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16 Of The Best Westerns Ever Made: What's Your Top Ten?
16 Of The Best Westerns Ever Made: What's Your Top Ten?
The Hatfields & McCoys miniseries is coming to the History Channel on Memorial Day.
by Hal Herring
Every American knows exactly what you mean when you say, "It’s like the Hatfields and McCoys.” It means the situation is a deadlock, no way to see or ever concede to the position of the opposing side, a war to the knife, and to the end.
And so it was. From the first killing of returning wounded Union soldier Harmon McCoy on January 7th, 1865, through the final feud trial of Johnse Hatfield in 1901, it was war, outright and guerilla, between the Hatfield family of Mingo County, West Virginia, and the McCoy family of Pike County, Kentucky. At its hottest, during the 1880’s, the fighting and murdering claimed more than a dozen lives, with more family members wounded and others becoming fugitives for their crimes. Cruelty and no-quarter vengeance was the norm. The Tug Fork of the Big Sandy River (a tributary of the Ohio River) was the borderline, and a grim border it was. Nothing quite like the Hatfield-McCoy Feud can be found in all the rest of America’s violent history.
Beginning this Memorial Day, the History Channel will run a three part series on the feud, starring Kevin Costner as William Anderson “Devil Anse” Hatfield, and Bill Paxton as Randall “Ol’ Ran’ll” McCoy, the leaders of the warring factions. It’s a rowdy, gunpowder and blood-soaked story, and the series promises to be a rollicking ride.
To get you in the mood, the editors at F&S online asked me to put together a short list of my favorite western flicks. Click through and let us know what your Top Ten Westerns are in the comments section.
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Share your Top 10 Westerns list in the comments section!
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Comments (28)
How can you have 10 best and not have:
TRUE GRIT (Original)
LONESOME DOVE
Not to mention several others but then again, there are SO many to choose from.
The Wild Bunch is Epic and The Outlaw Jose Wales is a Clint Eastwood original: Good Stuff !
Any list of westerns that omits THE BIG COUNTRY is worthless.
"High Noon" with Gary Cooper
"True Grit" with the Duke
"Frank And Jesse James" with Powers Booth and Henry Fonda
"The return of Frank James" with Henry Fonda
"My darling Clementine" with Henry Fonda
"Dallas" with Gary Cooper
"The searchers" with John Wayne
"The far country" Jimmy Stewart
"Bend of the river" Jimmy Stewart
"The left handed gun" Paul Newman
"The Westerner" Gary Cooper
"Once upon a time in the West" with Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, has to be on the list
The Good,The Bad,and The Ugly. Great Movie....
Winchester '73 - Jimmy Stewart
Stagecoach - John Wayne
Open Range - Robert Duvall
Quigley Down Under - Tom Selleck
Wow. Lots of great movies here. At the risk of some redundancy...
Open Range
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Appaloosa
True Grit (2010, w/apologies to the Duke)
Hombre
The Culpepper Cattle Company
Tombstone
Winchester '73
Whispering Smith (which I watch EVERY time it's on)
Another one just hit me.
Chato's Land
Silverado is our family favorite.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
True Grit(both versions)
Pale Rider
Silverado
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Lonesome Dove
Quigley Down Under(even if its not really a western)
Big Jake
The Magnificent Seven
Tombstone
Not necessarily in any particular order
3:10 to Yuma (Russell Crowe)
Open Range
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
Hombre
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Anybody interested in a "Trinity" movie? A lot of fun!
The Culpepper Cattle Company
Sheriff Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
(Director's Cut Great Soundtrack)
Tombstone
The Wild Bunch
Red River
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
For an all-around 'Classic Western', my #1 pick is still 'Culpepper Cattle Company', especially with it's 'twist' ending.
There are a huge number of great westerns, these being some of the best that come to mind:
Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) Perfect!
The Shootist (John Wayne) Classy, the Duke's best
Open Range (Robert Duvall & Kevin Costner) Classic
Lonesome Dove (Robert Duvall, etc) Epic
Deadly Shooter (Michael Dudikoff) Underrated
The Quick and the Dead (Gene Hackman) Superb
3:10 to Yuma (Glenn Ford version) Ford at his best
Vera Cruz (Gary Cooper & Burt Lancaster) Pure fun
Ulzana's Raid (Burt Lancaster) No nonsense grit
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (James Coburn, etc) Gotta have the version with Knockin' on Heaven's Door!
The War Wagon
The Quick & the Dead
The Wild Bunch
Magnificent Seven
Tombstone
Rio Bravo
Winchester 73
Odd that we have gotten this far and no one has mentioned "High Plains Drifter". Best ever
No need for me to name any. All of my favorites are already mentioned.
Tejas, the series was good. It would be alot easier to list the 10 worst! I still watch rawhide, wagontrain, have gun will travel, marshall dillon, bonanza etc. etc. on the western channel.
I have seen many of my favorites posted. But two I think we all like but maybe afraid to admit. Support your local sheriff and Apple Dumpling gang, them movies don't always have to be serious to be good.
Break Heart Pass w/ Bronson. Dances with Wolves,Tom Horn, Jeramiah Johnson
Is it a western if they were from W.Va and Ky? Would'nt that be an Eastern?
How the west was won!
Dances with wolves, not even in the top twenty!
Open Range
Broken Trail
True Grit (original)
Shadow Riders
Silverado
Lonesome Dove
Quigley Down Under
Dances With Wolfs
Man from Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
El Dorado
The Magnifiscent Seven
the Good the Bad and the Ugly
Dead Man
The Mark of Zorro
The Great Northfield Train Robbery
Little Big Man
Missouri Breaks
Last of the Mohicans
Blazing Saddles
(the ten you left off, the top three i can't believe didn't make your lst)
politically incorrect i know, but Blazing saddles has to be there.John Wayne The Cowboys, 310 to Yuma,others mentioned a lot already, but Lonesome Dove is my #1.
They surely don't make them like they used to.
Post a Comment
How can you have 10 best and not have:
TRUE GRIT (Original)
LONESOME DOVE
Not to mention several others but then again, there are SO many to choose from.
The Wild Bunch is Epic and The Outlaw Jose Wales is a Clint Eastwood original: Good Stuff !
The Good,The Bad,and The Ugly. Great Movie....
"High Noon" with Gary Cooper
"True Grit" with the Duke
"Frank And Jesse James" with Powers Booth and Henry Fonda
"The return of Frank James" with Henry Fonda
"My darling Clementine" with Henry Fonda
"Dallas" with Gary Cooper
"The searchers" with John Wayne
"The far country" Jimmy Stewart
"Bend of the river" Jimmy Stewart
"The left handed gun" Paul Newman
"The Westerner" Gary Cooper
"Once upon a time in the West" with Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Charles Bronson, has to be on the list
Winchester '73 - Jimmy Stewart
Stagecoach - John Wayne
Open Range - Robert Duvall
Quigley Down Under - Tom Selleck
Wow. Lots of great movies here. At the risk of some redundancy...
Open Range
Once Upon a Time in the West
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Appaloosa
True Grit (2010, w/apologies to the Duke)
Hombre
The Culpepper Cattle Company
Tombstone
Winchester '73
Whispering Smith (which I watch EVERY time it's on)
Silverado is our family favorite.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
True Grit(both versions)
Pale Rider
Silverado
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Lonesome Dove
Quigley Down Under(even if its not really a western)
Big Jake
The Magnificent Seven
Tombstone
Not necessarily in any particular order
3:10 to Yuma (Russell Crowe)
Open Range
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
Hombre
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Open Range
Broken Trail
True Grit (original)
Shadow Riders
Silverado
Lonesome Dove
Quigley Down Under
Dances With Wolfs
Man from Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
Any list of westerns that omits THE BIG COUNTRY is worthless.
Another one just hit me.
Chato's Land
Anybody interested in a "Trinity" movie? A lot of fun!
The Culpepper Cattle Company
Sheriff Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
(Director's Cut Great Soundtrack)
Tombstone
The Wild Bunch
Red River
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven
For an all-around 'Classic Western', my #1 pick is still 'Culpepper Cattle Company', especially with it's 'twist' ending.
There are a huge number of great westerns, these being some of the best that come to mind:
Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) Perfect!
The Shootist (John Wayne) Classy, the Duke's best
Open Range (Robert Duvall & Kevin Costner) Classic
Lonesome Dove (Robert Duvall, etc) Epic
Deadly Shooter (Michael Dudikoff) Underrated
The Quick and the Dead (Gene Hackman) Superb
3:10 to Yuma (Glenn Ford version) Ford at his best
Vera Cruz (Gary Cooper & Burt Lancaster) Pure fun
Ulzana's Raid (Burt Lancaster) No nonsense grit
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (James Coburn, etc) Gotta have the version with Knockin' on Heaven's Door!
The War Wagon
The Quick & the Dead
The Wild Bunch
Magnificent Seven
Tombstone
Rio Bravo
Winchester 73
Odd that we have gotten this far and no one has mentioned "High Plains Drifter". Best ever
Break Heart Pass w/ Bronson. Dances with Wolves,Tom Horn, Jeramiah Johnson
How the west was won!
El Dorado
The Magnifiscent Seven
the Good the Bad and the Ugly
Dead Man
The Mark of Zorro
The Great Northfield Train Robbery
Little Big Man
Missouri Breaks
Last of the Mohicans
Blazing Saddles
(the ten you left off, the top three i can't believe didn't make your lst)
politically incorrect i know, but Blazing saddles has to be there.John Wayne The Cowboys, 310 to Yuma,others mentioned a lot already, but Lonesome Dove is my #1.
No need for me to name any. All of my favorites are already mentioned.
Tejas, the series was good. It would be alot easier to list the 10 worst! I still watch rawhide, wagontrain, have gun will travel, marshall dillon, bonanza etc. etc. on the western channel.
I have seen many of my favorites posted. But two I think we all like but maybe afraid to admit. Support your local sheriff and Apple Dumpling gang, them movies don't always have to be serious to be good.
Is it a western if they were from W.Va and Ky? Would'nt that be an Eastern?
Dances with wolves, not even in the top twenty!
They surely don't make them like they used to.
Post a Comment