Your 5 favorite Westerns on blu from BEFORE 1980

[benbess]

In 1980, the epic Western "Heaven's Gate" was a notorious box-office bomb that some said had killed the Western. As Mark Twain once said: "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." But it's true that only one or two traditional Westerns a year are usually released these days. Compare that with the dozen or more Westerns released each year during the genre's peak in the 1950s:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...950%E2%80%9354

Anyway, what are your top five favorite Westerns from BEFORE 1980 that are available on blu-ray? PLEASE GIVE A ONE LINE EXPLANATION OF WHY YOU PICKED EACH OF YOUR FIVE FILMS.

Here are mine:

1. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
A surreal twist on the Western that seems part David Lean, part spaghetti. The best music ever written for any Western is found here imho in Ennio Morricone's mind-blowing and iconic score.

2. Shane (1953)
Slow and poignant Technicolor epic directed by George Stevens, and starring Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Jack Palance, and Brandon deWilde.

3. The Big Country(1958)
The Ben-Hur of Westerns? Anyway, it was directed by William Wyler and stars Charleton Heston and Gregory Peck

4. How the West Was Won (1962)
The only Cinerama Western ever made looks magnificent on blu-ray, and has an all-star cast. Outstanding score by Alfred Newman.

5. The Searchers (1956)
Beautiful VistaVision film directed by John Ford. John Wayne's character is racist, but part of the point of this film is that he's somewhat able to overcome that.

Bonus question. What are the top-3 Westerns BEFORE 1980 that you'd like to see on blu-ray?

Here are mine:

1. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1948)
Magnificent Technicolor Western starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford.

2. The Plainsman (1936)
DeMille epic with compelling role for Gary Cooper.

3. Broken Arrow (1950)
Jimmy Stewart stars in one of the first Westerns to portray "Indians" sympathetically. Beautiful Technicolor film.

[MifuneFan]

Rio Bravo
The Searchers
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Man who Shot Liberty Valance

[benbess]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Rio Bravo
The Searchers
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
The Man who Shot Liberty Valance

I don't think Liberty is yet available on blu. I think that would be a nominee for the format, which is the second list. And can you add a one line explanation for why you picked each film? Great choices!++

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by benbess

I don't think Liberty is yet available on blu. I think that would be a nominee for the format, which is the second list. And can you add a one line explanation for why you picked each film? Great choices!++

It's available overseas . I imagine Paramount will release it sometime in the US (possibly through Warner).

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-M...Blu-ray/67085/

Rio Bravo - My favorite western. It's kind of like a comfort food type of movie for me. I can never tire of it. The characters and the casting are perfect.

The Searchers - One of the first westerns I've seen. A great film with a large scale feel to it. It's one of the few westerns where I vividly look back on it, and feel like I've lived through that time. One of John Wayne's best in my opinion..

Once Upon a Time in the West - This is Leone's best work in my opinion. Among other things, I enjoy seeing Fonda play a villain.

TGBU - All 3 main actors are just perfect for their roles. I love that we have this western, but then we see that it's set against a civil war backdrop and we're thrown right into that at one point. Amazing music, and camera work as well.

Liberty Valance - It's honestly been a long time since I've seen it, but I remember thinking that it didn't feel like a typical western, and that's why I liked it.

[Scottie]

Giant
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Once Upon A Time In The West
Red River
The Searchers

[KubrickKurasawa]

The Man Who SHot Liberty Valence is on NetFlix and it looks fine imo, it's B&W so that helps it look good with Netflix down sampling quality compared to Blu-Ray. But if you're hardcore I think its available in Europe/import and region free.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Man-Who-...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

[Dunemoon]

[hagios]

Your 5 favorite Westerns on blu from BEFORE 1980



1.

Wrongfully accused man of murdering a local rancher that seeks out vengeance on the lynch mob that tried to hang him

2.

Missouri farmer enlists in the Confederate army to better pursue the renegade soldiers responsible for his family's murder

3.

Outlaw brothers Jesse (Tyrone Power) and Frank (Henry Fonda) James

4.

Gunfight feud between Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the Clanton Gang, & the friendship between the rugged marshal (Burt Lancaster) and the dentist-turned-gunfighter (Kirk Douglas)

5.

'Man with No Name' teaming with two gunslingers (Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef) to get at $200,000

What are the top-3 Westerns BEFORE 1980 that you'd like to see on blu-ray?




1.

Frank James the brother of Jesse James seeks revenge

2.

By day he is mild-mannered Don Diego de la Vega & at the same time Don Diego takes on the secret identity of Zorro

3.

In 1864 the Confederacy needs finance for it's war materials & gold could be it's answer

[Musicguy]

1.“Once Upon a Time in the West” has always been my favorite western and one of favorite films – a true masterpiece.

2. “El Dorado” It’s fun and never boring. John Wayne and Robert Mitchum (and I saw it before "Rio Bravo")

3. “The Big Country” What a great score, plus the film is very good with a star studded cast and an Oscar winning performance

4. “The War Wagon” another fun John Wayne film

5. A toss up between “Gunfight at the O.K Corral” and “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly” - need I say more?

Best score “The Magnificent Seven”

[Todd Tomorrow]

Johnny Guitar
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

[benbess]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Johnny Guitar
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Searchers
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Great list!++

But I don't actually know Johnny Guitar. Discovering unknown films is one of the purposes of this list—which is why I requested that you add a one-line reason for each films. Would you be willing to add a line about why JG is your favorite Western of all time? Might make me (and others) want to buy it....Thanks!

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by benbess

Great list!++

But I don't actually know Johnny Guitar. Discovering unknown films is one of the purposes of this list. Would you be willing to add a line about why that is your favorite Western of all time? Might make me (and others) want to buy it....Thanks!

Johnny Guitar is by Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) and may just be the strangest Hollywood Western ever made. It is the rare western that is focused on a rivalry between two women and Claudia Cardinale's character in Once Upon a Time in the West was modelled after Joan Crawford's ex-prostitute land-owner in Johnny Guitar. It's a very stylised and strangely poetic film.

[samuel1976]

The Tin Star (with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins)
Saddle The Wind (with John Cassavetes and Robert Taylor)
The Left Handed Gun (with Paul Newman)
Winchester 73 (with James Stewart)
The Naked Spur (with James Stewart)

[HuggyBear73]

I can say my top 3 are:

GOOD BAD UGLY
WILD BUNCH
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE

[HotRats]

The Great Silence
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Rio Bravo
The Searchers

[The Great Escape]

1. Rio Bravo - Dean Martin turned out the be a hell of a good actor when he wanted too be

2. Big Jake - One of my favorite John Wayne movies of all time

3. Breakheart Pass - If my memory serves me right saw this at my local movie house as a double feature with Rocky of all movies when I was a kid !

4. Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid- Newman & Redford it's a shame they only made the two pictures together

5. The Wild Bunch - the ending is just EPIC !!

[jthefrank]

1- Once Upon a Time in the West
2- A Bullet for the General
3- A Fistfull of Dollars
4- Companeros
5- McCabe and Mrs. Miller

Yeah, I cheated because one isn't out yet, and one doesn't have a US release

[Musicguy]

Can anyone even name 5 westerns that were made AFTER 1980?

[mdonovan]

Searchers
Outlaw Josey Wales
Rio Bravo
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
High Noon
Shane
El Dorado
Cat Balou ...



Blazing Saddles ;-)

[Al_The_Strange]

01: Duck, You Sucker! (aka a Fistfull of Dynamite)
02: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
03: The Outlaw Josey Wales
04: High Plains Drifter
05: True Grit

I don't even like westerns, but these are pretty awesome.