30 replies to this topic

[B Jenkins]

I cant nail my favorite western down to just one, it is a toss up between Red River (1948) or The Searchers (1956)?

Two of the finest westerns John Wayne starred and also both represent his darkest genre characterizations, where John Wayne actually takes the role of anti-hero in both.

Red River was directed by the legendary American director Howard Hawks.

The Searchers was directed by the legendary American director John Ford. Watching this film in HD is a jaw-dropper, the Monument Valley is so gorgeous it startles me.

I have to mention Sam Peckinpah as Ride The High Country and The Wild Bunch are excellent films depicting the wild west violently giving way to encroaching civilization.

Robert Altman's McCabe And Mrs Miller is a haunting film as bleak and harsh as its stunning Vancouver locations. He deconstructs the myth of the western. The Leonard Cohen score really captures the tone of the film pitch perfectly.

One cant forget other western legendary film-makers such as Anthony Mann, Budd Boetticher, John Sturges, Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood, etc.

Edited by Ambush Bug, 20 December 2012 - 11:17 AM.

[Lilly]

I liked the Spaghetti Westerns from the 1960's...Eastwood was quite good IMO. "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and "Hang 'Em High" come to my mind.

[Taun]

My parents were addicted to westerns when i was growing up and I got really sick of the TV series... However, recently I've started watching them again and I really like the older ones from the 40's and 50's... James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Alan Ladd, John Wayne, etc..

Some of my favorites:

High Noon
Shane
Destry Rides Again
3:10 to Yuma (both original and the recent remake)
McClintock
North to Alaska (not a western per se, but from that time period)
They Died with their Boots on (not overly historically accurate, but fun)
Blazing Saddles
Cat Ballou
The Halleluah Trail

I also like some recent ones:
Quigley Down Under
Silverado
Tombstone


There are others, but these come to mind right off...

[B Jenkins]

Kevin Costner directed an excellent western several years back or so, Open Range.

But his Dances With Wolves was abit too PC for my tastes.

Quigley Down Under demands mention of The Man From Snowy River, one of the best westerns from Down Under.

[regi]

The best, most recent western I've seen is Red Hill (2010).

[Sweetpumper]

Everything else is below Tombstone.

[Roddy]

High Plains Drifter is one of my fav's, along with Young Guns. As well as many that have already been mentioned.

[Hasina]

Lilly, on 20 December 2012 - 11:21 AM, said:

I liked the Spaghetti Westerns from the 1960's...Eastwood was quite good IMO. "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and "Hang 'Em High" come to my mind.

Exactly what was on my mind! Helps that they were the movies that inspired Stephen King to write the Dark Tower series, quite possibly the best book series other then Harry Potter.

[Oniomancer]

My favorites are mostly spaghetti westerns too, along with Eastwood and other revisionist westerns.  "Once upon a time in the west" and the first two of the dollars trilogy for the first. Never really cared for "the good the bad and the ugly" as much. The first two Sabata movies. For East wood, "High Plains Drifter", "Joe Kidd" and I end up dropping everything half the time for "The Outlaw Jose Wales".

Other westerns: "The Big Country", "Little Big man", John Wayne's not bad. My favorite of his is probably "Mcclintock!" Which brings up western comedies, "support your local sheriff" and "support you're local gunfighter". Mel Gibson's "Maverick". (I finally saw Dirty Dingus Mcgee last week. That's wasn't too bad.)

And of course  there's one of my all-time favorites, "Valley of The Gwangi"

[Taun]

Oniomancer, on 20 December 2012 - 10:48 PM, said:

My favorites are mostly spaghetti westerns too, along with Eastwood and other revisionist westerns.  "Once upon a time in the west" and the first two of the dollars trilogy for the first. Never really cared for "the good the bad and the ugly" as much. The first two Sabata movies. For East wood, "High Plains Drifter", "Joe Kidd" and I end up dropping everything half the time for "The Outlaw Jose Wales".

Other westerns: "The Big Country", "Little Big man", John Wayne's not bad. My favorite of his is probably "Mcclintock!" Which brings up western comedies, "support your local sheriff" and "support you're local gunfighter". Mel Gibson's "Maverick". (I finally saw Dirty Dingus Mcgee last week. That's wasn't too bad.)

And of course  there's one of my all-time favorites, "Valley of The Gwangi"

I can't believe I forgot to put Support Your Local Sheriff on my list!!!  I absolutely love that movie...

[StarMountainKid]

What about "Stagecoach", 1939. John Wayne's first "A" movie, directed by John Ford. The film made Wayne a star.

Also, "The Outlaw", 1943. Jane Russell and Jack Buetel, directed by Howard Hughes. The film was protested by the  Hollywood Production Code Administration due to Russell' prominent cleavage.

Quote

...Century-Fox cancelled their agreement with Hughes to release The Outlaw. Hughes stood to lose millions of dollars. Ever the resourceful businessman, he schemed to create a public outcry for his film to be banned. Hughes had all his managers call ministers, women's clubs and housewives telling them about the 'lewd picture' Hughes was about to release starring Jane Russell. The public responded by protesting and trying to have the film banned, which turned into just the publicity Hughes needed to create demand for the film and get it released. The resulting controversy generated enough interest to get The Outlaw into the theaters for one week in 1943, when it was pulled due to violations of the Production Code. It was finally released widely on 23 April 1946, when United Artists premiered the film in San Francisco, when it became a box office hit.

http://en.wikipedia....wiki/The_Outlaw

Edited by StarMountainKid, 21 December 2012 - 03:30 AM.

[B Jenkins]

StarMountainKid, on 21 December 2012 - 03:30 AM, said:

What about "Stagecoach", 1939. John Wayne's first "A" movie, directed by John Ford. The film made Wayne a star.

Also, "The Outlaw", 1943. Jane Russell and Jack Buetel, directed by Howard Hughes. The film was protested by the  Hollywood Production Code Administration due to Russell' prominent cleavage.


http://en.wikipedia....wiki/The_Outlaw

John Ford made the best John Wayne westerns, 9 in all, Stagecoach, 3 Godfathers, Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon, Rio Grande, The Searchers, The Horse Soldiers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, How The West Was Won.

Stagecoach is one of John Ford's finest and a genre greatest but The Searchers quite easily fits into my top ten favorite films of all time encompassing all genres.

Other westerns by John Ford (without John Wayne) include My Darling Clementine, Wagon Master, Sergeant Rutledge, and Two Rode Together.

Howard Hawks no doubt ranks second with Red River, Rio Bravo, El Dorado, and Rio Lobo.

It may surprise you but I am not really a huge John Wayne fan but his films with these two directors ranks as SOME (edited) of the best the genre ever saw.

But I havent watched Howard Hughes' The Outlaw in its full entirety. Something I should and will do.

Edited by Ambush Bug, 21 December 2012 - 09:09 AM.

[MissMelsWell]

Pretty much, if it has Clint Eastwood and a horse I love it. I admit it in fact, Im a total junkie. The Unforgiven is probably my favorite movie of all time. Two Mules for Sister Sarah just slays me too. If that's on TV I have to watch it.

[Oniomancer]

MissMelsWell, on 21 December 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

Pretty much, if it has Clint Eastwood and a horse I love it. I admit it in fact, Im a total junkie. The Unforgiven is probably my favorite movie of all time. Two Mules for Sister Sarah just slays me too. If that's on TV I have to watch it.

What is it with girls and horses?

[Eldorado]

The Searchers, Shenandoah, The Wild Bunch, Jeremiah Johnson, Little Big Man, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, The Unforgiven and the original Lonesome Dove for TV.  

There was also a mini-series on TV back in the late 70's called 'Centennial' that I recall loving as a boy but I've never viewed it as an adult.

Edited by Eldorado, 21 December 2012 - 05:42 PM.