July
2 Westerns Top 100 List Sucks: Shane Number One

unforgiven does belong in top ten. never understood the appeal of high noon -- it's okay, but basically a melodrama

i think the best westerns are louis l'amour's books. movies rarely capture that kind of forward motion in narrative

"How the West Was Won" didn't even make the list at all. One of the few Westerns to win an Oscar for best screenplay, and the most spectacular epic Western ever filmed. Some of its action sequences have never been surpassed. I hope it gets rediscovered and re-evaluated when the restored version comes to DVD this September.

Wyatt Earp was Kasdan's western in competition with Tombstone, not Silverado. Earp is a much better western than Tombstone IMO, a dark, brooding novel, as opposed to the comic book antics of Tombstone.

The Wild Bunch, My Darling Clementine and Once Upon A Time in the West should be in the top 10 though. And, contrary to what it is cool to say, Dances with Wolves is a minor masterpiece.

This list a joke right? Something from Saturday Night Live? If anything The Wild Bunch and The Good The Bad and The Ugly should be in the the top two. I can't continue on because it would take a book for me to explain what I think belongs on the list and why but...

Unforgiven, Liberty Valance and Rio Bravo - overrated, incredibly boring movies.

ANYTHING by Anthony Mann (except Cimarron) on the top of the list and that means the mangnificent Man of the West with Gary Cooper especially

The Professionals - in the top five without question. A film that can't just be made today because you don't have real masculine film actors anymore like Marvin, Ryan, Strode and Lancaster. Now we've got Shia LaBoeuf. I mean WTF?

Where's Budd Boetticher's Ride Lonesome on the list? A film that Scorsese himself calls a masterpiece (and it is)

Where's Robert Aldrich's Vera Cruz with Lancaster and Cary Cooper on the list?

Where's other John Sturges westerns like Escape from Fort Bravo and The Law and Jake Wade?

Where's...OH HELL Forget it! This list SUCKS!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066565/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnJsQA6At0Efeature=related

recomended! :-)))

These lists always drive me nuts. There are westerns that western buffs love (Mann, Hawks, Boetticher, Peckinpah etc.) and westerns that middlebrow critics who'd never sit through an Audie Murphy western love (Shane, High Noon, Big Country, Dances with Wolves, etc.). I like your top ten, Anne, although I'd quibble with Treasure of Sierra Madre's inclusion as a western. As for the rest of the top 100 I would never include Last Picture Show and Grapes of Wrath as westerns. Nor even Last of the Mohicans (set in the EAST!). But Vera Cruz not being on the list really pains me. There'd be no Major Dundee, no Professionals, no Wild Bunch and possibly no Leone without Vera Cruz. And it bothers me that no Audie Murphy western is up there, although I'd be hard-pressed to pick which one should be there. I have the strongest regard for his Billy the Kid one, The Kid from Texas, 1950. But that may just be me.

I grew up on Audie Murphy but don't think I could name a good one, really.

I don't really consider Treasure of the Sierra Madre to be a western, true. Just a great movie. It's arguable. But The Last Picture Show, Grapes of Wrath and Last of the Mohicans are NOT westerns in any way shape or form.

What's the difference between #6 and #93?

Jarmusch's Dead Man?

@ Brian

If you like Audie Murphy then you have to love No Name on the Bullet (1959). One of his best westerns. Terse, suspenseful with a really poignant ending.

And you're so right about Vera Cruz. Without that film none of the others you mentioned (and the other "spagetti" westerns) would exist

Loved Dead Man.

There's a difference between their top ten list (top) which continues on jump to include all 100, and my top ten list (bottom). sorry for the confusion.

The Proposition?

1. The Searchers
2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
3. 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
4. The Proposition
5. The Wild Bunch
6. Red River
7. The Furies
8. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
9. The Big Trail
10. Yellow Sky

My second 10 would include "The Long Riders," "Cat Ballou" and "North to Alaska," the last two a vote for fun in westerns. Not too many comedies in this roundup!

That you didn't find room in your top 100 for The Searchers instantly disqualifies your list. I dub thee unforgiven.

I remember how my Junior High English teacher in Nebraska (either 7th or 8th grade) pushed Shane as the best novel ever written, and that the movie was almost as good. To this day I remember finishing the book and saying to myself "That's it?". The movie struck me the same way. It would make a top ten westerns of the year these days, but only because they're so few being made.

The total absence of DUCK, YOU SUCKER and JOHNNY GUITAR in any of the lists or comments shows that nobody here knows what they are talking about and the absence of HEAVEN'S GATE in any context shows a shocking lack of overall knowledge!

The best Westerns are those that actually root the story in a Western context. Many stories, like Liberty Valance could be transplanted to New York if you wanted.

My favorites:All of Sergio Leone's, The Searchers, My Darling Clementine, Red River, and Tom Horn.

JOHNNY GUITAR's omission is obvious: these are all "manly men," thus its enormous gay following automatically disqualifies it.

My Ten (alphabetical after #1):

RIO BRAVO
BITE THE BULLET
JOHNNY GUITAR
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
THE NAKED SPUR
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
RED RIVER
RIDE LONESOME
SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON
THE WILD BUNCH
plus the comedies:
BLAZING SADDLES
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SHERIFF

While Johnny Guitar is a great movie, I would not put in my top ten--it should be on any great westerns list though. I adore Cat Ballou btw.

And I do not care for Heaven's Gate. I worked on the movie when it first came out (I was briefly in PR in my youth) and I can tell you that it was clear at its first NY press screening that it died a dismal death up there on the screen. It was a cold flat slab of a movie. Its cult rep confounds me.

I don't think I've ever seen Tom Horn.

Your list is way better. But I could never see putting "Unforgiven" on the list. It just seems like an attack on westerns to me - by taking the western hero and making him more or less evil. The spirit that made this film is not your friend.

...

8. Ride the High Country

...

19. Ride the High Country

...

?????

But I could never see putting "Unforgiven" on the list. It just seems like an attack on westerns to me

Not an attack so much as a calling forth of the shadow of the westerns. Anyway, yes. This is what makes it great. If it hadn't followed on decades of formula it would have been pointless.

these people's comments, and their suggestions, are way better than the actual 100 list.

the best western of all times is UNFORGIVEN(Clint Eastwood).

Because of space, I can’t get into specifics with long explanations and proper citations; hence, this has to be an authoritative list. With this being said, Bad Day at Black Rock and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (and others of that type) do not fit into the purist sense of the look and feel of the Western genre. We all know what the Western genre encompasses and I don’t want to get into a long philosophical discussion on this subject (by the way, both of those movies are in my personal top 100 all-time). One thing is for sure, as Ernest Borgnine stated in his introduction to The Wild Bunch, great movies have to fulfill two requirements to achieve greatness: 1. stand the test of time and, 2. warrant repeated viewings. All of the following movies fall into that category. As a Western fanatic, I know which movies I have left off of this list. I hope my list spurs on dialogue and I hope you take my comments with the same reverence I put into writing them. Enjoy.

10. The Magnificent Seven
It’s so easy for the top nine; the tenth spot was tough to fill. There are so many great Westerns and you’ve seen the lists and you’ve seen those movies, but when a movie is part of the American iconographical landscape, it’s tough to let go. Let’s start with a classic story that is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. The cast is incredible (except of course Horst Buchholz). Good usage of humor combined with a straight forward dialogue, kept the cornball factor to a minimum. The plot also explores the end of the era of the gunfighter and the modernization of the old west. And who could forget one of the greatest motion picture scores of all time. Elmer Bernstein’s score is instantly recognizable and makes the soul soar every time we hear it! Ask any couch potato/western loving real man if he had his choice between The Magnificent Seven and Dances with Wolves, we all know what will be the answer!!

9. High Plains Drifter
Critics and audiences made a huge deal over Unforgiven as being innovative and being a modern Western. Clint Eastwood did this in 1973 with High Plains Drifter. With set designs harkening back to German Expressionism and filming techniques that employ Surrealism, this film was lost in the 70’s cynical treatment of the Western as a genre and never got it’s just dues. Those of us who love the Western will never pass up a chance to watch it in reruns. This was a Western that pulls no punches and all of the characters are despicable. Innovative, provocative, and uncompromising, High Plains Drifter was way ahead of its time for its filming technique, treatment of the anti-hero and the forerunner of many “revisionist” Westerns to come.

8. The Ox-Bow Incident
“Hangin' is any man's business that's around.” Henry Fonda’s father took him to the site of a lynching that occurred the previous morning and told young Henry that statement, and that line was used in the movie at Henry Fonda’s insistence. It’s hard to watch movies like this because it exposes the soul of every man. At a tight 75 minutes, the plot and dialogue move along at a good pace. Beautiful performances by Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn along with the reaction shots of the mob after the final realization of their lynching leave an indelible mark on the watcher. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and in 1998 it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

7. Stagecoach

Relegated to B-movie status, the Western was Hollywood’s stepchild and was never thought of as a serious movie. Stagecoach changed all of that and movie history was made. Moral ambiguity abounds as a cast of disparate characters are put together in claustrophobic environments and forced to deal with each other in the ultimate road trip movie (still used today: Rain Man, Little Miss Sunshine). Orson Welles watched Stagecoach over 40 times while filming Citizen Kane and incorporated scenes with ceilings (a practice rarely used). Akira Kurosawa was inspired so much by this movie he went on to make The Seven Samarai. Stop and think about this for a minute, Stagecoach was responsible for two of the greatest movies ever made!! Combine this with being John Ford’s first talking film, his first time filming in Monument Valley and John Wayne’s star-making role makes this not only an influential Western genre film but also one of the most influential films of all time.

6. The Wild Bunch
It’s long and the whorehouse scene really bogs down the narrative flow, but no Western’s best list can be complete without this movie. Hitchcock has nothing on Peckinpah when it comes to editing a movie. The Academy made one of the biggest mistakes in history by not at least nominating this movie for best editing. Of course the moral ambiguity themes, the demystification of the West and the end of the era of the aging gunfighter are themes that have been explored before, but it’s the controversial handling of violence, slow-motion bloodletting and the parallel with the Vietnam War that makes this a provocative Western that stands along with other great movies. Bloody Sam comes through in living color.

5. Shane
This movie has it all…action, family values, gunfights, fist fights, great humor, great dialogue, incredible editing (saloon fight and final shootout), beautiful Teton locations, breathtaking cinematography, incredible cast and incredible acting. As a Librarian, I usually say that the book is better than the movie, however, the book comes nowhere near the character development or having the reader visualize the locale. George Stevens accomplishes this and more. This movie operates on so many levels that it takes repeated viewings to understand all of the subtleties (especially in the actor’s choices). Just like The Searchers, the sexual tension between the main character and the female lead contributes to a multi-layered screenplay that would make Freud proud. There are so many great moments in this film (Stevens is a master of great movie moments): Dixie on the harmonica, Shane’s first dinner and the reaction of Joey when Shane gets jumpy, the stare-down between Shane and Jack Wilson when they meet for the first time, the fist fight in the saloon, Stonewall’s death scene in the horse shit and mud and the subsequent scene at the Reb’s funeral and his dog at the gravesite (the crew wept while filming this scene) and of course the final scene. In 1993, Shane was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
An epic masterpiece of tremendous proportions. Sergio Leone is a genius at directing this movie and employed innovative usage of extreme close-ups, unusual camera angles, extended sequences and amazing action that changed how films were made after that. What keeps us coming back to this movie time and time again is the wry humor and the MUSIC!! Along with Jaws, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly elevates itself to the level of the greatest motion picture score of all time. It has become a cliché now when the opening whistle melody embodies the Western shootout in movies, TV, commercials, you name it. Keep in mind, before this, the western ideal for music was always the large orchestral scores with sweeping melodies ala Copland, Korngold, Moross, Elmer Bernstein, etc. Ennio Morricone used electric guitars, whistling and hyena howls!! Talk about innovative!! The Ecstasy of Gold sequence is a cinematic clinic on how to unite editing with music.

3. The Outlaw Josey Wales
“Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?” To some of us, we quietly get together in closed-door sessions and hushed tones and truly believe that this is the greatest western of all time. It certainly is Clint Eastwood’s favorite movie. However, for the sake of our classic western fans, I put it in third place. It has stood the test of time and true Western fanatics quote lines from this movie. “Not a hard man to track. Leaves dead men wherever he goes.” Eastwood runs the full gamut of his emotions and turns in a great job of acting including spittin’ chaw on everything that moves. Rottentomatoes.com has a perfect 100% score on the critics “Tomatometer” with Roger Ebert stating, ” Eastwood is such a taciturn and action-oriented performer that it's easy to overlook the fact that he directs many of his movies -- and many of the best, most intelligent ones. Here, with the moody, gloomily beautiful photography of Bruce Surtees, he creates a magnificent Western feeling.” It was also one of the few Western movies to receive critical and commercial success in the 70’s at a time when the Western was thought to be dying as a major genre in Hollywood. Jerry Fielding was nominated for an Oscar in the best motion picture score category. In 1996, this film was placed in the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry. “Dyin' ain't much of a livin', boy.”

2. High Noon
Before I even start, one thing has to be set straight from the get-go. Howard Hawks and John Wayne hated this movie and made Rio Bravo as a right-wing response to blacklisted screenwriter Carl Foreman and the film’s message to Hollywood for the failure of the Hollywood people to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee during the McCarthy era. Wayne and Hawks hated that Will Kane ran around town like a “chicken with his head cut off.” Wayne’s political views aside, the plot stands up. Spineless townspeople is a Western staple, Kane could not run away because the killer would catch up to him and kill his new wife, too (is it really so terrible that the hero is not super-human?). So, after calling in favors that didn’t come through, he stands alone in one of the most famous shots in cinematic history (the crane shot of Kane standing alone in the middle of the street). Shot in real-time, Fred Zinnemann created tempo and mood with the ever-present ticking clock and Dimitri Tiomkin’s Oscar-winning song “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin.’” Add to this, Gary Cooper’s Oscar-winning performance (when everybody thought he was all washed-up) makes High Noon one of the great movies of all time (AFI’s list of “America’s 100 Greatest Movies”, High Noon is ranked #33). Registered as a national treasure by the Library of Congress.

1. The Searchers
Monument Valley never looked better in VistaVision’s three strip filming process. Roger Ebert stated, “John Ford’s ''The Searchers'' contains scenes of magnificence, and one of John Wayne’s best performances. There are shots that are astonishingly beautiful.” The only Western in history to be placed in the top 10 Sight & Sound Poll as among the greatest films of all time. AFI ranked The Searchers #12 in their all-time list and in 1989 the United States National Film Registry’s first year of selecting films for preservation, chose The Searchers as one of the first 25 films to be deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” The Searchers has influenced films as diverse as Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Hardcore, Dances with Wolves, Saving Private Ryan, The Wind and the Lion and Apocalypse Now. David Lean studied The Searchers in preparation for Lawrence of Arabia and as a result movie history was made with that famous shot of the across-the-desert entrance of Sherif Ali. Sergio Leone listed The Searchers as one of his favorite films. Much has been made of the film’s racist overtones, but both sides were equally represented and based on historical fact. The basis of Ethan Edward’s obsession is clearly stated when Debbie hides next to a tombstone that states the massacre of Ethan’s mother at the beginning of the film. Not so obvious is John Ford’s hidden subtext about Ethan’s affair with his brother’s wife and that Lucy or Debbie could possibly be Ethan’s children. The thirst for vengeance makes total sense especially with the prospect that Debbie’s been “living with a Buck.” So many great scenes (the wedding scene, the letter reading scene) and lots of comic relief (“That’ll be the day!”), keep the viewer’s interest throughout. As far as I’m concerned, this is John Wayne’s greatest acting triumph. When Ethan has to explain to Brad that Lucy was dead and he says, “What do you want me to do? Draw you a picture? Spell it out? Don't ever ask me! Long as you live, don't ever ask me more,” is delivered with such harrowing conviction by Wayne, it gives me goose bumps. Then there is the scene when Ethan sees two white women who were raped by Indians and regressed to their childhood, Ethan says, “They aren’t white. Not anymore.” As Ethan exits we are given one of the greatest close-ups in movie history (seen over and over again in motion picture retrospectives). John Ford was sparse with camera movements and so when he employs camera movements, there is a heightened sense of drama. Ford’s camera rapidly tracks in on Wayne’s face to that close-up and reveals Ethan’s total contempt—a chilling moment. Every shot is framed. I’ve never seen a movie that did this so effectively and with such beauty. It’s like Frederic Remington painted each shot. Keep in mind, this is all before CGI. The cinematography is stunning. Then there is that incredible final shot, perfectly framed again with awesome cinematography and John Wayne’s personal tribute to Harry Carey. I am in awe every time I watch this movie.