List your favorite Westerns of all time (and why they are)

Tools    





Two of my favorites immediately come to mind: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and The Wild Bunch (1969).

Both '60s films brought new elements to westerns. Valance because it's basically a bully story with a master stroke twist; and Wild Bunch because of it's innovative gunshot depictions and gritty plot. Both had huge stars on display.



That's a pretty solid list there, John-Connor!
__________________
"Well, it's what people know about themselves inside that makes 'em afraid" - Clint Eastwood as The Stranger, High Plains Drifter (1973)

"I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours" - Bob Dylan, Talkin' World War III Blues (1963)



Okay... After thinking long and hard about it - and actually watching the movies in sequence - here's a sort of revised version of my Favorite Westerns of All Time list. But just remember, this is only the first installment, #01-20. I've actually worked out my favorite Westerns all the way up to #60 (see an earlier post), but this one took me all day to put together, so it will be quite some time before I'm ready to pick up where this left off!






#001 - 010: Only At The Point Of Dying

#001 - THE DOLLARS / MAN WITH NO NAME TRILOGY [TIE]:
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964)
directed by: Sergio Leone
screenplay by: Víctor Andrés Catena, Jaime Comas Gil and Sergio Leone / story by: Adriano Bolzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena and Sergio Leone / based on: Yojimbo (film) by Akira Kurosawa
starring: Clint Eastwood (Joe), Gian Maria Volonté (Ramón Rojo), Marianne Koch (Marisol), Wolfgang Lukschy (Sheriff John Baxter), Sieghardt Rupp (Esteban Rojo), Joseph Egger (Piripero), Antonio Prieto (Don Miguel Rojo), José Calvo (Silvanito), Margarita Lozano (Consuelo Baxter), Daniel Martín (Julio), Mario Brega (Chico)
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (1965)
directed by: Sergio Leone
screenplay by: Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone / story by: Sergio Leone and Fulvio Morsella
starring: Clint Eastwood (Manco), Lee Van Cleef (Colonel Douglas Mortimer), Gian Maria Volonté (El Indio), Klaus Kinski (Juan Wild, the hunchback), Mario Brega (Niño), Mara Krupp (Mary, the hotel manager's wife), Luigi Pistilli (Groggy), Joseph Egger (Old Prophet), Panos Papadopulos (Sancho Perez), Benito Stefanelli (Hughie)
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
directed by: Sergio Leone
screenplay by: Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone / story by: Luciano Vincenzoni and Sergio Leone
starring: Clint Eastwood (Blondie), Eli Wallach (Tuco), Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes), Aldo Giuffrè (Clinton, the alcoholic Union Captain), Mario Brega (Corporal Wallace), Luigi Pistilli (Father Pablo Ramírez), Al Mulock (Elam, the one-armed bounty hunter), Antonio Casale (Jackson / Bill Carson), Enzo Petito (The Gun Shop Owner), Rada Rassimov (Maria)

#002 - THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
directed by: Sam Peckinpah
screenplay by: Walon Green and Sam Peckinpah / story by: Walon Green and Roy N. Sickner
starring: William Holden (Pike Bishop), Ernest Borgnine (Dutch Engstrom), Robert Ryan (Deke Thornton), Edmond O'Brien (Freddie Sykes), Warren Oates (Lyle Gorch), Jaime Sánchez (Angel), Ben Johnson (Tector Gorch), Emilio Fernández (General Mapache), Strother Martin (Coffer), L.Q. Jones (T.C.), Albert Dekker (Pat Harrigan), Bo Hopkins (Clarence "Crazy" Lee), Jorge Russek (Major Zamorra), Alfonso Arau (Lieutenant Herrera), Dub Taylor (Wainscoat), Chano Urueta (Don José), Elsa Cárdenas (Elsa)

#003 - ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (1968)
directed by: Sergio Leone
screenplay by: Sergio Donati and Sergio Leone / story by: Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci and Sergio Leone
starring: Claudia Cardinale (Jill McBain), Henry Fonda (Frank), Jason Robards (Manuel "Cheyenne" Gutiérrez), Charles Bronson (Harmonica), Gabriele Ferzetti (Mr. Morton), Paolo Stoppa (Sam), Woody Strode (Stony), Jack Elam (Snaky), Keenan Wynn (Sheriff of Flagstone), Frank Wolff (Brett McBain), Lionel Stander (The Barman), Al Mulock (Knuckles), Marco Zuanelli (Wobbles)

#004 - UNFORGIVEN (1992)
directed by: Clint Eastwood
written by: David Webb Peoples
starring: Clint Eastwood (William Munny), Gene Hackman (Sheriff "Little" Bill Daggett), Morgan Freeman (Ned Logan), Richard Harris (English Bob), Jaimz Woolvett (The Schofield Kid), Saul Rubinek (W.W. Beauchamp), Frances Fisher (Strawberry Alice), Anna Thomson (Delilah Fitzgerald), David Mucci (Quick Mike), Rob Campbell (Davey Bunting), Anthony James (Skinny Dubois)

#005 - THE GREAT SILENCE (1968)
directed by: Sergio Corbucci
screenplay by: Vittoriano Petrilli, Mario Amendola, Bruno Corbucci and Sergio Corbucci / story by: Sergio Corbucci
starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant (Silence), Klaus Kinski (Loco), Vonetta McGee (Pauline Middleton), Frank Wolff (Sheriff Gideon Burnett), Luigi Pistilli (Henry Pollicut), Mario Brega (Martin), Carlo D'Angelo (Governor of Utah), Marisa Merlini (Regina, the saloon madam), Raf Baldassarre (Sanchez), Spartaco Conversi (Walter, the outlaw leader), Remo De Angelis (Fake Sheriff), Bruno Corazzari (Charlie)

#006 - THE FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE (1975)
directed by: Lucio Fulci
screenplay by: Ennio De Concini / based on: The Luck of Roaring Camp and The Outcasts of Poker Flat (short stories) by Bret Harte
starring: Fabio Testi (Stubby Preston), Lynne Frederick (Emanuelle "Bunny" O'Neill), Tomas Milian (Chaco), Michael J. Pollard (Clem), Harry Baird (Bud), Adolfo Lastretti (Reverend Sullivan), Bruno Corazzari (Lemmy), Donal O'Brien (Sheriff of Salt Flat)

#007 - THE BALLAD OF CABLE HOGUE (1970)
directed by: Sam Peckinpah
written by: John Crawford and Edmund Penney
starring: Jason Robards (Cable Hogue), Stella Stevens (Hildy), David Warner (Reverend Joshua Duncan Sloan), Strother Martin (Bowen), Slim Pickens (Ben Fairchild), L.Q. Jones (Taggart), Peter Whitney (Cushing), R.G. Armstrong (Quittner), Gene Evans (Clete)

#008 - THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES (1976)
directed by: Clint Eastwood
screenplay by: Philip Kaufman and Sonia Chernus / based on: Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter
starring: Clint Eastwood (Josey Wales), Chief Dan George (Lone Watie), Sondra Locke (Laura Lee), Bill McKinney (Captain Terrill), John Vernon (Captain Fletcher), Paula Trueman (Grandma Sarah Turner), Sam Bottoms (Jamie), Geraldine Keams (Little Moonlight), Woodrow Parfrey (Carpetbagger Percy Long), Joyce Jameson (Rose), Sheb Wooley (Travis Cobb), Royal Dano (Ten Spot), Matt Clark (Kelly), John Verros (Chato), Will Sampson (Ten Bears), William O'Connell (Sim Carstairs), John Quade (Comanchero Leader Ciril E. Forebaugh), Frank Schofield (Senator James H. Lane), John Russell ("Bloody" Bill Anderson), John Davis Chandler (First Bounty Hunter)

#009 - THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015)
directed and written by: Quentin Tarantino
starring: Samuel L. Jackson (Major Marquis Warren), Kurt Russell (John Ruth), Jennifer Jason Leigh (Daisy Domergue), Walton Goggins (Sheriff Chris Mannix), Bruce Dern (General Sandy Smithers), Demián Bichir (Señor Bob), Tim Roth (Oswaldo Mobray), Michael Madsen (Joe Gage), James Parks (O.B.), Channing Tatum (Jody), Dana Gourrier (Minnie Mink), Zoë Bell (Six-Horse Judy), Gene Jones (Sweet Dave), Lee Horsley (Ed), Keith Jefferson (Charly), Belinda Owino (Gemma), Craig Stark (Chester Charles Smithers)

#010 - THE HUNTING PARTY (1971)
directed by: Don Medford
screenplay by: William W. Norton, Gilbert Ralston and Lou Morheim / story by: Gilbert Ralston and Lou Morheim
starring: Oliver Reed (Frank Calder), Candice Bergen (Melissa Ruger), Gene Hackman (Brandt Ruger), Simon Oakland (Matthew Gunn), Mitchell Ryan (Doc Harrison), L.Q. Jones ("Hog" Warren), William Watson (Jim Loring), G.D. Spradlin (Sam Bayard), Ronald Howard (Watt Nelson)

#011-020: Some Are Born To Endless Night

#011 - [TIE]: TOMBSTONE (1993)
directed by: George P. Cosmatos
written by: Kevin Jarre
starring: Kurt Russell (Wyatt Earp), Val Kilmer (Doc Holliday), Sam Elliott (Virgil Earp), Bill Paxton (Morgan Earp), Powers Boothe ("Curly Bill" Brocius), Michael Biehn (Johnny Ringo), Stephen Lang (Ike Clanton), Dana Delany (Josephine Marcus), Charlton Heston (Henry Hooker), Jason Priestley (Billy Breakenridge), Jon Tenney (Sheriff Johnny Behan), Thomas Haden Church (Billy Clanton), Paula Malcolmson (Allie Earp), Lisa Collins (Louisa Earp), Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (Mattie Blaylock), Joanna Pacula (Big Nose Kate), Michael Rooker (Sherman McMasters), Harry Carey Jr. (Marshal Fred White), Billy Bob Thornton (Johnny Tyler), Frank Stallone (Ed Bailey), Robert John Burke (Frank McLaury), Billy Zane (Mr. Fabian), Terry O'Quinn (Mayor John Clum), Robert Mitchum (Narrator)
WYATT EARP (1994)
directed by: Lawrence Kasdan
written by: Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan
starring: Kevin Costner (Wyatt Earp), Dennis Quaid (Doc Holliday), Gene Hackman (Nicholas Earp), Michael Madsen (Virgil Earp), David Andrews (James Earp), Linden Ashby (Morgan Earp), Jeff Fahey (Ike Clanton), Joanna Going (Josephine Marcus), Mark Harmon (Sheriff Johnny Behan), Catherine O'Hara (Allie Earp), JoBeth Williams (Bessie Earp), Betty Buckley (Virginia Earp), Alison Elliott (Louisa Earp), Mare Winningham (Mattie Blaylock), Isabella Rossellini (Big Nose Kate), Bill Pullman (Ed Masterson), Tom Sizemore (Bat Masterson), Annabeth Gish (Urilla Sutherland), James Gammon (Mr. Sutherland), Karen Grassle (Mrs. Sutherland), Jim Caviezel (Warren Earp), Téa Leoni (Sally), Rex Linn (Frank McLaury), Randle Mell (John Clum), Adam Baldwin (Tom McLaury), Lewis Smith ("Curly Bill" Brocius), Martin Kove (Ed Ross), John Doe (Tommy "Behind-The-Deuce" O'Rourke)

#012 - LITTLE BIG MAN (1970)
directed by: Arthur Penn
screenplay by: Calder Willingham / based on the novel by Thomas Berger
starring: Dustin Hoffman (Jack Crabb), Faye Dunaway (Louise Pendrake), Chief Dan George (Old Lodge Skins), Martin Balsam (Allardyce T. Meriweather), Richard Mulligan (General George Armstrong Custer), Jeff Corey (Wild Bill Hickok), Aimée Eccles (Sunshine), Kelly Jean Peters (Olga Crabb), Carole Androsky (Caroline Crabb), Robert Little Star (Little Horse), Cal Bellini (Younger Bear), William Hickey (The Historian), Thayer David (Reverend Silas Pendrake), Ruben Moreno (Shadow That Comes in Sight), Steve Shemayne (Burns Red in the Sun)

#013 - DJANGO (1966)
directed by: Sergio Corbucci
screenplay by: Sergio Corbucci, Bruno Corbucci, Franco Rossetti and Piero Vivarelli / story by: Sergio Corbucci and Bruno Corbucci
starring: Franco Nero (Django), José Bódalo (General Hugo Rodríguez), Loredana Nusciak (María), Ángel Álvarez (Nathaniel, the bartender), Eduardo Fajardo (Major Jackson), Gino Pernice (Brother Jonathan), Remo De Angelis (Ricardo), José Terrón (Ringo)

#014 - HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER (1973)
directed by: Clint Eastwood
written by: Ernest Tidyman
starring: Clint Eastwood (The Stranger), Verna Bloom (Sarah Belding), Marianna Hill (Callie Travers), Billy Curtis (Mordecai), Mitchell Ryan (Dave Drake), Jack Ging (Morgan Allen), Stefan Gierasch (Mayor Jason Hobart), Ted Hartley (Lewis Belding), Geoffrey Lewis (Stacey Bridges), Dan Vadis (Dan Carlin), Anthony James (Cole Carlin), Walter Barnes (Sheriff Sam Shaw), Robert Donner (Preacher), John Hillerman (Bootmaker), Buddy Van Horn (Marshal Jim Duncan), William O'Connell (The Barber)

#015 - EL TOPO (1970)
directed and written by: Alejandro Jodorowsky
starring: Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo), Brontis Jodorowsky (Hijo, the boy), Alfonso Arau (Bandit #1), José Luis Fernández (Bandit #2), Alf Junco (Bandit #3), Jacqueline Luis (Mujercita, the wife), Mara Lorenzio (Marah, the woman), Paula Romo (Desconocida, the woman in black), David Silva (The Colonel), Héctor Martínez (Gunfighter #1), Juan José Gurrola (Gunfighter #2), Victor Fosado (Gunfighter #3), Agustín Isunza (Gunfighter #4), Robert John (Hijo, the man), José Antonio Alcaraz (Sheriff)

#016 - McCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971)
directed by: Robert Altman
screenplay by: Robert Altman and Brian McKay / based on: McCabe (novel) by Edmund Naughton
starring: Warren Beatty (John McCabe), Julie Christie (Constance Miller), René Auberjonois (Patrick Sheehan), William Devane (Clement Samuels, the lawyer), John Schuck (Smalley), Corey Fischer (Mr. Elliott), Shelley Duvall (Ida Coyle), Bert Remsen (Bart Coyle), Keith Carradine (The Cowboy), Michael Murphy (Eugene Sears), Antony Holland (Ernest Hollander), Hugh Millais (Butler), Manfred Schulz (Kid), Jace Van Der Veen (Breed)

#017 - PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID (1973)
directed by: Sam Peckinpah
written by: Rudy Wurlitzer
starring: James Coburn (Pat Garrett), Kris Kristofferson (Billy The Kid), Bob Dylan (Alias), Jason Robards (Governor Lew Wallace), Slim Pickens (Sheriff Cullen Baker), Katy Jurado (Mrs. Baker), Richard Jaeckel (Sheriff Kip McKinney), Rita Coolidge (Maria), Chill Wills (Lemuel), Barry Sullivan (John Chisum), R.G. Armstrong (Deputy Sheriff Bob Ollinger), Luke Askew (Eno), John Beck (John W. Poe), Richard Bright (Holly), Matt Clark (Deputy Sheriff J.W. Bell), Jack Dodson (Llewellyn Howland), Jack Elam ("Alamosa Bill" Kermit), Emilio Fernández (Paco), Paul Fix (Pete Maxwell), Jorge Russek (Silva), Charles Martin Smith (Charlie Bowdre), Harry Dean Stanton (Luke), John Davis Chandler (Norris), Aurora Clavel (Ida Garrett), Rutanya Alda (Ruthie Lee)

#018 - DJANGO KILL... IF YOU LIVE, SHOOT! (1967)
directed by: Giulio Questi
screenplay by: Giulio Questi, Franco Arcalli and Benedettto Benedetti / story by: María del Carmen, Martínez Román, Giulio Questi and Franco Arcalli
starring: Tomas Milian (The Stranger), Marilù Tolo (Flory), Roberto Camardiel (Sorro), Piero Lulli (Oaks), Francisco Sanz (Alderman), Milo Quesada (Bill Templer), Ray Lovelock (Evan Templer), Patrizia Valturri (Elizabeth Alderman), Miguel Serrano (Indian #1), Ángel Silva (Indian #2), Félix Sancho Gracia (Willy)

#019 - DEAD MAN (1995)
directed and written by: Jim Jarmusch
starring: Johnny Depp (William Blake), Gary Farmer (Nobody / Xebeche), Crispin Glover (Train Fireman), Lance Henriksen (Cole Wilson), Michael Wincott (Conway Twill), Eugene Byrd (Johnny "The Kid" Pickett), John Hurt (John Scholfield), Robert Mitchum (John Dickinson), Iggy Pop (Salvatore "Sally" Jenko), Gabriel Byrne (Charlie Dickinson), Jared Harris (Benmont Tench), Mili Avital (Thel Russell), Billy Bob Thornton (Big George Drakoulias), Alfred Molina (Trading Post Missionary)

#020 - THE BALLAD OF LITTLE JO (1993)
directed and written by: Maggie Greenwald
starring: Suzy Amis (Josephine "Jo" Monaghan), Bo Hopkins (Frank Badger), Ian McKellen (Percy Corcoran), David Chung (Tinman Wong), Heather Graham (Mary Addie), René Auberjonois (Streight Hollander), Carrie Snodgress (Ruth Badger), Anthony Heald (Henry Gray), Melissa Leo (Beatrice Gray), Sam Robards (Jasper Hill)



My all-time favorite Western is 'Unforgiven.' Why? Everything. The characters, acting, cinematography, themes, etc. But what I particularly love about this epic masterpiece is how Clint Eastwood's character plays a man who was once a drunken, vicious and evil individual but turned his life around after his wife passed away. The entire film he tries hard not to get taken back to that lifestyle but eventually does.

__________________
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi​