Top 10 Westerns

[JoeProBono]

"What components make a western truly great? That depends on who's asking, as there are so many subgenres and different takes. There's the classic, the Spaghetti western, the singing cowboy western, the comedy western and the contemporary western. We tend to favor the slow-moving epics à la Leone over fast shoot-'em-ups, and our gunslingers and cowboys to be complex, stoic characters faced with morally difficult situations we believe are microcosms for all of life. There were many contenders for this very American genre—even though some of the finest were shot by an Italian. We've also tried to include a couple of rare choices that do not easily spring to mind, such as the Australian oeuvre "The Proposition." After all, you can Google John Wayne yourself. But what list of top westerns would be complete without The Duke?"

[Dust in the Wind]

"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance"

[Comstock1]

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Searchers
The Outlaw Josey Wales
High Noon
Shane
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
True Grit
Red River
The Unforgiven
Blazing Saddles
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

[Revolting cat!]

Muddy Creek
2:39AM to Podunk
The Unimpressive Eleven
Dances with Roosters
The Meek Bunch
The Man Who Hugged Autarchy Valentino
High at Midnight
Rio Linda
The Shirkers
Fun in Acapulco

[Doc Savage]

Stop it! All of you! Now get this and get it straight cause I'm only sayin' it once, and if you value your health you'll sit up and pay attention to the Master!

You start with SHANE. Everything else comes after it. And all I can say to anyone who tries,...Reach for it pardner!

[Revolting cat!]

Muddy Creek
2:39AM to Podunk
The Unimpressive Eleven
Dances with Roosters
The Meek Bunch
The Man Who Hugged Autarchy Valentino
High at Midnight
Rio Linda
The Shirkers
Fun in Acapulco
Treasure of Ciudad Juárez

[FlyingEagle]

Great thread. All the good Top-10 ones are picked.

However, with Jeff Bridges starring in the new True Grit, it reminds me of the certainly most Degenerate and Hilarious Western of All Time (and it is a modern setting for its 1975 release):

Rancho Deluxe, starring Sam Waterston, Jeff Bridges, and supporting role by Slim Pickens. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073605/

In the movie, The Dude is his Dudeness (just not called that) 23 years before the Coens made The Big Lebowski. I will definitely see the new True Grit because Coens directed and Bridges is in it.

My personal favorite Western is Once Upon A Time in the West, already named in an earlier post.

[fso301]

Please take me off this list.

[johngrace]

In the next scene as he leaves the hotel where the mayor lives, Wyatt comes face-to-face a second time with Old Man Clanton and his clan who are coming in from the rain. In a series of confrontational closeups, he tells them of the cattle rustling and implies in a subtle exchange that his duty as newly-appointed Marshal is to find his brother's murderers. They scoff at the idea of a Marshal in Tombstone until they learn his name, setting themselves up for the inevitable conflict:

Wyatt: I didn't get very far with 'em. They was rustled this evenin'.

Clanton: So, well, that's too bad. You should be headin' for California, heh?

Wyatt: No, I figured on stickin' around for a while. Got myself a job.

Clanton: Cow-punchin'?

Wyatt: Marshal.

Clanton: Marshaling? In Tombstone? Ha, ha, ha. Well good luck to you Mr. uh...?

Wyatt: Earp. WYATT EARP. (Clanton looks back at Wyatt with a Shocked Expression on his face.)

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946)

Cast

Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp

Victor Mature as Dr. John Henry "Doc" Holliday

Cathy Downs as Clementine Carter, Doc's ex-lover

Linda Darnell as Chihuahua

Walter Brennan as Old Man Clanton, cattleman

Tim Holt as Virgil Earp

Ward Bond as Morgan Earp

Don Garner as James Earp

Grant Withers as Ike Clanton

John Ireland as Billy Clanton

Alan Mowbray as Granville Thorndyke, stage actor

Roy Roberts as Mayor

Jane Darwell as Kate Nelson

J. Farrell MacDonald as Mac the barman

DIRECTED BY JOHN FORD

[Mr. Jeeves]

1. The Searchers
2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
4. Red River
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales
6. Unforgiven
7. True Grit
8. Open Range
9. Lonesome Dove
10. The Shootist

In other words: Wayne, Eastwood, Duvall..wash, rinse, repeat. :)

Honorable mention for Tom Selleck - a great Western actor who hasn't had a truly great Western script to show off his abilities - 'Monte Walsh' was pretty good, but not great.

[dearolddad]

You have to put High Noon and Shane up there.

I'll second that motion!

[BullDog108]

“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”

Thanx!

[19th LA Inf]

Neat bits of trivia from "Yellow Ribbon" are the names of some of the characters, contributed by writer James Warner Bellah: Captain Nathan Cutting Brittles, Lt. Flintridge Cohill, "Trooper Smith" (former Confederate General Rome Clay, ex-commander of "Captain" Tyree), and Mrs. Abby Allshard. They are not mentioned in the movie dialogue, and I think most were from earlier short stories by Bellah. I like the moment approaching the Indian camp when Brittles says to Tyree "were you ever scared, Captain? Sarcasm or respect?

[31R1O]

Sam Raimi is a talented director too. The over the top-ness is one of the things he does well. Are you familiar with any of his other work.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***What was the name of the movie where the bad buy was shot by someone else hiding across the street,***

The MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

How in the world did I forget

HONDO!

[ApplegateRanch]

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance needs to be on the list.

[Kid Shelleen]

[DontTreadOnMe2009]

True Grit

Little Big Man

[sushiman]

I love the Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns , but The Long Riders with the Keach , Carradine and Quaid brothers is another fave .

[JoeProBono]