Best Western movies? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Benzadmiral · #1 08-09-2004, 08:46 AM

Or maybe it should be "Westerns for people who hate Western movies". I grew up in the era when there were more Westerns on every TV channel (all 3 of them) than there are so-called "reality" shows today, and I overdosed on them. But there are a few I can watch and love, over and over again:

1) True Grit (John Wayne, Kim Darby, Robert Duvall, the young Dennis Hopper): high adventure, with humor and characterization, a heroic character who dies, fantastic performances (not just Wayne's, either).

2) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Newman & Redford): script by the incomparable William Goldman. "Y'think y' used enough dynamite, there, Butch?"

3) Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood): the film noir Western par excellence. Almost literary in its structure: both the hero and the villain have the same first name, for example.

4) The Cheyenne Social Club (Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda): A comedy from 1970, with the two leads perfect as two aging cowpokes who drift into trouble. Runner-up: Support Your Local Sheriff (James Garner).

Maybe: Lawrence Kasdan's Silverado (1985) for offbeat, and How the West Was Won (too many stars to mention), for its grand sweep.

How about you?

GermanStar · #2 08-09-2004, 09:08 AM

I like your choices, but a made-for-tv offering tops them all, as amazing as that sounds: Lonesome Dove (the original, not the sequels or the series).

#3 08-09-2004, 10:14 AM

I gotta vote for Open Range. Well done movie, and IMO, more of a reality to what life was really like back then. Unforgivein is right up there as well, but still plays a tad too much into the gunslinger story, something that has since been largely debunked as a part of our history.

rickg · #4 08-09-2004, 10:24 AM

I like your choices too. I'd add to that list Clint's spaghetti westerns. I liked "The Quick and The Dead" for it's nod to the spaghetti westerns, although not as good overall. That looonng epic about Wyatt Earp with Kevin Costner is watchable too.

mplafleur · #5 08-09-2004, 11:51 AM

Not in any order:

Unforgiven
The Quick and the Dead
Open Range
Quigley Down Under
True Grit
Stagecoach
The Searchers
Tomestone
The Cowboys
Little Big Man

Never saw Lonesome Dove, I'll have to rent it if available.

Would love to see a version of "Riders of the Purple Sage"
Also any Max Brand, my favorite western writer.

Benzadmiral · #6 08-09-2004, 11:55 AM

Ron, I'd forgotten "Lonesome Dove." Possibly, believe it or not, because I've never seen it!

I read McMurtry's novel around the time the series was first aired, and would have to agree with you, if the TV adaptation captured the flavor of the novel. (With Duvall and Jones in the leads, I'd guess it did.)

"P.S. We also sell pigs."

Benzadmiral · #7 08-09-2004, 11:57 AM

Absolutely a favorite, especially with that superb performance from Alan Rickman (who made "Die Hard" what it was) as the villain.

Jorn · #8 08-09-2004, 12:36 PM

Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West" and Sam Peckinpah's "the Wild Bunch" are my two favorites.

GermanStar · #9 08-09-2004, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benzadmiral

Ron, I'd forgotten "Lonesome Dove." Possibly, believe it or not, because I've never seen it!

I read McMurtry's novel around the time the series was first aired, and would have to agree with you, if the TV adaptation captured the flavor of the novel. (With Duvall and Jones in the leads, I'd guess it did.)

"P.S. We also sell pigs."

The TV adaptation is jaw-dropping -- the movie is absolutely phenomenal, thanks in large part to Robert Duvall (also features Tommy Lee Jones, Diane Lane, Ricky Schroeder, Danny Glover, Robert Urich). You can purchase it on DVD for about $12 from Amazon. That's probably the best way to go, given the 6½ hour length of the film. It's also available on VHS but quality is poor. I cannot recommend this offering highly enough.

#10 08-09-2004, 02:30 PM

Ahhh, yes. How could have I possibly have forgotten Quigley Down Under. I've lost count of the number of times I've watched that movie.

Yes, the old Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns are always fun to watch when one of the cable channels gets going on a marathon of them.

Honus · #11 08-09-2004, 04:40 PM

Unforgiven, followed by Open Range.

G-Benz · #12 08-09-2004, 05:32 PM

I thought this was a thread about movies available at Best Western motels!

That said, I liked "Silverado"...

#13 08-09-2004, 05:33 PM

The Outlaw Josey Wales.

MTI · #14 08-09-2004, 05:42 PM

Shane
High Noon
Little Big Man
Magnificent Seven

rickg · #15 08-09-2004, 05:46 PM

I'd forgotten about Little Big Man. Haven't seen that movie since it came out in the theatres,whenever that was. Was a great flick from what I can recall.