Monday, March 24, 2014

Howdy pardner.

A couple of the blogs I follow have been focusing on movies of late,.  As such I thought I’d compile a list of my favorite westerns  - just for giggles. – so off we go. There are some missing classics that easily make my top 20 but these are my favorite 10:

10. Silverado – not a truly great movie but it makes the list because it came at a time when westers were not being made and jump started the genre again. Plus, it has arguably one of the best movie themes ever made –


9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly -  Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef – nuf said.  Also a great theme – coincidence???


8. Outlaw Josey Wales – classic Eastwood

7. The Wild Bunch – this one put the shoot in shoot ‘em up – great cast, Sam Peckinpah directing – who could ask for anything more?

6. Tie – She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Horse Soldiers – classic Duke westerns –

4. The Searchers – early proof Wayne was a vastly underrated actor – a darker portrayal, excellent in every respect

3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid – quintessential buddy pic set as a western

2. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance – Duke again with Lee Marvin, Jimmy Stewart – very close to being my fave

1. The Magnificent Seven – everything a great movie should be – inluding again arguably the best western theme ever




8 comments:

  1. Well, first and foremost, congratulations on actually being able to come to a personal conclusion on your Top Ten westerns. Certainly I'm sure not a easy feat but I seriously compliment you on your choices. I watched "The Horse Soldiers" for the umpteenth time just last week as a matter of fact.

    I think my list may have looked quite similar with one exception perhaps. I think "The Outlaw Josey Wales", if not at the top of the list, would have been mighty darn close.

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  2. Alan if I'd seen it recently I suspect Josey might have landed at 3 - 1 & 2 are fairly well etched in stone, the rest in water. It was surprisingly easy though - to get the list.together. The next 10 include classics like High Noon, Shane, 3:10 to Yuma and the like.

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    1. Sounds right to me! :) Actually only have one other film that continues to roll around in my mind since you brought the subject up and that's "Pale Rider".

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    2. Pale Rider was good as was Unforgiven, How about Little Big Man?

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  3. I'm a girl from the city and not fond of the smell of horse s$it! :lol:
    I would cut my list to two - Nos 1 & 3.

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  4. I love Westerns. Men were men, and women had their hands full.

    Where to start? I started with John Wayne, Cary Grant, followed Clint Eastwood and his poncho.

    And then there was "Once upon a time in the West". It is a study about men. All facets of them. The silent type (Charles Branson), the bastard (Peter Fonda), the one who fondly remembers his mother's coffee ... (Jason Robards). And then there is the cripple - on track, only to be thrown off it.

    U

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  5. I am in total agreement. You have inspired me to send for a couple of them for some repeat viewing.

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