Scenic Westerns

[hagios]

Hey Gang, I could not find a specific thread for this, so here goes. I am looking for specific Westerns that have great scenic shots in them(can be DVDs &/or BDs).

I was watching Jesse James w/ Tyrone Power & Henry Fonda, also The Return Of Frank James & they had fantastic outdoor scenic shots! I know there are several of you that love westerns & you could give a great list of those that have great outdoor scenic shots. So you western buffs out there help another lover of the Old West & give us a list of those great, classic, scenic westerns!!

[UNCMT9]

I haven't seen it, but I've heard Heaven's Gate has some gorgeous shots. I don't know how much of a "western" this is though.

[The Great Owl]

The Searchers for the win.

Once Upon a Time in the West looks beautiful on Blu-ray as well.
The Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) features remarkable scenery, with Italy and Spain film locations that stand in well to represent the American West.
High Noon looks great in glorious black-and-white, when it comes to older Westerns.

I'm also interested in grabbing the new Criterion Collection title, 3:10 to Yuma, because I used to own the film on DVD, and it features some terrific scenery.

[UNCMT9]

I wouldn't say it's a Western, but Legends of the Fall is great!

[pro-bassoonist]

[Crimson King]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The Searchers for the win.

Once Upon a Time in the West looks beautiful on Blu-ray as well.
The Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) features remarkable scenery, with Italy and Spain film locations that stand in well to represent the American West.

yup!

[MifuneFan]

Yep, came here to say Once Upon a time in the west. The Big Country also has some great cinematography and nice vistas.

[Abdrewes]

Heavens Gate. At 3½ hours, it's the most scenic

[KOQ24]

the Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford
Open Range
No country for old men

[quickdraw]

My vote is for The Searchers, How the West Was Won and The Big Country. The Searchers is the best transfer of the bunch (in blu), but some of the scenes from How the West Was Won look like 19th century paintings of the west that have been animated; really well composed shots with seemingly endless vistas.

[Abdrewes]

Oh man. The visuals in HTWWW are almost too much to consume. You feel like a snake watching that thing.

[joie]

The Searchers

[blufellas]

The Searchers

[Sherlock_Jr]

Since pretty much the majority of westerns take place mainly outside, I'd say pretty much every western is "scenic".

[L'armée des ombres]

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Sherlock_Jr

Since pretty much the majority of westerns take place mainly outside, I'd say pretty much every western is "scenic".

that's why I love westerns so much.

[Sherlock_Jr]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

that's why I love westerns so much.

Not to mention, probably 1/3 of them seemed to all be filmed in the same place: Monument Valley. So it's the same scenery over and over again.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Yep, came here to say Once Upon a time in the west. The Big Country also has some great cinematography and nice vistas.

Just a quick aside, Mifune, since I haven't seen The Big Country raised in quite awhile. My blu-ray copy suffers terribly from horizonal compression (anamorphic mumps), regardless of the aspect ratio applied, to the point that it is unwatchable and there doesn't seem to be any way to correct this on my Panasonic DMP BD60. This has been a major disappointment since this was one of my most-looked forward to upgrades. This was not alluded to, to any degree, either in the review here or in the thread, and I've never experienced the problem before. Is it remotely possible that a few copies of the release could have been printed with the wrong correction applied? How does your copy play?

To the point, yes Big Country and The Searchers would be the two that I'd refer to. I'd also throw in the very fine Broken Trail with Robert Duval and Thomas Haden Church for cinematography.

[The Great Owl]

These films are wonderful in the sense that they show an American West before the landscape was invaded by highways, convenience stores, strip malls, cell towers, and such.

If you are looking for a Western that is mournful of the decline of that way of life, then I recommend the film, Lonely Are the Brave, starting Kirk Douglas. It's only out on DVD right now, sadly, but I hope to see a Blu-ray someday.

Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven is another Western that is self-aware of a way of life that is passing from reality to legend. The movie even includes a character who writes embellished pulp novel adventures involving real cowboys, and it deals with the idea that the Old West was falsely romanticized.

I apologize if this post is a buzzkill for the thread, but the two films that I've mentioned are also beautiful in both scenery and scope.

[broganreynik]

I agree with quite a few mentioned here. I'd also add Blackthorn, The Proposition, and The Man From Snowy River for a "change of scenery", but every bit as breathtaking.

And it might not quite qualify as western, but There Will Be Blood.