 March 23, 2014 - 5:10pm | I judge this by movies that I've actually sat and watched multiple times, own the DVD or I'm willing to watch again if I was channel surfing and it was on. Magnificent Seven- One of my all time favorites: love Steve McQueen trying to steal the scene from Yul by shaking shot gun shells near his ear or taking in hat off and wiping sweat and knowing that it was actually beginning to irritate Yul such that he threaten Steve during a scene makes it all the more fun to watch. Lot of great lines in there too and Calvera is a great bad guy, scratch that Eli Wallach is awesome as Calvera. Lonesome Dove- love the cast Tommy Lee Jone, Robert Duval, Danny Glover, and more. super well defined characters, true to the time in costumes and manners and the by-play between Robert Duval and just about anyone else he's acting with in the movie is a joy to watch. I cant help but feel that it was a good thing that John Wayne, James Stewart and Henry Fonda never made it. Doesn't matter that this was a four episode mini series I just love it and the characters. So often the emotion on screen is gripping and compelling. Like the hanging scene, Robert Duval said that in that scene he had been in the moment and the emotion of it overwhelmed him and it shows on screen. The following are all guilty pleasures, perhaps they shouldn't be favorites but they are The Good, The Bad and the Ugly; Outlaw Josey Wales; High Plains Drifter Love the byplay between Eastwood with Eli Wallach and Eastwood and the old indian in Josey Wales and the running gag in High Plains Drifter; "What did you say your name was?" "I didn't." Open Range- Costner and Duval- damn and double damn I like this movie and the fact that Costner did a western without indians in was kind of cool. I just like the pacing of this movie and how it starts slow and then the the violence almost takes you by surprise at the end Dances With Wolves- i catch myself stopping to watch this every time its on TV waiting for certain scenes and I fell in love with Mary McDonnel in this movie, I would have dance with wolves for her. Honorable mentions: John Wayne in Red River and Angel and the Bad Man. As a kid I really liked True Grit (another film with Duval and one of the few times that you ever see on film that the tip of one of his fingers is missing) but having learned that the John Wayne True Grit has a crappy Holywood ending as opposed to the better one in the Coen Brothers its lost some shine for me. I however am not as compelled to watch the Coen Brother's True Grit again but could get sucked in to watching John Wayne one again. Pale Rider is an honorable mention as I've only watched it 1.5 times over the years but when I think about westerns I sometimes find myself thinking about this movie. Plus I have a thing for the passage in The Bible that is referenced in this movie and perhaps thats why it comes back to mind so much. Interestingly Westerns with Gene Hackman didn't make my list of favorites, which strikes me as odd since I like Gene Hackman a lot but The Quick and the Dead is just awful and while I did enjoy the scenes of Hackman taunting the "Duck of Death" in "Unforgiven" i think some people have not yet forgiven Eastwood for making it. I think I would have rate Duval as my all time favorite cowboy. EDIT: Young Guns and Young Guns 2 deserve some mention on this list as Rock N Roll westerns- not so historic but fun. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 23, 2014 - 5:28pm | Tombstone. I watch it regularly. In the theme of rock-n-roll westerns (well, maybe rock is stretching it a bit, but the flick still shares similar DNA) there's American Outlaws with Colin Farrel as Jesse James. |
March 23, 2014 - 5:38pm | I forgot Tombstone- again light on history but fun to watch with some good lines. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 March 23, 2014 - 5:52pm | Westerns are not a fav of mine but if I had to pick one then The Cheyenne Social Club with Jimmy Stewart Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
March 23, 2014 - 7:10pm | Westerns are not a fav of mine but if I had to pick one then The Cheyenne Social Club with Jimmy Stewart I was 7 or 8 in Alaska and saw Magnificent 7 for the first time and fell in love with Westerns (you watch a lot of TV up north during the winter) I saw my first monster movie there as well, a b/w frankenstien which scared the piss out of me caused me to start running and jumping into bed out of fear of the potential monsters under it. Needless to say I gravitated to westerns over horror. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 24, 2014 - 4:52am | I spend a lot time studying movie posters these days and just came across this for the first time, what a great poster- Eastwood raging with two pistols in his hands- it must have been an effective poster during the theatrical release. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 24, 2014 - 9:09am | Strangly I am one of those people who like being scared. I watch zombie movies during my break at work and then go do perimeter checks. This is while I am alone at 3:00 AM at a 90 year old building. Westerns never seem to do alot for me even after living in Texas for ten years. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 March 24, 2014 - 9:37am | I'm glad Dances With Wolves was brought up, b/c is is one of my favorite movies of all times. Like the Godfather I & II - any time it is on, I have to watch... For some reason, I never liked Yul or John Wayne. The old school acting always got on my nerves. I guess Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is my all time favorite. (I'm taking license here since Jedion included Dances with wolves) As far as Clint Eastwood - Josey Wales and Good, Bad, Ugly are my favorites of his. Open Range, Tombstone, Pale Rider are also great. I'm not sure if Jeremiah Johnson would count as he was a trapper more than a cowboy, but there's a lot of whitey on indian fight scenes, so I'll include that in my list too. :) |
 March 24, 2014 - 10:52am | I liked Dances With Wolves but my all time favorite western is Silverado. Kevin Costner was very young. But I loved Kevin Kline in his role. Also the actress that played the saloon manager is excellent. Also the movie Shane is pretty good too. I actually saw it in high school. My history teacher showed it to us as a portrate of the time. The Magnificent Seven is another great movie. I have watched it many times as a kid with my parents and once in a while as an adult. My mom is a fan of musicals, so I happen to like Paint Your Wagon. Clint Eastwood should never sing but the comedy of the whole thing is great. I am not a fan of Gene Autry or Roy Rogers either, even though she liked him too. I grew up in a family who liked westerns so I have seen many of them. I was never a huge John Wayne fan, but my great grandmother was in love with John Wayne. So much so she had a picture of John Wayne by her bedside. My ex father in law also met John Wayne in a bar in Texas once. He said he was an ass and picke fights just to prove he was the real mans man. Made me like JW even less. I was not allowed as a kid to see the Clinteastwood movies, as they were rated R, when I was a kid. But I enjoyed The Good , The Bad, and The Ugly and High Plains Drifter when I saw them. As a kid I loved the Lone Ranger. I have not seen the new one yet. Once it hits Netflix or the library gets it I will check it out. I bought the complete dvd set of the Love Ranger and it was actually as good as when I was a kid. Big Valley, Gunsmoke, The Californians and Bonanza were staples of our family watching. Even better with Big Valley is that we lived in central California where it took place. One should not forget that Zorro is a western too. I loved Zorro, tv and movies. Now I am going to have to go on a western binge. Thanks Jedion.  |
March 24, 2014 - 9:02pm | Westerns are usually defined as taking place on the American Frontier (roughly Texas to California) during the period of post Civil War (1865) to the turn of the century (1900). So technically Zorro is not a western. But I would throw it in with the westerns since there are so few stories about America during the Spanish period. I think that is a shame since they held land from Florida to California for a few hundred years. There most be alot there but except for Ponce de Leon, the Alamo and Zorro most Americans know nothing. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
March 25, 2014 - 3:50am | I think most people would include Zorro as a western but you are correct in the description of the perception of a western. However there are a lot of gray areas around the edges: Jeremiah Johnson was named and you could lump him in since he doesn't really fit any other genre. Fur traders in Canada would also fit, White Fang? It takes place in the Alaskan gold rush. For me a western is about the feel and the time period and to some extent. "The Man from Snowy River" is a western even though it doesn't fit the parameters rat T outlined. Australia and 20th century but the costuming, cowboy lifestyle of the protagonist and the horse riding give it a western feel. Its also a chick flick but the western elements helped me endure watching it and even smile. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 25, 2014 - 6:09am | So you are including "Love Comes Softly" and "When Calls the Heart"? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 March 25, 2014 - 8:17am | Since Australian movies of the same time period have been brought up by Jedion, I'll have to toss my hat in the ring for 'Quigly Down Under' with Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman and Laura San Giacomo. I really rather like that flick - certainly one of my favorites. If you haven't seen it, I certainly reccomend it. As far as 'True' westerns go, I have to say that my list pretty much mirrors what's already been covered. :) I don't have to outrun that nasty beast my friend...I just have to outrun you!  |
March 25, 2014 - 8:34am | +1 for Quigly Down Under. The new Lone Ranger? Meh. A more appropriate description of that would be "Tonto (guest starring the Lone Ranger)". It doesn't hold a candle to the Lone Ranger TV shows. Just for grins (and really, it is for grins) I'm going to throw in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles" and --- well, what the hell... "The Villain" with Kirk Douglas, Ann Margaret, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. |
March 25, 2014 - 10:30am | Should Blazing Saddles be categorized as a western or as a Mel Brooks movie? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
March 25, 2014 - 4:18pm | Should Blazing Saddles be categorized as a western or as a Mel Brooks movie?
Yes. It parodizes westerns, much like Space Balls parodizes sci-fi flicks. And technically..."it takes place on the American Frontier during the period of post Civil War to the turn of the century". Well, everything but the "French Mistake" near the end anyways. |
March 25, 2014 - 6:12pm | Parodies and satires are there own catagory and should not really count as part of the genre. So Blazing Saddles not really a western and Star Wars not really Sci Fi. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
March 25, 2014 - 9:46pm | Parodies and satires are there own catagory and should not really count as part of the genre. So Blazing Saddles not really a western and Star Wars not really Sci Fi. LOL and sort of my point- Mel Brooks movies belong in a category all to themselves. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
