Greatest westerns ever made? Pick your top five.

[RegisteredUconn]

High Noon (best movie period)
Outlaw Josie Wales
Magnificent Seven
Tombstone
Open Range

At least 5 others worthy of being on the list.

 

[msf22b]

Shane
Dancing with Wolves

And a surprise...that on the first page
no one picked the Big Country...
Love the music...Burl Ives, Jean Simmons, and of course G. Peck

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Where's TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE?

First, let me preface my post by saying that “The Treasure of Sierra Madre” is one of the greatest films ever made (and maybe Bogie’s greatest performance) on several fronts, but the entire film is set deep in Mexico’s big mountain range about 1000 miles south of the US border. I know I’m being technical here but I would not call it an American western. Most of the traditional elements that make up a “western” in this film are missing. It’s the only reason I did not include it in my picks, nonetheless it is one of the best films ever made.

 

[choochoo]

Outlaw Josie Wales is one of my all-time favorite films…part of it was filmed in Angel Canyon, Utah, the site of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. It’s a gorgeous spot. My late wife and I visited a number of years ago.

A fascinating fact is that clocks appear continually in High Noon, which adds suspense. And the timing of the film tracks the times you see on the clocks. That’s pretty amazing.

Finally, how about Little Big Man, with Dustin Hoffman? (And I just read that Chief Dan George was in that film—as well as Josie Wells!)

I was gonna suggest Little Big Man, you beat me too it. think Dustin won an Oscar for that movie. I could watch it 100 times.

 

[EasyEd]

Not a big western fan, but I do like the comedy westerns.
In addition to the ones I saw mentioned:
Paint Your Wagon (who knew Clint Eastwood sang?)
Shakiest Gun in the West (need water... falls in pond... need air sequence always cracked me up)
Oklahoma (well it's west of Connecticut and I like musicals, too)
Three Amigos (I like Steve Martin)
The Cheyene Social Club

 

[willtalk]

1 High Noon - Great Soundtrack
2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. - Great Soundtrack.
3 Once Upon a Time in the West.
4 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
5 El Topo

I don't know if anyone else noticed this, but High Noon only uses variation of the theme Song " High Noon" thoughout the movie. Probably the greatest use of a single theme ever. It made the movie.

Too many good movies, most already mentioned, for me to single it down to 5.
But a few are . High Noon, True Grit, The Unforgiven, Open Range and Tombstone .

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Not a big western fan, but I do like the comedy westerns.
In addition to the ones I saw mentioned:
Paint Your Wagon (who knew Clint Eastwood sang?)
Shakiest Gun in the West (need water... falls in pond... need air sequence always cracked me up)
Oklahoma (well it's west of Connecticut and I like musicals, too)
Three Amigos (I like Steve Martin)
The Cheyene Social Club

I forgot about Oklahoma. Good one!!! Also reminded me of another great western musical, Annie Get Your Gun.

 

[RockInND]

Top five in no particular oder:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Silverado
High Noon
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

plus anything with Randolph Scott is worth a watch.

 

[dbmill]

Top five in no particular oder:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Silverado
High Noon
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

plus anything with Randolph Scott is worth a watch.

Tough to name just five top westerns, but in no particular order, here are my choices. And yes, I'm a big fan of many John Ford movies.

Stagecoach (1939)
My Darling Clementine
The Searchers
Red River
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

3;10 to Yuma (1957) did not make my top 5 westerns list, but it is a movie that my wife and I both love. I would say it is my favorite western that was not directed by John Ford, Howard Hawks, or Sergio Leone. Aside from a great compact story with very little in the way of extra frills, my wife and I are both amused how the 3:10 to Yuma theme song and tune are constantly integrated into the film throughout the running time of the movie. Rather similar to High Noon in that respect.

 

[CL82]

plus anything with Randolph Scott is worth a watch.

 

[darkstar1]

My "go to" Internet Movie Review Site is IMDb (Internet Movie Database). Here is their list of Top Twenty Westerns, based on reviews. Follow the links for Descriptions

Top 20 Greatest Western Movies of All Time (The Ultimate List)​

1. Unforgiven (1992)

2. The Searchers (1956)

3. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)​

4. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)​

5. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)​

6. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)​

7. Winchester '73 (1950)​

8. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)​

9. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)​

10. True Grit (1969)​

11. Django Unchained (2012)​

12. Dead Man (1995)​

13. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)​

14. High Noon (1952)​

15. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)​

16. Stagecoach (1939)​

17. Red River (1948)​

18. The Wild Bunch (1969)​

19. Johnny Guitar (1954)​

20. Tombstone (1993)​

This list must not have considered Treasure of Sierra Madre a western. Many other great movies left off this list. Although lots of great flicks, certainly not my go to list.

 

[darkstar1]

The Searchers
Shane
The Ox-Bow Incident
High Noon
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon

Love that someone included The Oxbow incident.

 

[BlueandOG]

Re: Unforgiven - Munny's transformation after drinking the whiskey is chilling, and a fantastic piece of acting

"You, fatman, speak up."

 

[darkstar1]

My too 5:
1. Treasure of Sierra Madre
2. Little Big Man (only saw it mentioned once)
3. The Oxbow Incident (again only 1 previous mention)
4. Dances with Wolves
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales.
If Treasure not considered a western, I’ll take high Noon.

 

[FridaFriend]

1. Cimarron (1931)
2. The Unforgiven (1960)
3. Big Country
4. Stagecoach (1939)
5. High Noon

 

[npignatjr]

Many good ones already mentioned, here are 2 I would add, Wind River and The Missing.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Shane
Dancing with Wolves

And a surprise...that on the first page
no one picked the Big Country...
Love the music...Burl Ives, Jean Simmons, and of course G. Peck

I was astounded that no one mentioned “Westward the Women” or “Duel in the Sun”. “Duel in the Sun” in the late 1940’s, was billed as the “Gone With The Wind” of westerns (big cast, technicolor) when it came out, and had a huge budget but reviews were mixed and it only broke even at the box office. “Westward the Women” on the other hand I would rank in the top five all time, but it had no huge budget, but it had a great director in William Wellman, a screenplay by Frank Capra and terrific photography. I think it’s Robert Taylor’s best movie though many would probably say “Waterloo Bridge” co-starring Vivien Leigh, was his best.

 

[npignatjr]

Many good ones already mentioned, here are 2 I would add, Wind River and The Missing.

Forgot "Jeremiah Johnson"

 

[Stymie]

I would consider Jeremiah Johnson similar to The Revenant- more frontier period pieces than yeehaw westerns.
I enjoy both, and the Revenant more than many do.
When I watch that film, my feet get cold- just like when I watch Fargo.

 

[powerplay]

Tombstone
Unforgiven
3:10 to Yuma
Maverick
A Million Ways To Die In The West
Outlaw Josey Wales
Open Range
Rio Bravo
Pale Rider

 

[Rooster C.]

One that hasn't been mentioned here is Hour of the Gun with James Garner as the best Wyatt Earp ever as well as Jason Robards as the best Doc Holiday ever!
A little story about Unforgiven..........I was in a movie theater to watch some other film(now forgotten) when the preview of Unforgiven showed on the screen. The audience erupted in spontaneous applause, hoots, and hollers! We were all so happy to see Eastwood's return to Westerns.

 

[CTFIRERETIRED]

Only 5? NOT POSSIBLE!
5 John Wayne westerns.
1. THE Searchers
2. True Grit
3. Rio Bravo
4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
5. Red River

5 Henry Fonda westerns.
1. My Darling Clementine
2. Once upon a time in the West.
3. Fort Apache
4. The Oxbow Incident
5. The Cheyenne Social Club

5 Clint Eastwood westerns
1. Outlaw Josey Wales.
2. The Good the bad, the Ugly
3. Unforgiven
4. Fistful of Dollars
5. For a Few Dollars more.

5 Jimmy Stewart westerns.
1. The man who shot Liberty Valance
2. Shenandoah
3. Winchester 73
4. How the West was won
5. The man from Laramie

5 OTHERS
1 Shane
2. Blazing Saddles
3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
4. The Magnificent 7
5 Stagecoach (the original)
. ....and there's so many others not making the cut. The American Western movie.

 

[dbmill]

Only 5? NOT POSSIBLE!
5 John Wayne westerns.
1. THE Searchers
2. True Grit
3. Rio Bravo
4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
5. Red River

5 Henry Fonda westerns.
1. My Darling Clementine
2. Once upon a time in the West.
3. Fort Apache
4. The Oxbow Incident
5. The Cheyenne Social Club

5 Clint Eastwood westerns
1. Outlaw Josey Wales.
2. The Good the bad, the Ugly
3. Unforgiven
4. Fistful of Dollars
5. For a Few Dollars more.

5 Jimmy Stewart westerns.
1. The man who shot Liberty Valance
2. Shenandoah
3. Winchester 73
4. How the West was won
5. The man from Laramie

5 OTHERS
1 Shane
2. Blazing Saddles
3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
4. The Magnificent 7
5 Stagecoach (the original)
. ....and there's so many others not making the cut. The American Western movie.

I agree, tough to come up with a top 5 westerns. It's just tough coming up with a top 5 John Ford or John Wayne western list (of course, the two often worked together)

Easy for me to come up with a top 3 Howard Hawks western list, as they were all in the running for the top 5 western list.

Red River
Rio Bravo
El Dorado

Of course, Rio Bravo and El Dorado do share similarities in plot and such, but they are both so watchable and enjoyable for me.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I agree, tough to come up with a top 5 westerns. It's just tough coming up with a top 5 John Ford or John Wayne western list (of course, the two often worked together)

Easy for me to come up with a top 3 Howard Hawks western list, as they were all in the running for the top 5 western list.

Red River
Rio Bravo
El Dorado

Of course, Rio Bravo and El Dorado do share similarities in plot and such, but they are both so watchable and enjoyable for me.

What about “The Angel and the Badman”? It’s my favorite of all of Wayne’s western flicks, surprised no one mentioned it. Gail Russell is terrific in it. It was also the inspiration for “Witness”, Peter Hyams film starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. My favorite Wayne flick period is “The Quiet Man”, also a John Ford production.

 

[dbmill]

What about “The Angel and the Badman”? It’s my favorite of all of Wayne’s western flicks, surprised no one mentioned it. Gail Russell is terrific in it. It was also the inspiration for “Witness”, Peter Hyams film starring Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis. My favorite Wayne flick period is “The Quiet Man”, also a John Ford production.

I sometimes think of "The Quiet Man" as a western that takes place in Ireland. Well, it isn't a western but it is an absolutely terrific movie, one of the best films done by either John Wayne or John Ford.