Your favourite Western and why?

Tayleur

Just watched Open Range again tonight for the 7th or 8th time. Its one of my all time favourite westerns with one of the best shootouts ever put in a movie. So I guess Im asking do you agree and also what is your favourite western and why?

Psychedelic

I'm not really a fan of westerns but a few days ago I watched Once Upon A Time In The West for the first time. It's one of the best films I've ever seen. I might check out a few more westerns (like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) but I doubt they'd top Once Upon A Time In The West for me.

KenSwee

Tombstone. Kurt Russell and Val Kimler's best performances.

Sudden Valley

I'm not a fan of most westerns, but of out all of them I have watched I would say the Searchers was the favorite.I like John Wayne's character in most of his films but he's playing a more three dimensional character in this one- he could be a racist or someone who has just become warped by viewing the Indian atrocities in the film. A real epic chase movie.

FortuneChip

Oddly, I didn't like Once Upon A Time as much as the three Clint movies. It's good, but I've always much preferred Fistful, Few Dollars More & Good, Bad & Ugly. Then ending to A Few Dollars more is just classic, who knew a little necklace could play such an awesome piece of music!

Unforgiven (yes, there is a Clint trend here) is another great movie. Gene Hackman is a right mean son of a B*tch!

Great thing about Westerns is the "good guys" are never out and out good guys. They're always out for number one, sure they may do the "right" thing, but only if it benefits one.

For some reason I've never enjoyed watching John Wayne. I've always changed off the movie if it's on TV. Just don't like him, and I know that's blasphemous but I don't care!

Also, special shout out to Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday! Excellent!

Dermighty

The Outlaw Josey Wales:

Clint: "You a bounty hunter?"
Bounty hunter: "A mans gotta make a living"
Clint: "Dyin' aint much of a living"



The Good The Bad And The Ugly:

Tuco: "I know who you are blondie! You're the son of a thousand fathers, all bastards like you!"

johnny_ultimate

For a Few Dollars More is still my favourite of the Leones. Not that I don't love Good, The Bad... and Once Upon a Time... but I just love how entertaining and iconic For a Few Dollars More is. It's more fun than the other two, and while it's not quite as scathingly cynical, it's still absolutely confident in its tone. A Fistful of Dollars is grand, but I can't watch it without being constantly reminded of Yojimbo, which if it hadn't have been made and set in the East would easily be my favourite Western.

old_aussie

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

A long movie with great soundtrack, good storyline, fantastic action scenes and a great ending.

Madam_X

OUATITW for me too. I love all Leone westerns but this... just blew my mind. I think it was Fonda, the soundtrack, Bronson, the tension, the beauty of the shots, the atmosphere, the intricacy, the constant brilliantly handled build-ups which never got boring.

It's a glorious film experience and I didn't mind one bit splurging on a special edition DVD when a budgeting student.

B.A._Baracus

The good, the bad and the ugly.

Amazing movie.

mike65

I tend not to watch westerns unless there is some particular interesting angle to it (which is why I've hardly seen a Wayne oater) or it stars Clint Eastwood. Hard to say I've a favourite but The Outlaw Josey Wales comes as close as any - an intimate epic with a well judged mix of action, humour and character. Its looks excellent in widescreen with nice attention to detail - set design, costume and a real feel for winter in the American interior.

Philip Kaufman was the original director but Eastwood and he had a difference of opinion both personal and professional and as the top dog Clint used his muscle to fire him, there's little doubt it would have been a fine film had Kaufman completed it given his talent but its unlikely it would have been any better than it is.

RichT

Lonesome Dove for me, not a movie, but a TV mini series. I watch it every couple of years or so. Dialogue between Gus McCrae(Robert Duvall) and Woodrow Call(Tommy Lee Jones) is brilliant.

FishBowel

Terror in a Texas town - the only Western where they use a harpoon in the final shootout.

Reg'stoy

I'm gonna go with 'A fistfull of Dynamite" actually prefer the title "Duck you Sucker" because Rod Steiger and James Coburn just work so well together.

Needless to say Sergio Leone does his usual work but Ennio Morricone's score is the best (for me) from any of his Western!! movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojX0IJNoBRQ

I won't mention the obvious connection for us in case someone hasn't watched the movie. The action, backdrops and the humour make it a must see for those of ye who haven't seen it.

Tayleur

RichT wrote: »

Lonesome Dove for me, not a movie, but a TV mini series. I watch it every couple of years or so. Dialogue between Gus McCrae(Robert Duvall) and Woodrow Call(Tommy Lee Jones) is brilliant.

Totally agree. One of my favourite mini series. Duval is great in it.

The sequels and prequels on the other hand are not of a similar standard. Not even close

Another western I always enjoyed was the Pale Rider.

kevohmsford

Lonesome Dove was an amazing series. I think a great Western is one where you just keep coming back to see every few months or every year.
Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris is probably my favourite western. Amazing performances.

quickbeam

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid for me. The original buddy movie - I just love the chemistry between the leads. Endlessly rewatchable.

Antar Bolaeisk

"Once Upon a Time in the West" is probably my favourite though I can't firmly pin down why, perhaps I was just in the right frame of mind when I watched it. I certainly recall having watched it previously but it mustn't have left much of an impression then as I'd forgotten about it when I watched it for the second time but the second time it definitely left a mark, helped in no small part by the powerful score from Ennio Moricone.

krudler

either Open Range, Tombstone or Dances With Wolves. Costner can direct a hell of a western. the gunfight in Open Range is fantastic. (spoilers obv as its near the end)

Cork boy 55

Ulzana's raid

Robert Aldrich's savage 1972 revenge western which as harrowing now as then - a band of Apaches's have left the reservation and gone on a killing spree - Young and idealistic Lt DeBuin(Bruce Davison) is put in charge of the calvary sent out to stop them - he is joined by wily,plain speaking scout McIntosh(a splendidly grizzeled Burt Lancaster) and his trusty Apache assistant Ki-No-Tay - the chase is on to stop Ulzana before he does too much killing.... DeBuin is from devout Christian stock and is appalled at the cruelty meted out to the Apache's victim's - he starts from a point that they are no different to himself but as the burnings,rapes and torture mount he begins to question how these men could have been made in God's image.

McIntosh is more sanguine about it - he respects the Apache but has no illusions about the way they operate - Aldrich doesn't shy away from the more grisly acts but its more than the usual Injun bashing - the point is made that if the white man treated them better then they woudn't feel the need to do these things - McIntosh is not so convinced and there is a factinating conversation between DeBuin and Ki-No-Tay about why the Apache kill and how others deaths give the killer power. Along the way DeBuin has his metal tested and has to make decisions that affect the life and deaths of both homesteaders and his troops - Davison is good in the role and Lancaster is excellent as the older,more experienced man who has seen it all before but knows what needs to be done - but still brings a warmth and humanity to the character.

Of course any search and destroy raiding party Western of the time can have endless Vietnam parallels - and the fine script leaves the film open to more than one interpretation. Fine stuff


Filmmaker John Landis joins in ULZANA'S RAID

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFg1Ttf0-nw

kumate_champ07

remake of 3:10 To Yuma, great acting, lots of tension and good action sequences

podgemonster

The Quick and the Dead.
Sharon Stone, Leo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Russell Crowe and (best of all) Gene Hackman! A simple western duel tournament. I really enjoyed the relationship between Herod and "The Kid", and some of the duels are pretty exciting.

krudler

podgemonster wrote: »

The Quick and the Dead.
Sharon Stone, Leo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Russell Crowe and (best of all) Gene Hackman! A simple western duel tournament. I really enjoyed the relationship between Herod and "The Kid", and some of the duels are pretty exciting.

fun movie, doesnt take itself seriously and plays up a lot of the western cliches. Gene Hackman is his usual awesome self in it. such a pity he retired from acting (and ended his career on a sh1te movie too).

does playing Red Dead Redemption count? if so then that :cool:

DeepBlue

High Noon

Yep, it's dated a bit and some of the music in particularly is a bit cringeworthy but the story is great. Gary Cooper gives a great performance and Grace Kelly isn't hard to look at. :pac:

You risk your skin catching killers and the juries turn them loose so they can come back and shoot at you again. If you're honest you're poor your whole life and in the end you wind up dying all alone on some dirty street. For what? For nothing. For a tin star.

People gotta talk themselves into law and order before they do anything about it. Maybe because down deep they don't care. They just don't care.

The whole town supports Will at the start of the film and, one by one, they turn away in the space of a couple of hours until even his wife abandons him. The "real time" element helps to ratchet up the tension until the inevitable climatic shootout.

johndoe99

The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Wild Bunch would come out on top, anyone that has seen it will remember the intensive gun fight at the end:

"taken from IMDB"
'more blank rounds were discharged during the production than live rounds were fired during the Mexican Revolution of 1913 around which the film is loosely based. In total 90,000 rounds were fired, all blanks.'

mikhail

I love all of Leone's westerns for their unique collective style. My favourite is probably The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It contains my favourite three minutes of cinema.

This video contains spoilers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubVc2MQwMkg&t=0m45s
If you've seen the film though (or don't mind a spoiler or two - there are twists left in the movie), give it a look.

A character finds the place he's been searching for. Morricone's score starts up, and the character runs to the centre of this location. He begins searching for a specific spot. As he runs around this place, the music builds and builds with his excitement. The camera gets tighter and tighter on him. He stays in focus as he runs against an increasingly motion-blurred background. The music reaches a crescendo. And then everything stops: he's found it.

Skerries

Leone's films are brilliant and particularly TGTBATU, For a few Dollars More and A Fistful of Dynamite (Duck you Sucker)
The Wild Bunch is a classic and was banned for a long time due to the violence
Some excellent modern films are the remake of 3:10 to Yuma and Seraphim Falls

mitosis

The Searchers. A proper film with adult themes.

Dermighty

The assassination of Jesse James is well worth a mention!

I didn't like Seraphim Falls that much.

3:10 to Yuma was great!

humanji

I'm quite a fan of westerns. Oddly enough though, most of the better known ones that people mentioned above don't really do it for me. I could make a huge list of my favourites, but it'd just bore everyone. But to name a few, Sergeant Rutledge is a great courtroom drama about a black soldier on trial for rape and murder. Apart from westerns, I love murder mysteries and courtroom dramas, so this is the perfect cross over for me. It's got some great acting and is one of the few westerns of it's time that actually confronted the rampant racism in the west, which the happier westerns side-stepped.

Support Your Local Sheriff is a great little film. It has some hilarious lines and the whole comedic timing of the conversations is near perfect.

And probably my favourite by far is A Big Hand For A Little Lady. It's a fantastic little film about woman being forced to take over her husbands hand in a poker game after he bets all of their belongings and has a heart attack. It's got a fantastic twist and the effect the woman has on the surly, cynical men she's playing against is brilliant. I really recommend this to anyone who gets a chance to see it.

Although there's a few films that could only be westerns (Support Your Local Sheriff, for example) the other two and many of my other favourites don't necessarily have to be set in the old west. But for some reason, I just love that setting.

Tayleur

krudler wrote: »

either Open Range, Tombstone or Dances With Wolves. Costner can direct a hell of a western. the gunfight in Open Range is fantastic. (spoilers obv as its near the end)

Love the beginning of this shootout

Dravokivich

Was thinking "High Noon," myself as one I'd regularly turn to.

To be honest, most of the westerns I'd of seen would be with the likes of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. Even though it presents a lot of the bigger movies in that genre. There's a whole wealth more I've missed so far.

Other honourable mentions worth a watch:

Big Jake
El Dorado
The Sons of Katie Elder
Hang'em High
Palerider
Shenandoah
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Man from Laramie

Paparazzo

Psychedelic wrote: »

I'm not really a fan of westerns but a few days ago I watched Once Upon A Time In The West for the first time. It's one of the best films I've ever seen. I might check out a few more westerns (like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) but I doubt they'd top Once Upon A Time In The West for me.

You bastard. You lucky lucky bastard. You get to watch The Good, The Bad and The Ugly for the first time!
I don't like most westerns, lots of them are really cheesy, but there's some great films you get to watch for the first time.
Fistfull of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Unforgiven
Fistful of Dynamite
The Outlaw Josey Wales
High Plains Drifter
Pale Rider

Bit of a theme there, Clint Eastwood or Sergio Leone except for Butch Cassidy!

D-FENS

Not usually considered a western classic, but it's Young Guns for me.
Like most westerns based on real people, it’s about as factually correct as that new Ab Lincoln movie, but the story is still exciting and well-paced, with some great characters played by experienced actors like Jack Palance, Terrence Stamp and Brian Keith, as well as Casey Siemaszko as Charley Bowdre, the cowardly sidekick who finally gets so scared he gets really pi$$ed off, and Emilio Estevez himself is brilliantly annoying as the Kid. The only real wasteful casting is Charlie Sheen as the straight man.
Some hilarious scenes and dialogue too such as these

C14N

I think I'd have to say Unforgiven. I just really liked it's gritty tone and the characters seemed much more developed than any others I've seen. I haven't seen that many though.

I liked Leone's Spaghetti Western trilogy but I can't say I was mad about it. I can't fully say why, maybe it was the dubbing that put me off or the slow pacing. That said, I do still plan on seeing Once Upon a Time in the West.

The only Ford/Wayne one I've seen was The Searchers. I thought the cinematography was excellent (and on Blu Ray, I could easily have been fooled into thinking the panoramic shots were filmed yesterday for a David Attenborough documentary). At the same time though, it is fairly racist and the acting style seemed dated.

I also saw the Coens' True Grit. I need to watch that one again but I did like it, great performance by Bridges.

norrie rugger

Serenity.

Why? Because it is set in space and has Malcolm Reynolds!

clappyhappy

Maverick, lol, no only joking ;-) .

My favourites would be "The Magnificent Seven", "3:10 To Yuma", "Apache" "Open Range" and "High Noon". Then you have the Clint Eastwood ones which are superb also.
I know it was a tv series but I also loved "The Virginian"

Paparazzo

37 posts in and no one said Wild Wild West?
Some film forum this is :mad:

C14N

Paparazzo wrote: »

37 posts in and no one said Wild Wild West?
Some film forum this is :mad:

No mention of Cowboys and Aliens either afaik.

ziedth

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

remake of 3:10 To Yuma, great acting, lots of tension and good action sequences

That is a great shout.I think it gets forgotten about for some reason but I think it's better then tombstone although Kilmer deserves a star to himself for that film.

I really liked young guns. It was a touch mad but was just one of those films I have always enjoyed watching. Sequel was shiite though.

MonkieSocks

My Favourite


The Searchers 1956 - Ending Scene

Also Silverado.............and Joesy Wales

marienbad

Where to start ??

Honourable mentions to

Shane (1953)- The simplicity of the story/ the cinematography of Loyal Griggs/Direction of George Stevens and a great cast .

Hombre (1967)- Paul Newman/Martin Ritt movie with a great villain in Richard Boone

Will Penny (1968)- underrated understated realistic movie - best thing Charlton Heston ever did.

The Stalking Moon (1968) Gregory Peck and Eva Marie Saint and her kid pursued by an unstoppable force -plus an early Robert Forster role.

And so many more The Wild Bunch/ The Unforgiven (1960)/Liberty Valance/Any Kevin Coster Western /and loads more.

But without question the very best is The Searchers , even though I don't normally like John Wayne he was just outstanding .John Ford's finest hour,made up for a lot of the racism in his earlier westerns.

Jean-Luc Godard on the problems posed for us liberals by Waynes performance

“How can I hate McNamara and adore Sergeant La Terreur, hate John Wayne upholding Goldwater and love him tenderly when abruptly he takes Natalie Wood into his arms''

kumate_champ07

ziedth wrote: »

That is a great shout.I think it gets forgotten about for some reason but I think it's better then tombstone although Kilmer deserves a star to himself for that film.

I really liked young guns. It was a touch mad but was just one of those films I have always enjoyed watching. Sequel was shiite though.

I havent seen Tombstone yet, I like Kilmer but hes been in some turkeys recently. he was great in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang tho

I reckon a good sequel could be written to '3:10 to Yuma', about the son 3-4 years later with his own band of outlaws but a unique set of morals. or perhaps working as a bounty hunter, maybe he wears disguises and joins gangs, eventually leading them into a trap where they are ambushed by the law. nobody knows what he looks like, only that he has a very quick draw

WHIP IT!

Tombstone
Outstanding and, as said earlier, Russell and certainly Kilmer's finest hours...
"I'm your huckeberry..."

Young Guns 1 & 2
Loved them both as a kid and bought em a year or two ago in a fit of nostalgia and still love them as much as ever...
"Yu-hoo... I'll make you famous..."

Was quite underwhelmed by Unforgiven. Massive Eastwood fan but I just found it too ponderous... Liked it - but certainly didn't love it.

Duckworth_Luas

I won't argue with anyone who claims The Searchers to be the greatest Western of all.

My own personal favourite though is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

A movie that would have won a poll of Ireland's favourite Western 20 years ago is Shane.

While not a great film in itself I have a soft spot for Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River.

Even though it's not set in "the West" and therefore not strictly a Western, the 1992 remake of Last of the Mohicans is probably my favourite film of all time. I've watched it countless times. Everything about it is fantastic.

Another not strictly a Western Western and one that may have escaped the notice of a lot of people is Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil. Don't let the cast put you off it's great and deals with a side of the Civil War that many people may not know about.

Mebuntu

Before the arrival on the scene of Sergio Leone in the '60's I would have voted for either Shane or The Searchers. They both had that extra special factor for which I can't find the right words to describe but they were also films that I could watch over and over (and have done so ever since) and never tire of.

Leone's first western Fistful came along with no advance publicity and blew me away to such an extent that I went back to see it loads of times (I have since met quite a few people worldwide who did the same:)). Then we got Few Dollars More and GBU that were even better. Saw them loads of times, too. Then, the first two were re-run as a double feature on the same programme (remember those days?). Next came Once Upon a Time in the West and, finally, A Fistful of Dynamite/Duck you Sucker for which the Irish flashback scenes were filmed in Howth Castle Demesne and Toner's Pub in Baggot Street.

Each and every one of these is a classic but, if I had to choose only one, it would have to be Once Upon a Time in the West. Never before or since have I seen a seen a film (any film) which surpasses the sheer unadulterated beauty and pleasure of the perfect combination of picture and sound (Not just Ennio Morricone's genius music but the incredible sound effects throughout). Probably the greatest cinematic experience ever.

ziedth

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

I havent seen Tombstone yet, I like Kilmer but hes been in some turkeys recently. he was great in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang thow

It's definitely a must see in my opinion. It won't change your life or anything but it's as entertaining as it gets. It has to me the wierdest last line narrated that I have ever seen in a film though.

Bullseye1

I love Shane and am delighted it is getting released on BR in the Colin months. Alan Ladd gives an understated and touching performance as a gunslinger trying to put his past behind him only to find he needs to resort to his past activity to save a family on his journey. Great movie.

I love The Searchers because it's the Dukes best performance and it's visually the most stunning western ever made.

I love The Outlaw Josey Wales because of the realism and grittyness that Clint brings to the part. It's his best performance.

I love High Noon as it was so different and had real tension which was for me the first of the genre to show real vulnerability in the protagonist. Gary Cooper gives such a compelling performance. You cannot help but admire his courage.

My favourite however is Once upon a time in the west. It is not only one of the best westerns ever made but also one of the best movies ever made. I remember watching a documentary on it, I think on the DVD release, and the reaction of the cinema goers who were trying to make out who the bad guy was and how could he kill the boy and then the screams when it's revealed to be Henry Fonda. Just brilliant.

Bullseye1

Oh I forgot to mention Tombstone. Outside of what Clint was making the finest modern day western with a career high performance from Val as Doc H.

Skerries

Not a Cowboy as such but the Sean Connery film Outland was a remake of High Noon set in space

Dingatron

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is my all time favourite. Also High Noon with the tension and also for the way it was shot in real time in 1952. I'll be watching some of the others mentioned here that I haven't seen as yet