The MoFo Top 100 Westerns: Countdown

Happy to be back for another countdown. Of the first four, only seen Geronimo. It was way back when it was in the theater so I don't remember it much.

Who did the graphics for this thing. They could use some work.

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i had warlock at #5. great western full of moral ambiguity, gorgeous cinemascope, and henry fonda. basically everything a movie needs.

similarly, man of the west is also one of the more morally-complex westerns i’ve seen and it’s anthony mann’s best imo. it was my favorite discovery in preparation for the list and i had it at #8, it’s a travesty it couldn’t make it on.

i almost watched two mules for sister sara a few days before the deadline but ended up watching siegel’s the shootist instead. never heard of geronimo but walter hill is cool.

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That's a pretty fair number of fans, which makes for a more meaningful list of top westerns. In some of the HOFs, e.g., we only get 10-12 participants, so it's really more of a love-labor exercise.

Nice looking presentation

None of those four were on my ballot, seen three of them (The Sons Of Katie Elder, Two Mules For Sister Sara and Warlock) and the 35-ptr that just missed out (Man Of The West) - all decent in their own way with Warlock being the closest of those to making my list.

Seen: 3/4

Faildictions (yee-haw version 1.01):
96. McLintock!
95. The Guns Of Fort Petticoat

I'm a broken record, but I love the presentation

I watched Warlock for the 50's list and Sister Sara for the 70's list and I liked both of them.

I've always known about The Sons of Katie Elder but I've never heard much good so I skipped it. I'll watch it at some point.

Not familiar with Geronimo but with Walter Hill and that cast I'm sure it's at least decent.

Haven't heard of any of these, so you can decide if I voted for them or not

Fantastic graphics, Holden

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If I have anything to do with it a whole bunch of Anthony Mann's films will make the countdown Man of the West (1958) just missed my list, but I thought very highly of it. Actually the only Antony Mann western that didn't blow me away was Cimarron, and even that is worth watching just for the crazy and huge land rush scene.

Somewhere along the line in compiling and revealing these homegrown MoFo List countdowns it became a tradition for some to intentionally name an obscure or jokey title unlikely to appear on any other ballots as their twenty-fifth vote. If indeed no one else voted for it anywhere on their lists it would stick out as a “one-pointer”. For those who enjoy such a tradition I will not be the one to rob you of it.

These lucky thirteen titles are your MoFo Westerns One-Pointers. Alphabetically…



Claim ‘em if you want ‘em.



*NOTE: John Ford's The Searchers is, no surprise, nowhere near a one-pointer. But what is lonelier or more singular than Duke Wayne's Ethan Edwards in the famous last shot?

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Greed and Brokeback, interesting. Haven’t seen either of those but didn’t think of them as westerns so didn’t bother.

Greed and Brokeback Mountain are both excellent but I don't think of them as westerns. I understand the thought though.

I've seen Greed and it's an ambitious silent film. I'm betting that's Cricket's as he liked Greed. I'll bet Thursday Next had Brokenback Mountain, it has cowboy hats

Whoops, guess I was wrong

montana belle was my #25

If I did vote for it, it would've been much higher than 25th.

In Pursuit of Honor was my one-pointer. It’s a made for TV movie, starring Don Johnson, about a group of cavalrymen who steal a bunch of horses from the Army in order to keep them from being killed. I was obsessed with it when I was in like eighth or ninth grade. I like it a whole lot more than several of the films I voted for, but I figured nobody else was likely to have even heard of it.

Surprised to see Brokeback on the list. I almost voted for it, not as a one-pointer but just on my ballot, but ultimately decided that I didn’t really consider it a Western.

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City Of Bad Men was my #25 and it's a reasonably enjoyable b-grade offering imo.

Synopsis from IMDb:
If that sounds of any interest maybe give it a whirl sometime, it's freely available on the Tube of You (or at least it was when I watched it last month).

Of the other 1-pointers, I've seen:
Greed (superb film but not one I think of particularly as a Western)
Ride Clear of Diablo (ok Audie Murphy/Dan Duryea offering)
River of No Return (an ok adventure but sadly Marilyn's acting does drag it down somewhat for me)

Black '47 was my No.25, a solid revenge thriller within the context of the Irish Famine in 1847 (Old,rural and with enough guns blazing to count as a foreign western I presume?)

Black ‘47 is the only 1 pointer I've seen. I didn't much like it so it's OK that it never popped into my head when thinking of westerns. Other than that Brokeback Mountain is probably the only film I know of.

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