Favorite Westerns?

[BostonMA22]

1) Once Upon a Time in the West (Top 3 all time favorite films)
2) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Top 12 all time favorite films)
3) For a Few Dollars More
4) The Searchers (favorite Ford, the social commentary makes it one of the most important films of its time)
5) High Noon (very important as an anti-blacklisting film)
6) Rio Bravo
7) The Wild Bunch
8) Stagecoach
9) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
10) The Outlaw Josey Wales
11) Unforgiven
12) Open Range (crossing my fingers with Goofnut)
13) The Great Silence
14) 3:10 to Yuma (2007)

others that are great are The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Django, My Darling Clementine, The Proposition, Shane, which fall just a bit short of my all time favorite list. i still need to see The Outlaw Josey Wales and Pale Rider, although i've been putting off the PR for a while because i've read that it's more or less a remake of Shane.

i LIKED High Plains Drifter but found it too cold for its own good (Eastwood's direction is impressive though definitely a must see) and i recently watched The Comancheros and El Dorado, both of which i did not like, especially the latter as i found it to be Howard Hawks shamefully rehashing the elements of his previous, BETTER films like The Big Sleep and Rio Bravo.

[atrocity77]

My favorite westerns:

Dollars Trilogy
Once Upon a Time in the West
Johnny Guitar
Red River
The Proposition
Unforgiven
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Pale Rider
Stagecoach

[Alaskankaijudude]

Originally Posted by TeresofBlood

Silverado, Back to the Future 3, and The Quick and the Dead are probably the most fun for kids. Quick in the Dead is the most violent, but so stylish and fun that kids would overlook the violence. Plus it's got a young Leonardo DiCaprio!

Quick and the Dead probably not the best choice for the kiddies unless you dont mind them getting a glimpse or two of Sharon Stones nipples.

[Brad1963]

the searchers

[wilky61]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

This is entirely untrue. Before the 1960s a ton of westerns were made that were neither long nor bloody as hell. Extreme violence wasn't appoved under the Production Code. Whether people with "modern" tastes would find these westerns "boring" is another question. The sad answer is probably yes. I'm guessing these will need to be blu-ray only recommendations so...

STAGECOACH

Yeah, I didn't recommend The Searchers to the OP because I figured it would be too boring/not enough action for him, but your recommendation of Stagecoach is a great one. It's old as hell, but it holds up well.

Between you and me, I'd rather watch My Darling Clementine or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance than Tombstone, but these movies aren't available on Blu yet.

[Banned User]

Forgot about Stagecoach. Good choice.

I didn't recommend Unforgiven because the op said children would be present. I consider it one of the definitive westerns but extremely violent. Also Django might be overly violent too for children. People might want to brush up on it and the dollars trilogy before Quentin Tarantino's homage to spaghetti westerns comes out.

[painted_klown]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Also Django might be overly violent to for children. People might want to brush up on it and the dollars trilogy before Quentin Tarantino's homage to spaghetti westerns comes out.

I plan on doing that actually. Waiting until payday and I am ordering up Django from the Blue Underground sale.

To be honest, I wouldn't have cared so much about Django if it weren't for the early buzz regarding QTs upcoming film. From what I understand, it has the name Django in the title and perhaps even has a character with the same name...I may be wrong about that though...

There is a film titled "Sukiyaki Western Django" out on BD and I am curious about it as well. I assume it is sort of an homage to the original Django film. Either way, I need to get the original film so I have a baseline for comparison when I watch the others.

[postulio]

Originally Posted by ObiTrentKenobi

So I blind bought The Magnificent Seven a little while ago, and though I am very impressed with the Bluray release quality and picture clarity for a 50+ year old film... it's incredibly boring.

So, name a few great Westerns that you guys/gals really enjoy. Can you recommend;
1. Great action
2. Strong characterization
3. VERY LITTLE BOREDOM
4. Clean. I'm looking for one I can watch while the kids are in the room i.e. no nud1ty. little-to-moderate cussing and moderate violence is ok.

youve got to be kidding...

all the BEST westerns have plenty of stuff you dont want your kids to see. either man up or watch it when they are not in the room.

having said that,

Unforgiven
Tombstone
Wyatt Earp
True Grit 2010
Appaloosa
3:10 to Yuma
No Country for Old Men (a modern western)
Good, Bad, Weird (korean, lots of action!)
The Assassination of Jesse James (<- great movie but pretty slow)

[sputter]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

This is entirely untrue. Before the 1960s a ton of westerns were made that were neither long nor bloody as hell. Extreme violence wasn't appoved under the Production Code. Whether people with "modern" tastes would find these westerns "boring" is another question. The sad answer is probably yes. I'm guessing these will need to be blu-ray only recommendations so...

STAGECOACH

Which one?

[sputter]

Shane is a classic. Strong chars,solid story,action,no nudes etc. Not on blu-ray far as i know.

[blonde_devil]

there are a lot that i haven't watched for a while but my favorite is the original Trinity movie. watched it as a kid and it is just funny yet it doesn't make fun of the genre. can toss that movie on anytime and be happy. i love the leone movies, pale rider, josey wales, etc but for me, that is my favorite.

[Crimson King]

I love westerns!

Would love to see the Terence Hill/Bud Spencer "Trinity" films on blu in the future!

[Dragon Lee]

I really liked 3:10 to Yuma remake. Not a second wasted in that film!

[octagon]

Originally Posted by postulio

youve got to be kidding...

all the BEST westerns have plenty of stuff you dont want your kids to see.

That's simply not true. Some of the best westerns ever made feature little or no nudity, cursing or graphic violence.

Shane, High Noon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Stagecoach, even The Searchers are all pretty kid friendly.

Or maybe kid neutral would be a better way of putting it. Kids probably wouldn't be interested in them (well, maybe Shane) but there's no need to send them out of the room either.

[blonde_devil]

Originally Posted by Dragon Lee

I really liked 3:10 to Yuma remake. Not a second wasted in that film!

agreed but i just watched the original and Glenn Ford does a good job too as Ben Wade, very evil.

[Le samouraï13]

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly not only a perfect western but a great film everything about it is great the characters, the music, the story, and most of all the directing by Leone…IMHO

[Cinemach]

My Darling Clementine is probably my favorite western. It's a (very) liberal, 'romantic' take on the Wyatt Earp OK Corral legend that really doesn't dwell too much on that story...very lyrical in form and execution, and it features one of my favorite movie scenes (Henry Fonda dancing with Clementine at the church). One of Ford's best, and most overlooked. Would love for it to come on blu, but not holding out hope for that to happen anytime soon.

Some other favorites:

Once Upon a Time in the West - just saw for the first time with my Amazon blu order, EXCELLENT as everyone says it is; popular pick for best in genre
The Searchers - probably John Wayne's best performance; another popular pick for best western
For a Few Dollars More - my personal favorite of Leone's 'Dollars' trilogy; this one has the best story and pacing
Unforgiven - you'll appreciate it more after you've seen quite a few westerns, esp older ones and the Dollars/Man With No Name trilogy.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - sometimes I think Wayne is better here than in Searchers; a rather poignant paean to the passing of the old west

The Assassination of Jesse James... is one of the better more recent westerns (the Coen's True Grit is the best of that bunch), but it is pretty plodding as some have mentioned though it features one of Brad Pitt's better performances.

And many, many disagree with me, but The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly doesn't rate too high on my list. It's certainly influential from a style, shooting, and editing perspective--so it's rep is certainly deserved--but it's a little too big, too long, too slow for me.

[Pirate King]

Originally Posted by sputter

Shane is a classic. Strong chars,solid story,action,no nudes etc. Not on blu-ray far as i know.

I believe Shane is the best western ever made.
High Noon is also an excellent western. Both films need a Blu-ray release!

Considering movies already released on Blu-ray......The 1969 John Wayne "True Grit" is an exceptional film. So is "The Searchers". I enjoy all the Clint Eastwood westerns that have been released.

My fingers are crossed for Shane and High Noon in the near future.

[AeroK]

Very hard to decide but I would say:

1. Tombstone- I really like the atmosphere of this film. It felt authentic as far as the look and feel and the grittiness even though a lot of it wasn't historically accurate. It's one of my favorite films of any genre to watch.
2. Hang'em High
3. Dances With Wolves
4. The Searchers
5. True Grit (John Wayne)
6. For A Few Dollars More
7. 3:10 To Yuma (Remake)
8. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
9. Pale Rider
10. The Cowboys

Others:
Lonesome Dove...it's a mini series but I still think it's a masterpiece.
No Country For Old Men. I would have included it in the list but I didn't won't traditionalists to get upset :P
Shanghai Noon and Maverick

[koover]

Unforgiven, 3:10 to Yuma and Silverado for your more modern westerns. Then anything John Wayne is a good bet. There are a ton.