Best western movie ever?

[Kavinsky]

Well this ones kind of obscure but the last one I saw that I really liked was High Plains Drifter (1973) which after reading that the violence of it upset John Wayne I figured it was worth checking out awhile back as the John Wayne films always seem abit to pact for reality when it comes to the end of his films

 

[Dadsnugun]

Lonely are the Brave transfixes me every time I see it, and Pocket Money, The Grey Fox...stories about the end of an era, the end of a way of life...The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean...there's one of my absolute favorites that I can't think of right now...oh well...I think "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" should be included just because...

 

[PALADIN85020]

and to add to the mix:

Lonely are the Brave 1962 Kirk Douglas

This movie was filmed in the Sandia Mountains NE of Albuquerque. We lived on Sandia Base when I was in the Army at the time it was made, and we saw it when it first came out in the base military theatre. I've tramped all over those mountains, and can verify the ruggedness of the terrain.

Those were interesting days. I was assigned to atomic weapons training and security at a joint service command right in the middle of the Cuban missile crisis. That made for a number of interesting stories I'd like to tell, but then I'd have to shoot you...

John

 

[itslucky]

The SEARCHERS -
John Wayne/ Ethan:What you saw wasn't Lucy...What you saw was a buck wearin' Lucy's dress. I found Lucy back in the canyon. Wrapped her in my coat, buried her with my own hands, I thought it best to keep it from ya.
Brad;Did they...? Was she...?
Ethan : 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.

Rio Bravo..
John Wayne/John T Chance: You want that gun, pick it up. I wish you would.
John Wayne/John T Chance: Sorry don't get it done, Dude.

Shootist-
John Wayne /.J.B. Books: I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.



Shane
A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.
Shane: So you're Jack Wilson.
Jack Wilson: What's that mean to you, Shane?
Shane: I've heard about you.
Jack Wilson: What have you heard, Shane?
Shane: I've heard that you're a low-down Yankee liar.
Jack Wilson: Prove it!

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
-Tom Doniphon: Liberty Valance's the toughest man south of the Picketwire - next to me.
Ransom Stoddard: You're not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?
Maxwell Scott: No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

Outlaw Josey Wales.
Josey Wales: Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.
Josey Wales: Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?

Three Godfathers
-Posse Member #1: A lot of boys stick up stagecoaches and banks and one thing and another. But a man who would dynamite a water hole in this kind of country is downright criminal.

 

[Jellybean]

I know that the newer movies are supposed to be more historically accurate, but I can't stand most of them. Other than "The Three Amigos" that is.

In the B/W movie list there are a lot that I like to watch, but "The Fastest Gun Alive" is one that I watch several times a week.

 

[george minze]

I had forgot about Valdez is Coming. A younger Robert Duval,and Burt lancaster proved that sometimes you got to look bad to be good....

 

[sheepdawg]

The Searchers:

John Wayne: "Ya speak pretty good American for a Comanch'."

 

[Paniolo55]

Another vote here for The Searchers.

 

[reddogge]

I haven't read all 15 pages and can't remember if I posted but as to Costner shooting his Colt 14 times without reloading in "Open Range" he addressed that once in an interview. He did reload the Colt 3 times but the editors cut that out and it p(**&d him off.

I generally like modern westerns and the old ones seem so hokey. There have been some great movies mentioned here but my favorite has always been Lonesome Dove.

 

[doublesharp]

There's an Australian western I've seen on cable that is very memorable. I rank The Proposition as one of my favorites.

 

[PALADIN85020]

There's a TV series on right now called "Hell on Wheels," a fictional account of the building of the transcontinental railroad. I've enjoyed watching it; the depiction of the immediate post-Civil War era is realistic and the guns used appear to be authentic for the time. Probably not on the level of "Lonesome Dove" but fun to watch. The character who plays the Norwegian security guy who is a real Alpha Hotel has really done a great job - a guy you love to hate.

John

 

[A10]

There's a TV series on right now called "Hell on Wheels," The character who plays the Norwegian security guy who is a real Alpha Hotel has really done a great job - a guy you love to hate.

John

That's Christopher Heyerdahl, he's been doing alot of scifi work. The guy is a very good and versatile actor.

 

[indiuckian]

Standing alone at the top of the heap for me is one starring Jeff Bridges, not "True Grit", but "Rancho Deluxe". Yup; that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

It's on netflix. I had not seen it since I was a kid on tv. Thomas Mcguane wrote it, his brother in law Jimmy Buffett did the soundtrack, and Slim Pickens was in it. A true classic, right up there with "Evil Roy Slade."

 

[Marshwheeling]

It's on netflix. I had not seen it since I was a kid on tv. Thomas Mcguane wrote it, his brother in law Jimmy Buffett did the soundtrack, and Slim Pickens was in it. A true classic, right up there with "Evil Roy Slade."

Tom McGuane is a genius when it comes to quotable dialogue:

"Cecil Colson, American Indian."
"Dog. Bob Dog."
"I'll take the Sharps."
"I will not live in a West that's not free, and I will not be plagued by rustlers."
"I'm way outta line there. Let's just say it coulda been negroes."
"That's not a bad idea, Cora, it's really not. I could declare war on rustling."
"I've seen more of this state's poor cowboys, miners, railroaders and Indians go broke buyin' pickup trucks. The poor people of this state are dope fiends for pickup trucks. As soon's they get ten cents ahead they trade in on a new pickup truck. The families, homesteads, schools, hospitals and happiness of Montana have been sold down the river to buy pickup trucks!... And there's a sickness here worse than alcohol and dope. It is the pickup truck debt! And there's no cure in sight."
"Should I bring some rubbers?""
"We're beaucoup committed now, so let's ride in style."
"It's flooded. We just got to wait it out."
"Miz Brown says hoover, I hoover."
"Bite my ***, Betty."
"She was almost like...Bambi."
"We'll take 'em all."
"If that means somethin' to ya."
"If I wasn't so dad-blamed old, I wouldn't know what this is... It's a .50 caliber bullet... from a Sharps buffalo rifle. This is gettin' downright romantic."
"Mr. Beige, I have some news that will make you twitch."
"What I wanted to know was, was I just a commoner, or was I a member of the Pharaoh's royal family."
"Here's my bill. You can pay it, or you can use it to wipe the pablum off your chin...Don't make me no never-mind. I'm only in it for the sport."
"Come on, Henry, let's blow this pop stand. I wanna get back to Great Falls and spend my cut."

 

[VAdoublegunner]

Interesting thread necromancy here...

But, having missed the first go 'round, I have to say that I find myself liking many of the more recent westerns more than some of the great classics unless they had a good story line. One of the oft cited complaints about westerns is poor/period incorrect costuming, bad sets, historical anachronisms and especially wrong guns (and we all spot those quickly!).

The more I watch older favorites, the more they seem to grate on me lately and I find many of the newer classics preferable. In fact, it seems I have more of the new westerns than the older ones in my DVD collection.

For classics, High Noon ranks near the top. Also Outlaw Josey Wales. The Searchers is good for the acting and story. So is Warlock, if only to see Fonda in a quasi bad guy role.

Two I like that are not often mentioned are Little Big Man ("..That was the end of my religion period." "Licked? I'm not licked. I'm just tarred and feathered, that's all.") and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. The Culpeper Cattle Company is one of my favorite comedy ones. Also the somewhat obscure Westward the Women because of it's subject depiction of women heading west on a wagon train to find fortune and marriage being forced to adapt and fend for themselves in pioneering spirit after the men leading the train desert them, admittedly in more classic Hollywood western style with lots of inaccuracies.

I prefer the newer True Grit and 3:10 to Yuma, Silverado was one of the new genre westerns that I thought was great for having every classic cliche in the book and doing it better, Open Range and Unforgiven are faves. Tombstone is pretty good but I could never get all wrapped around it (except for Kilmer as Doc) nor for that matter the Wild Bunch.

What is interesting is to watch some of the *really* old westerns, the silent era films. In those you knew they were using real period guns, artifacts, set decorations, and clothing that was less than 30 years out of the period at best, and I'm sure for most of us 30 years ago doesn't seem that long ago .

(oh yeah, and Lonesome Dove is at the top of the list)

 

[LOBO]

The Wild Bunch...

 

[wheelyfun66]

There's an Australian western I've seen on cable that is very memorable. I rank The Proposition as one of my favorites.

I would agree with you! The Proposition is outstanding, and gets my vote for one of my favorites... The script and music was written by Nick Cave, a quirky musician.
Here is a link to the Imdb: The Proposition Trailer - IMDb

Another cool thing about this film is that the guns used (especially handguns) are not the run-of-the-mill handguns that we are used to seeing in films (Colt SAA).
There is one error in guns used: one character has a birdshead SAA.....but the birdshead grip was only used on Double action guns...correct?

Also, if you cannot understand Aussie accents...don't bother, because the accents are heavy. (and is it just me...or does every movie today have a very mumbly soundtrack?)

 

[williamlayton]

First, i never saw a western I did not like---which includes all the "B" westerns of the 40's and early 50's.
Commentary:
Historically "Wyatt Earp" was a more complete historical movie than "Tombstone" and "Tombstone" was an actors movie. I have watched both back to back several times.
John Wayne was John Wayne--"Stagecoach" & "The Searchers" are in a class of their own.
Peckinpaw (sp) brought violence to the movies that was not as realistic as it may seem.
I think Westerns are actors movies---good western actors are good actors. Bad western actors are just bad actors. There are some actors that just are bad western actors. Tom Selleck & Clint Eastwood are not in that bad western actor group.
Amazingly, no one has adressed the actors who have made a career out of being bad guys in Westerns and done a really good job of making folks mad at them.
Sidekicks have not been addressed either--all westerns have sidekicks--even Peckinpaws.
I love westerns---it really was one of the things that made me decide to Major in history in college.
GUN FIGHTS: Rarely lasted as long as most movies show--it was not a battlscene.

This is a a sidebar--really has nothing to do with westerns---OR DOES IT---the West, in Texas lasted until well into the 1940's---I digress--I had a cousin who, by all accounts, was areal bad guy. East Texas had some really, old west, bars back in the day. He was a frequenter.He had been trifling with another mans wife--not a news story--but the young man who had the wife took severe displeasure in the affair and accousted my cousin in a bar in Apple Springs---the young man shot my cousin 6 times with a .45 at close range and my cousin lived for 2/3 days--anywho--my cousin asked the young man after he had been shot 6 times---"Son, do you think you have shot me enough?"
Westerns---I love westerns.
Blessings

 

[aphelion]

Someone mentioned "Valdez is Coming" a ways back and that reminded me I had a DVD I bought some time ago and hadn't watched yet. I hadn't seen the movie in probably over 25 years, but remember liking it. So we watched it last night. Still enjoyable, but something didn't seem right. It was kind of choppy, with odd editing. So I read up on it this morning, and sure enough the version out on DVD has been severely edited from the original version. "Valdez is Coming" isn't the only movie to suffer this fate. "Joe Kidd" is another one that has been truncated so badly that some of it doesn't make sense. What a shame.