No Country for Old Men (2007) but my love for this semi-biopic outlaw film prevailed. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are the respective title characters in this gorgeous looking work of art that examines the idea of celebrity, meeting a hero and being inspired by criminals. The metaphors are rife and it is a very slow burn of a story, but patience is rewarded thanks to the potency of the two leads' mesmerising performances. 

The Remake: 

18. 3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold, 2007)

The Western is a genre with many remakes, but unusually they are often very good. 2010's True Grit was a more faithful adaptation and The Magnificent Seven (2016) is unmitigated fun. But James Mangold's 3:10 to Yuma is my favourite. Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Logan Lerman and Ben Foster are all at their best in this story which sees a simple farmer (Bale) escort a notorious outlaw (Crowe) to catch the train in the title. Along the way they develop a grudging respect for each other, which concludes in a spectacularly dramatic final shootout. The characters are engrossing and Mangold is a competent all-rounder of a director. 

Off-kilter Westerns:

19. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)

Despite its title, this is an extremely ahead of its time female dominated Western. Johnny Guitar is a stoic man who finds himself accompanying Joan Crawford's independently minded saloon owner as she evades a lynch mob led by an old rival Emma Small. The sets, cast and story feel fresh and it led to Francois Truffaut labelling it "the Beauty and the Beast of Westerns". 

20. McCabe and Mrs Miller (Robert Altmann, 1971)

The last one to watch on this list, McCabe and Mrs Miller's greatness is only apparent after becoming used to the narrative conventions of Westerns. Stunningly authentic in design and architecture, it breaks nearly every cliche going: our protagonist is a businessman, he wins his shootouts by killing his opponents from behind, he is cowardly, the landscape is snow drenched and the legend that McCabe brings to town with him is perhaps untrue. Ravishing, intelligent and sobering.