The Best Westerns:
Over the years, I have watched countless westerns and have a list of over 150 that I like and probably more not on that list. There is just something about the Western that captures the imagination; the lifestyle and character of the cowboy, the lawlessness that had to be tamed, revenge and redemption, the horsemanship, the scenery, the plucky dames, and the inevitable duel. Out of all of those hundreds of films, I found the ten that most appealed to me.
10. The Magnificent Seven (1960).
On its own, this film is a classic and I still enjoy it. The tale of the Seven coming together and standing against insurmountable odds is a common theme, but this still is the best. However, I do prefer the much superior original The Seven Samurai (1954). The only sequel that I like to watch is Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969). Here George Kennedy takes over from Yul Brenner and Lee Van Cleef, and though the cast is inferior to the preceding classics, it is the ending that still floors me, as an anguished Kennedy looks around in despair at all his dead men in the Mexican fortress. All that death and destruction to free one man, even though that one man could free his nation. There are many tragic deaths in Westerns, but this is a finer poignant moment not often seen in Westerns.
9. Silverado (1985).
A young Kevin Costner steals the show as the cocky cowboy to his older brother Scott Glenn's more mature and reformed jailbird, who along with Kevin Kline's gunslinger, and Danny Glover's farmer eventually team up against bad Sheriff Brian Dennehy's gang. One of the better and original westerns of this decade that kept the west alive.
8. High Plains Drifter (1973).
Apparently, John Wayne walked out from the film on its premier because he thought it too violent. Clint Eastwood emerges from the shadows of the man with no name, to play, er, a man with no name. Clint has come to take revenge on a town and some marauding cowboy killers in retaliation for the death of a Marshall. As he rides into the sunset, you wonder if he's the Marshall's dead spirit, his son, or just a wandering guardian of justice of good deeds. Clint's gauntlet of bloodletting, fire, rape, red paint, and death may have been a wee bit over the top, but he got the job done.
7. The Wild Bunch (1969).
William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates reminded me of a Western A-Team gone bad. They're on a mission and on the run from their former member turned bounty hunter, Robert Ryan. Unfortunately, by the climax of Sam Peckinpah's film, with the best one-take sequence in Western history, the four turn against the Mexican revolutionaries and German soldiers and pay the ultimate price. They were four old cowboys on the cusp of a new age and they knew their time was up. But what a way to go! Pike, Pike!'
6. Tombstone (1993).
Out of all the OK Corral gunfights, this one is the best, whether the story is accurate or not. The Earps were like pieces of windswept black granite holding the law, while the Clantons and the Cowboys tried to chip away at the bedrock of lawful society. Kurt Russell, as Wyatt Earp, held the film together as a moustachioed force of nature, while Val Kilmer was his sidekick 'Doc I'll be your huckleberry' Holliday. While the characterisation was great, the humour came out naturally as in the gun/tin cup duel between Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) which was a fantastic touch. For a modern, slick, action-packed western, Tombstone was very emotional and atmospheric.
5. Dodge City (1939).
Errol Flynn in his big hat tilted jauntily to match his low slung belt sets an early standard for western with its humour and gunplay. It's the old tale of taming the west in order for the railroad and honest men to make a living. It also still has the best saloon fight, bar none, and I love the table flying in from the stairs. Throw in Robin Hood stalwarts Alan Hale and Olivia De Havilland, along with Guinn Big Boy Williams and you have an absolute Technicolor classic.
4. Shane (1953).
Alan Ladd, may have been short in stature, but he towers in this classic western that sets trends in having jangling spurs and the gun twirl. Van Heflin, Jean Arthur and Brandon De Wilde are the homestead family to be saved, while Jack Palance makes an early sneering appearance as the villainous gunslinger out for Shane's blood.
3. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966).
Clint Eastwood (Blondie), Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes), and Eli Wallach (Tuco) star in this Sergio Leone classic Spaghetti Western. Even though his epic has great actors and action, it also has great music, a trait shared by my top three. The music, for each character, sublimely scored by Ennio Morricone, sets the scene and brings more presence to the film. Even now, people always remember the opening Waaaa music. The word frenemy could have been invented for the three protagonists as they vied and allied with each other to discover the whereabouts of the gold at the end of the frantic climax in the cemetery. While this is a violent film, the playful, glint-in-the-eye humour is there throughout, assuring the viewer that the actors are having as much fun as we are. This caps Clint's Man with no name' Spaghetti trilogy, cementing his place in the history of Western.
2. Once Upon a Time in the West (1969).
A convoluted tale of revenge, land ownership, and relationships, linked together by character-themed music. Leone and Morricone teamed up once more to produce another Western masterpiece. Charles Bronson's Harmonica, in name and sound, haunt the screen while hunting Henry Fonda's Frank, in name and demeanour (Easy, Frank, easy). Fonda is mesmerising as the bad guy, his cold, steely, blue eyes commanding the screen as soon as he and his gang step out from the dust, one by one, after slaughtering the McBain family. Claudia Cardinale, the McBain widow, is left to decide between Frank, Harmonica, and fugitive bandit Cheyenne (Jason Robards), as she comes into possession of valuable railroad land. This is a western of many levels, though I usually avoid the subtexts and enjoy the final duel of music and motion as we finally find out why Harmonica and Frank were destined to meet on a winding road of death. It hardly gets better than this.
1. The Big Country (1958).
I admit that my top three do change places every so often and holding top place now is this William Wyler epic. Gregory Peck (Jim McKay), Charlton Heston (Steve Leech), Burl Ives (Rufus Hannassey), Jean Simmons (Julie Maragon), Charles Bickford (Maj. Henry Terrill), Carroll Baker (Pat Terrill), and Chuck Connors (Buck Hannassey) head up the all-star cast in this family feud over land, water and women. Also, from the opening welcoming scenes of Jim McKay to the final rifle duel, the music of Jerome Moross powers the action, notably as the Major and his men race in Blanco Canyon the first time and in my favourite scene when the Major sets of alone like Napoleon down the canyon for the final duel reluctantly followed by a repentant Leech and then the rest of the hired hands. This is like a Western version of the Charge of the Light Brigade highlighting the blind loyalty and family ties that energise the film throughout. The Big Country is a study in character, writ large. It is about love, honour, and integrity, though each character has their own version of what these should be. The Big Country: a Western at its best.