CLARIFICATION: This is not a list of favorites. These are five movies I enjoyed that helped me view the western genre in a more favorable light than I had before. In the last five years I've seen many more westerns, ranging from passable to phenomenal. If I ever did make a favorites list, it may include one or two films discussed here, but there may also be ones I didn't mention or hadn't seen yet. *MAY 2023 UPDATE*: This video is seven years old now. Given the number of comments I'm still receiving on it, I wish to emphasize that I no longer share any of the negative feelings my younger self described. I've seen (and reviewed) dozens of westerns, and I like the genre just fine! Because it seems this video sometimes conveys an extremely inaccurate representation of how I feel now, I've been inclined to take it down. Truth be told, I've always regretted making it. However, it is a record of where I stood in 2016, so I'll continue to leave it up. Just please bear in mind that my opinion on westerns has come a long way since I posted it. :)
I neglected to mention these other westerns I've enjoyed: 3:10 to Yuma (1957), Rawhide (1951), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and The Big Country (1958).
As always, great video. Thanks so much! It's funny, any mention of favorite westerns will invariably result in a chorus of comments about what "essential" films you left off. I will say if you enjoyed High Noon, you may also like another similarly tense, brooding western from the same era - The Gunfighter, starring Gregory Peck, from 1950.
Glad to see here that you've included "The Ox-Bow Incident". A fairly heavyweight piece with a strong moral undertow and yet very much a classic western. As far as more recent westerns how about "The Missing" with Cate and Tommy Lee directed by Ron Howard. Westerns? We could go on and on. Yeah... the list will never end haha.
I am also not a fan of westerns but have seen these: Outlaw Josey Wales Hannie Caulder the Shakiest Gun in the West Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox the Paleface Shane My Darling Clementine
I am glad you changed your mind on westerns. I love the westerns you showed especially the Good, Bad and Ugly. There are great lines in there by Clint to Tuco when reading a letter in the ruins and when they are in a wagon and get captured by Yankees. Great song in the introduction to High Noon.
Thomas Mitchell was so good in Stagecoach he won the oscar for that supporting actor for 1939. That year he was also in Gone With The Wind playing Scarlet's father. He was in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington all in 1939 .
I enjoyed your review. "The Magnificient Seven" was inspired by the Japanese Movie "The Seven Samurai". There was a science fiction version of "The Magnificent Seven", "Battle Beyond the Stars". Robert Vaughn played the same role in both movies. There are many versions of this story in many different settings and genres. The science fiction movie "Outland" was based on "High Noon". "Outland" died in the box office. I remember someone talked about making "High Noon". He mentioned initially they spent a long time developing the plot. They decided the song told the plot so they cut the plot building out of it. The end result speaks for itself and the song. Many science fiction movies and TV episodes have Western type settings. The "Stagecoach" concept of throwing a bunch of people together who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other is used often. It ranges from "The Breakfast Club" to "Lifeboat".
Another thought: if you enjoyed "High Noon" you would like "Rio Bravo" also. (Suggested by Violinman, and I agree) I forgot to mention - I love your rendition of the theme to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!
Lonesome Dove, which was the winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction is a first rate western mini series starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones as the two leads. First rate all around.
Good choices there! I was into sci-fi and horror until I saw the Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More/The Good The Bad The Ugly). Eli Wallach was severely underrated as an actor and i wasn't surprised to see him in multiple films on your list. Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes still gives me chills, just no mercy in his character at all. I agree with you about 2 and a half hours not feeling that long. Plus we got The Ecstasy of Gold from Ennio Morricone. So much greatness from those few films. Nowadays I think I prefer the Dirty Harry movies, but one of the Dollars films is always good for a slow hot summer afternoon. I liked your cowgirl outfit, that was really cool too. Ever hear the Beacn Boys "Long, Tall Texan"? Give it a listen if not. Cheers from seven years in the future 🙂
Here are my favorite Westerns 1. Once Upon A Time In The West-Great gunfight scenes to open & close the movie. Henry Fonda has NEVER been this evil in a movie! 2. High Plains Drifter-Clint Eastwood stars in this sci-fi Western 3. Unforgiven-Clint Eastwood's masterpiece 4. The Outlaw Josey Wales-Clint Eastwood stars in this classic 5. High Noon-You already reviewed this one 6. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid-Paul Newman & Robert Redford-Action + comedy=Classic 7. The Magnificent Seven-You already reviewed this one. 8. Shane-Jack Palance as the gunfighter/hired gun is excellent. 9. True Grit-You already reviewed this one 10. Westworld-Yul Brynner looks just like he did in Magnificent 7 & plays a robot gunfighter in this sci-fi Western.
I don't know if you're still watching westerns, but I scrolled through the comments and didn't notice a mention of the Wild Bunch, maybe I missed it. It is really amazing. Peckinpah's masterpiece.
There are definitely more Western movies I wanna see. Some of them I own! Here are a few I really like. 1. Open Range (2003) My favorite Western! Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall star. Love the story, characters, and flow of the movie. The climatic shootout is my favorite (really violent though, hence the "R" rating). 2. Rio Bravo (1959) John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson. Walter Brennan as Stumpy is a pretty humorous character. 3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962) John Wayne & James Stewart star, together for the 1st time. One of the last black & white westerns. 4. True Grit (1969) & (2010). That's right, I like em both. They look fantastic on blu ray. 5. The Man from Laramie (1955) James Stewart I could list more, but wanted to keep the list at 5 films.
Just discovered your channel-initially watching your reaction to The Giant Claw. Then this one! I’d love to give you multiple recommendations, but I’ll hold it to one: You’ve simply got to see the William Wyler Western film The Big Country! So good it hurts!
I would say "The Searchers" is probably the best western ever made and while not strictly a western "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is amazing. It leaves you feeling satisfied while at the same time, taking the wind out of your sails. I stumbled on your channel while looking up clips of Marty. What a stroke of luck.
I'd say The Treasure of the Sierra Madre counts as a western. It certainly ticks a lot of the boxes. I talked about it in this video from April 2021: ruclips.net/video/M3sWO7Warkk/видео.html I discussed The Searchers here (Apr 2017): ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html (Please forgive the much-delayed response!)
For the same reason you're saying in the video, I didn't like westerns before. But one day I saw Open Range (starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner) and became fond of Westerns. The plains stretched endlessly against the blue sky, and it looked very cool for cowboys to work on horseback. Needless to say that the story and acting of the movie were very good. I liked it so much that for a while I was watching only Western movies. The Magnificent Seven was very popular in Japan, partly because it was a remake of the Japanese "Seven Samurai". When I saw High Noon, I was full of nervous excitement and prayed that someone would help Gary Cooper. True Grit was one of the best western movies I've ever seen. John Wayne was as attractive as he was in Stagecoach. The remake (2010) was also superb and particularly the music (Leaning On The Everlasting Arms) was very impressive. Let me tell you one more thing. Henry Fond in My Darling Clementine is super super cool!
Thanks for your fantastic videos :) I have YT comment anxiety 😂😬 but I just really wanted to give another shout-out to the very unusual "Once Upon a Time in the West" which another commenter has mentioned. It is a beautiful and strange movie, and Henry Fonda is cast ***brilliantly*** against type as the villain. You'll forever see those beautiful ice-blue eyes differently!!! I don't know who came up with the idea, but it was absolutely genius. And Ennio Morricone's score is one of the most beautiful in film. Great characters with Bronson and Robards, and--I won't say more than this--one of the best duelling finales ever. Hope you get a chance to see it!
Thanks for the recommendation! And thank you for commenting! I know exactly how you feel, haha. I also have a terrible time getting up the nerve to leave comments on other people's YT videos. :)
@@Weiselberry Thank you so much!!! (And high five for YT commenting anxiety solidarity! 😁) I look forward to seeing more videos...I have been venturing into some new reading/watching based on your recommendations :)
As a kid in the 1950s I attended the local cinema most Saturday afternoons to watch cartoons, a serial and a B or C grade movie, usually a Western. At the time I didn't really care for the genre but grew to appreciate it after discovering the really good ones. There are so many I enjoy, such as the original 3:10 to Yuma, Unforgiven and Wayne's final film, The Shootist. However, one that I think Jerome might enjoy is Will Penny. Before that I had not rated Charlton Heston highly as an actor, but he was terrific in that role and it may be his best work. Donald Pleasence plays a very bad baddie very well and it has such stalwarts in the cast as Bruce Dern, Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens. Add in Joan Hacket as the love interest, a cute kid and a touching ending reminiscent of Shane......who could ask for anything more.
See John Wayne become a western Capt Bligh in Red River. The Outlaw Josey Wales, my favorite Clint Eastwood western and Chief Dan George, another scene stealer.
The two John Ford "cavalry" movies mentioned above are among my favorites, especially "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon." I never get tired of watching that one. There's a third, "Rio Grande", as part of the cavalry trilogy, but I don't rank it up with the other two. But by far and away, my favorite western is "The Big Country." Can't keep my eyes off of Gregory Peck and he and Jean Simmons definitely have chemistry.
Those are all excellent picks. Of course, as I watched I started thinking of my own top 5 westerns. I'd go with four of your five and add The Searchers in place of True Grit.
The song at the beginning of True Grit was sung by Glen Campbell. Like all of his music really like the True Grit song also. One of my favorite movies also.
So very entertaining! "Violinman" and I thoroughly enjoyed these reviews! If I may suggest, you may be pleasantly surprised by "The Cowboys". Although it has cattle, dust, guns and John Wayne, it's more of a coming-of-age tale than a cattle-drive story. "Chisum" is another great John Wayne movie with some moral dilemmas that you would enjoy.
Now that you've gotten into monster movies, I'd be curious to see your take on 'The Valley of Gwangi' (1969). It has a score by Jerome Moross, who won an oscar for his score for 'The Big Country,' but I think the Gwangi score, while very similar at times, is much more interesting. It's actually my second favorite film score of all time (right behind Bernard Hermann's score for another Ray Harryhausen movie, 'Jason and the Argonauts' (1963)).
Another good video JW. When I was younger, I had a distinct dislike for the genre. But as I've gotten older, I can appreciate select movies. Some I watched because I loved an actress in it in other movies. Then watching it, I found the story tolerable. (Clare Trevor, Jane Russell, Gene Tierney, Marilyn Monroe…) But that does backfire sometimes, as I found out watching a couple of Veronica Lake westerns. The thing is, a well made movie will be good, regardless of genre. So things like Butch Cassidy, Stagecoach, or Blazing Saddles, among others, can appeal to people who don't always like westerns. The problem is that so many were low budget movies slapped together on the formula. And if the formula doesn't appeal to you, then you'll have a negative idea of the genre. It probably didn't help that UHF stations would air the cheap ones on a regular basis.
I'm really enjoying your channel. I enjoyed all those westerns, but I haven't seen True Grit the movie. I read the book and it's very entertaining. I'm sure you get tons of recommendations and here are a few more. If you like The Magnificent Seven, I recommend the movie that it was based off of: Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Like the Magnificent Seven, it focuses as much on the characters and their relationships as the action. Also, for Western novels, I highly recommend Lonesome Dove. It is a great Western epic. It does focus on cowboys on a crazy cattle drive, but again, the characters are so well-done and likeable. It's a long book, but it just flew by.
I just discovered your channel (literally, yesterday) -- when I did a search on The Third Man to see what critical thought there was about that film. (I should mention a few things: I'm a geezer (born 1954); I've seen The Third Man probably about a dozen times; and like you, it's one of my favorite go-to movies when I want to be entertained.) I just watched your 5 Westerns video, and I can't disagree that those are all good films. Like you, I was never a fan of westerns, but the more I watched movies, the more I discovered that some westerns were more than just shoot-em-ups. Two I would definitely recommend you take a look at: Once Upon A Time In The West and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Quite a few others have mentioned Once Upon A Time for good reason: It's scope is epic; Leone has an amazing sense of composing shots; His use of sound is brilliant; Henry Fonda -- cast against type -- may be one of the vilest, most sadistic villains ever portrayed; And Charles Bronson's performance (and his character's motivation) are wonderful. As for Mccabe and Mrs. Miller, it is a post-modern western (made by Robert Altman, in 1971), with a anti-hero protagonist (played by Warren Beatty), and I've always thought the gunfight at the end was a twisted version of the High Noon gunfight (plus -- Vilmos Zsigomond's cinematography is incredibly lush). One more Western -- but a fun one that parodies the genre, is Buster Keaton's Go West (1925) -- clever gags, and always a treat to watch Keaton's amazing and balletic use of his body. Thanks for the channel.
I may have stated this already on another video of yours (I've been watching a bunch) but for me the all time top western is El Dorado 1966. It has it all!
I know you already saw this video, but for anyone scrolling through the comments who hasn't and may be interested, I talked about El Dorado (which was great!) here: ruclips.net/video/Ck-1aUh9HBw/видео.html
My Grandparents got me into Westerns. My nan would always have Rawhide on, on Sundays when i'd get in from Sunday School. Mag 7 is great i'll admit, my favorite part in that movie is toward the beginning when Yul Bryner runs that cart up the hill alongside Steven Mcqueen, and when they get down the guy asks Bryner "Where you from?" And Bryner just points backward while lightning his cigar i think. Then the guy asks him "Where yer headed?" Bryner does'nt say a word just points forward. Cool AF True Grit is good, the remake with Jeff Bridges is alright too. I especially like the Duke in "The Shootist", one of his last, good Western. Glad you mentioned one of the Dollars Film, masterful IMO, GBU, my favorite scene, well theres a few, i do luv the scene where theres this big war, and Clint's "Man with No Name" he lights the fuse to the Dynamite they rigged along this big bridge; and Sergio Leone, he shoots this scene basically showing the bridge in the background. We see our man Clint, running up and he just about gets down by these sandbags, and the whole bridge explodes, and the debris literally blasts right toward the camera, with some just narrowly missing Clint's leg. That to me is such a epic shot, no director would be able to do that today, infact they wouldn't even go to the trouble to build a actual bridge to blow up, it would just all be CGI. And Leone had them build that bridge twice cause i don't think he got the explosion on the first try. And the other scene i really like is closer to the end, when the war has been fought and Clint's Man with No Name, comes across a dying young soldier, he kneels down to the man, and i think he gestures for a toke on his cigar. Clint looks and holds up the cigar, giving the man a few puffs on it before he dies. Then he just grabs this poncho that was lying by him i think and puts it on. I just luv that scene, it shows that even though he is this tough badass, that lives by his own rules, he does have humanity to him also.
Great reviews of great choices, well done! I would like to recommend two quirkier westerns that take place at the very end of the old west: Big Jake (1971) starring John Wayne, his son Patrick, Maureen O'Hara, Richard Boone and a host of great western character actors -a brilliant movie where we see the old west giving way to the modern world ; the other is The Professionals (1966) starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Robert Ryan, and Ralph Bellamy - an action adventure, twisted love story, and kidnapping/rescue that's not quite what you thought was happening. Very entertaining. I highly recommend both of these films.
Love all your choices. You may have mentioned this and I missed it, but I think the reason Magnificent Seven feels like a crossover is because it is. It is an American adaptation of the classic The Seven Samurai, which I have seen. It's good too, but I love the western more. It's my favorite western movie and one of the best Yul Brynner performances. I also highly recommend Rio Bravo, The Searchers, Red River and Rawhide.
I know this is absurdly belated, but I'm going through old comments on this video and trying to provide links to mini reviews if I have them. Seven Samurai mini review: ruclips.net/video/nOkkgfY9ic8/видео.html Rio Bravo mini review: ruclips.net/video/AAhCzgL6DJk/видео.html The Searchers mini review: ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html Red River mini review: ruclips.net/video/8FsWKZc-0CQ/видео.html The only one I haven't talked about on YT to date is Rawhide, but I did see it and enjoyed it a lot.
Fun list. I agree with all your choices, but I'd also include (if we're talking great westerns) The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, The Cowboys, The Ox-Bow Incident, and Go West (Buster Keaton). Incidentally, Eastwood's character in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was inspired by Yojimbo, directed by Akira Kurosawa, whose movie Seven Samurai (my favorite) inspired The Magnificent Seven 😁 Let me know if you ever react to any of Kurosawa's movies 😏
Nice. This video isn't a favorites list, and I've seen many more westerns in the years since I made it, but if I ever made such a video, a couple of these movies would probably cross over. I've seen a few of the ones you listed, but The Searchers and The Cowboys are the only ones I've reviewed in my "what else I saw" series. Yes, I'm familiar with the Kurosawa-spaghetti western connection (and if I hadn't been aware of it before, there are LOTS of comments here to inform me!). I talked about a few Kurosawa/Mifune films last year, Yojimbo and Sanjuro among them. That was shortly after I'd watched A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, so of course I saw the parallels and similarities (very obvious in the first movie's case). But while I enjoyed the samurai movies and Mifune's wonderful performance, I liked the Dollars trilogy even better. I've got more Kurosawa films on my watchlist, so I'm sure they'll come up sometime in the future.
If you ever get the chance I would recommend my personal favorite Western television series, Have Gun Will Travel, which is a cut above the rest. These are shows I can watch many times over; the quality of the writing being exceptional and the main character, Paladin, fascinating.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly has been one of my favorite films for as long as I can remember. You might like Two mules for Sister Sara. Its another Eastwood western.
"Hombre" starring Paul Newman, Frederick March, Barbara Rush, and Richard Boone is a favorite of mine. "The Magnificent Seven" is a great "western" classic and a favorite of mine. "Tombstone" is great too!
I just discovered your channel. So you may see a bunch of Random comments from me all at one. :) These are great movies. (I never cared much for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", but I know I am in the minority.) I would really like to see your thoughts on the mini-series: "Lonesome Dove". That is my absolutely favorite western, and it has so many actors who, at that time, were just waiting to be discovered.
Hey there, just looking back at some of your old youtube videos (you did see The Big Country, one of my favorites), I still recommend you watch Once Upon A Time In The West, (Charles Bronson again playing a harmonica) Henry Fonda playing a great (now get this) a real bad guy villain, Jason Robards playing a lovable bad guy good guy and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale. The music was by Ennio Morricone and I must say it is memorable except in the beginning where its just sound of a squeaky windmill, telegraph, etc. One I did not mention in one of your today 2018 videos is The Cowboys starring that John Wayne (mmm who's that guy, just kidding), and YOU WILL NOT SEE A BETTER BAD GUY VILLAIN (not yelling emphasizing), until you see Bruce Dern. Roscoe Lee Brown is also in this, music by John Williams (yep, Jaws, and Dracula 1978), and directed by Mark Rydell (before On Golden Pond). (OHH, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, excellent, outstanding yes it is but Once Upon A Time In The West is a masterpiece though and True Grit 1968, but another recommendation True Grit remake with Jeff Bridges and Mark Damon, a must watch but I think I saw you review this but I will be looking. It was actually pretty good went with the book more then the 1968s. Someone below mentioned a movie called The Unforgiven, and there is a The Unforgiven in 1960 but another recommendation from me is Unforgiven 1992 directed by Clint Eastwood starring himself, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Clint Eastwood dedicated Unforgiven to Sergio Leone as well. One more (sorry about the long comment) John Wayne's last, The Shootist. (Lauren Bacall and Ron Howard and a bunch of old character actors). The recommendations I made here I am pretty sure will NOT chase you away from westerns especially Once Upon A Time. Oh, don't forget Day Of The Dolphin, hehe, and still can't wait for G vs TSM.
You should consider doing reviews of the Johhny Weissmuller Tarzan movies. The arc (for better or worse) is similar to many of the sequels you have covered in other genres. Ranging from impressive, to outlandish to outright goofy. I have a dark horse favorite of the series so it would be cool to see if you favored it as well.
If you liked these you might also like “The Outlaw Josie Wales” & “The Missing”. “TOJW” is one of the last of the “great westerns” & one of my favorite films - lots going on psychologically & has some good characters. “The Missing” is a 2003 movie with Cate Blanchette as a single mother/rancher trying to rescue her daughter with the help of her estranged father played by Jones. This film struck me by the realism & use of actual Chiricahua dialect. Also has Val Kilmer.
I'm a fan of Westerns. Good Westerns. There's actually quite a few. Aside from big shots like the ones directed by John Ford, we often see the anti-hero as the antagonist and when written well, it's easy to get hooked. I really dig the ones you chose too. On a side note, John Wayne was a cool guy in real life. I love the spaghetti westerns, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is my favorite of them for sure.
Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven", Walter Hill's "The Long Riders" and a made-for-HBO movie starring Mickey Rourke called "The Last Outlaw" are 3 of my favorites, along with most of the ones you mentioned here.
Like you, I do not love Westerns but there are a few that have crept onto my favorites list, some of which you've already listed. Allow me to recommend Red River, another John Wayne vehicle. Others include Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, and Silverado.
This video was seven years ago; I generally like westerns just fine now! I did a mini review of Red River in 2019: ruclips.net/video/8FsWKZc-0CQ/видео.html I haven't gotten to the others on your list yet.
From the five you selected I think you would enjoy Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, for light-hearted comedy, The Shootist and Against a Crooked Sky for story tinged with tragedy.
-Will Penny, Charlton Heston said it was his favorite role....that's one I think you'd enjoy. -Also, the Professionals, with stellar cast of Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Claudia Cardinal, Ralph Bellamy is a good one. -Ride the High Country has an interesting plot, starring Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott and Mariette Hartley.
I haven't seen The Professionals, so I'll have to look into that. But I did a mini review of Will Penny in this video: ruclips.net/video/kYv4fC6PSn4/видео.html And I believe I talked about Ride the High Country in this one: ruclips.net/video/Ogky_yfGl3g/видео.html
Agreed. I'm not a huge Western fan myself, but there are films that transcend the genre. A few more I would recommend include The Big Country, Destry Rides Again, The Searchers, The Angel and the Badman. A less conventional Western I saw recently that I liked was called Westward the Women. And a non-Western John Wayne movie that's good is The Quiet Man.
I would nominate The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs as a must-see Western. It is, IMHO, among the handful of truly great films made by The Coen brothers. Along with several other commenters, I also recommend Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo. It has action, romance, comedy, drama, John Wayne being all John Wayne-y, and even a musical interlude. It's a perfect film to watch with your family. (I've just noticed this video is 7 years old! I presume then you will have caught up by now and seen Rio Bravo?)
I'm not usually much of a western fan, but I have to agree that Magnificent Seven, True Grit, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are ridiculously good movies. (I haven't seen the others on the list.) The main characters are awesome, but I especially love Mattie Ross. I saw The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly by accident, and it just sucked me in.
Hey Jerome -- In re: "The Mag 7" -- you mentioned you didn't know of actor Brad Dexter. A reliable supporting actor from the '50's through the 80's, Dexter has a good part in 1950's "The Asphalt Jungle". He plays Louis Calhern's overconfident creepy bagman. If you haven't seen the "Asphalt Jungle", check it out; it's the grandaddy of the "heist" film.
I've seen him in a couple of noirs since I made this video--99 River Street and Macao. He's a bit of a creep in both, but I hear he was actually a nice man in real life. Still haven't gotten around to seeing The Asphalt Jungle.
@@Weiselberry Boris Karloff was the same --- played boogie men in the "reel" world; but a most charming gent in the "real" world! ----- Sorry Jerome. I just flew in from Miami; and boy are my jokes tired.
You'll probably really like "Stars in My Crown" from 1950 with Ellen Drew & Joel McCrea. Main themes are the rewards of self-sacrifice, revealing racism as a sin, loving your neighbors in spite of differences and letting youth take over and run the world, among others.
Winchester 73 with James Stewart directed by Anthony Mann along with The Naked Spur and The Man from Laramie. Same star and director. Wagon Master directed by John Ford is a lesser known film by the great director. With Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.
I reviewed Winchester '73 in April 2020: ruclips.net/video/qWkQIyNPilU/видео.html And I reviewed The Naked Spur a couple months ago: ruclips.net/video/mCnlHwqnFWo/видео.html I don't think I've got Wagon Master on my list yet, but given how much I liked Ben Johnson in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon recently, I'll have to keep an eye out for it... Thanks!
Comedy Westerns - Destry Rides Again 1939, North to Alaska 1960, McClintock 1963, and Support Your Local Sheriff 1969. Sergio Leone Westerns - the Dollars trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West 1968, and A Fistful of Dynamite 1971. John Ford Westerns - his cavalry trilogy starting with Fort Apache 1948, My Darling Clementine 1946, The Searchers 1956 and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962. Clint Eastwood Westerns - High Plains Drifter 1973, The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976, and Unforgiven 1992. Sam Peckinpah Westerns - Ride the High Country 1962, The Wild Bunch 1969, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, 1973. More John Wayne Westerns - Red River 1948, Hondo 1953, and Rio Bravo 1959. More classic Westerns - Union Pacific 1939, The Westerner 1940, Shane 1953, Jeremiah Johnson 1972, and Tombstone 1993.
I also thought I hated westerns, until I saw "TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA" (1970). It has a score by musical genius Ennio Morricone, who also did the score to "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly."
You must see "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Silverado", and the Coen Brothers' remake of "True Grit" (2010, one of the best movies ever made). "No Country for Old Men" is a superb modern day Western. We may never know John Wayne's range as an actor because he played characters that were all very much alike, but in his narrow range, he was a fine actor, and many young men look to him as a model of respectable manhood. "Missouri Breaks" is very ribald, but it is lavish with fabulous acting. It has both Jack Nicholson AND Marlon Brando PLUS Mary Steenbergen.
Brad Dexter was in everything and saved Frank Sinatra's like back in 1965 while filming one of his usual journeyman's roles in the only film Sinatra directed (None but the Brave).
Golly ma'am, you sure are purty. Yes, I too, never liked the Western very much. But after watching a few and getting to like them, I can say that some of my favorite films are Cowboys and Indians. It began for me by accidentally sitting down to watch True Grit (1969) by mistake and staying to watch because I couldn't take my eyes off it. Of your 5 picks, I agree with you on: Stagecoach (1939) True Grit (1969) If you get a chance, try to catch some of my personal favorites: Lonesome Dove (1989) - Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones (In my opinion, one of the best ever made.) Little Big Man (1970) - Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway How the West Was Won (1962) - Everybody is in this but the kitchen sink The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) - Paul Newman and a great cast They Died With Their Boots On (1941) - Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHaviland The Westerner (1940) - Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan in another tale of Judge Roy Bean
High Noon can be classed as an art film. It's really about the moral death of a town, and it shows that in real time as well as everything else. And I love Katy Jurado, and Grace Kelly coming of age. I haven't seen all of these, and still don't know if I will. The Magnificent Seven is supposed to be a westernization of The Seven Samurai, but I never got into Japanese films of that era so I haven't seen either.
I applaud 3 of your choices: High Noon, Stagecoach, and Good, Bad, and the Ugly. May I recommend 4 others that I think you would love. Shane, director George Stevens. Red River, director Howard Hawks. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and especially The Searchers, director John Ford. Martin Scorsese basically lifted Taxi Driver from The Searchers. Believe me check it out. It will change you...
*Update* I've now seen all four of your recommendations! And I've got mini reviews for them too. Shane mini review: ruclips.net/video/C-3c6B66fE0/видео.html Red River mini review (3rd on the list): ruclips.net/video/8FsWKZc-0CQ/видео.html She Wore A Yellow Ribbon mini review (3rd on the list): ruclips.net/video/dRfsyKBbs9I/видео.html The Searchers mini review (2nd): ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html
Here are some other westerns you might enjoy as well... "The Cowboys" with John Wayne, "Once upon a time in the west" with Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda, "Hombre" with Paul Newman, "Ulzana's raid" with Burt Lancaster and last but not least, (If you like Tarantino) "Django" and "The hateful eight". 😉😙
J.W.- it's fun how similar we are. I grew up in a home where my mom loved westerns and i dissed😄 them thinking them as type of low class pulp entertainment. But two you should consider: *The Searchers* [1956] Hands down the best ever, inspired by a true event. In 1999 when the AFI came out with their first list titled "100 years 100 movies" *The Searchers* was ranked #96. While i still wasn't keen on westerns, i knew this was a travesty. [the were a couple of other rankings i knew were way off, notably *Vertigo*] Sure enough, AFI did a "10th anniversary" list of the 100 and *The Searchers* zipped up to #12. The 2nd film for you to consider is the Coen Brothers remake of *True Grit*. The John Wayne version is v. good but the Jeff Bridges version is great!. Hailee Steinfeld is supernaturally good in her first acting job [i think]. I just discovered your channel and i love your vids!
Thanks! I made this video a very long time ago and have happily watched many westerns since, probably averaging one per month. I've got mini reviews up of both The Searchers and the True Grit remake. They're also fairly old videos, but I'll give you the links anyway. The Searchers: ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html True Grit: ruclips.net/video/e8NfCcxVHmo/видео.html
Whatchoo talkin bout Weiselberry!? Im one of your biggest fans, and I have a sothern drawl and play the guitar...all cool. So are you...thats why I follow your vids!
If you want, you should watch the more recent version of True Grit, purely because the young girl actress knocks it out of the park with her acting. Oh, and Frisco Kid with young Harrison Ford and Gene Wilder is laugh out loud hilarious!
Red River, Shane, The Virginian, Rawhide (the movie with Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward), Lonesome Dove. Most popular art is on the 80/20 scale. 80% is crap and 20% is good. Westerns and country music are on a 90/10 scale. But the 10 % is very good.
Throw in WESTWARD THE WOMEN with Robert Taylor in a hard-bitten story of a wagon-train of mail-order brides, some who don't survive. Powerful film, very well acted.
Have you read True Grit yet?..Its an incredibly entertaining fast read..highly recommended!!.. Got thru reading again recently..Good the Bad and the Ugly ,always in my top 10 films of any genre..
No, I still haven't read it! Thanks for mentioning it and reminding me. I saw A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More early last year, and I'd say the entire trilogy would easily make my favorite westerns list if I made one. Awesome movies.
@@Weiselberry I hope you do read it..Its like both film versions, tho you get inside the head of Mattie Ross in depth in amusing ways that can't be conveyed on film...Check out Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck You Sucker also,if you like your westerns more on the "cerebral" side..
I highly recommend 'Vera Cruz', 'The Professionals' and 'The Hallelujah Trail'. All three happen to star Burt Lancaster and I'm still deciding if that's by coincidence or design. xD
Hm. I'm trying to think if I've seen Burt Lancaster in any westerns. I can only come up with The Unforgiven, which I don't think I liked much. But I'll look up the ones you mentioned. Thanks for the recommendations!
Hi JW... Just watched "High Noon" (for the first time in, like, over 30 years). Thoroughly enjoyed. Killer cast. But one thing I did not know (that I learned from the IMdB): This film was intended as an allegory for the failure by some of the Hollywood community to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC) during Sen. Joseph McCarthy's hunt to find "Communists" in the film industry. Very interesting. Did you know this...??
If you like movies were different kinds of people are throwing together, You will like the western, “The outlaw Josie Wales” starring Clint Eastwood. Josie wells is an ex confederate who meets up with Indians, Jayhawker, Mexicans, and a bluetick hound. Josie Wales: “It seems when I start liking somebody they ain’t around long.” Indian: “I noticed when you get to disliking somebody that ain’t around long either.”
Yeessss! The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...one of my cureent 3 favorite films. I'd recommend if i could, 3 Godfathers (2 versions) and the Coen bros remake of True Grit. Its actually better than the original in my opinion. That doesn't happen much.
it's a very good movie sir, but too many details have been changed and it is now certain that this famous duel has become sure and proven as historical fact. So it becomes very difficult to change the history. Greetings p..s Hollywood with my whole love towards its factory of dreams can do and undo everything
@@Faber9722 The West as defined by Hollywood prints and or adapts the Legend. History recounts the truth or at least an approximation thereof. IMHO it is a mistake to confuse the two.
For the record though Ford's retelling is if anything less "true" than the alleged story Earp told Ford - if he told him anything cos much as I admire the old man his stories about his film making were always just as unreliable as his Legends.
CLARIFICATION: This is not a list of favorites. These are five movies I enjoyed that helped me view the western genre in a more favorable light than I had before. In the last five years I've seen many more westerns, ranging from passable to phenomenal. If I ever did make a favorites list, it may include one or two films discussed here, but there may also be ones I didn't mention or hadn't seen yet.
*MAY 2023 UPDATE*: This video is seven years old now. Given the number of comments I'm still receiving on it, I wish to emphasize that I no longer share any of the negative feelings my younger self described. I've seen (and reviewed) dozens of westerns, and I like the genre just fine!
Because it seems this video sometimes conveys an extremely inaccurate representation of how I feel now, I've been inclined to take it down. Truth be told, I've always regretted making it. However, it is a record of where I stood in 2016, so I'll continue to leave it up. Just please bear in mind that my opinion on westerns has come a long way since I posted it. :)
You should check out El Dorado with John Wayne and Robert Mitchum. It was directed by Howard Hawks so you know it will have snazzy dialog.
@@kenbattor6350 I talked about it in this video earlier this year: ruclips.net/video/Ck-1aUh9HBw/видео.html
Thanks for leaving this video up! 😊
I neglected to mention these other westerns I've enjoyed: 3:10 to Yuma (1957), Rawhide (1951), The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), and The Big Country (1958).
THE BIG COUNTRY, another masterpiece. Burl Ives, scene stealer
As always, great video. Thanks so much! It's funny, any mention of favorite westerns will invariably result in a chorus of comments about what "essential" films you left off. I will say if you enjoyed High Noon, you may also like another similarly tense, brooding western from the same era - The Gunfighter, starring Gregory Peck, from 1950.
Glad to see here that you've included "The Ox-Bow Incident". A fairly heavyweight piece with a strong moral undertow and yet very much a classic western. As far as more recent westerns how about "The Missing" with Cate and Tommy Lee directed by Ron Howard. Westerns? We could go on and on. Yeah... the list will never end haha.
I am also not a fan of westerns but have seen these:
Outlaw Josey Wales
Hannie Caulder
the Shakiest Gun in the West
Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox
the Paleface
Shane
My Darling Clementine
Just to add a couple others: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Red River, Shane, and more recently, Open Range.
Definitely The Searchers should be in any best Western list and probably at or close to the top. Agree with all your choices too. Cheers.
Yes, having seen it since I made this video, I would agree with that. :)
Hey pardner, Cowboys hung lanterns from their saddles. It was the first example of saddle light navigation.
Ba doom chi
GROAN
I am glad you changed your mind on westerns. I love the westerns you showed especially the Good, Bad and Ugly. There are great lines in there by Clint to Tuco when reading a letter in the ruins and when they are in a wagon and get captured by Yankees.
Great song in the introduction to High Noon.
Thomas Mitchell was so good in Stagecoach he won the oscar for that supporting actor for 1939. That year he was also in Gone With The Wind playing Scarlet's father. He was in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington all in 1939 .
I enjoyed your review. "The Magnificient Seven" was inspired by the Japanese Movie "The Seven Samurai". There was a science fiction version of "The Magnificent Seven", "Battle Beyond the Stars". Robert Vaughn played the same role in both movies. There are many versions of this story in many different settings and genres. The science fiction movie "Outland" was based on "High Noon". "Outland" died in the box office. I remember someone talked about making "High Noon". He mentioned initially they spent a long time developing the plot. They decided the song told the plot so they cut the plot building out of it. The end result speaks for itself and the song. Many science fiction movies and TV episodes have Western type settings. The "Stagecoach" concept of throwing a bunch of people together who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other is used often. It ranges from "The Breakfast Club" to "Lifeboat".
ha never quite thought of The Breakfast Club as Western adjacent. Detention: the frontier of high school social alienation
Another thought: if you enjoyed "High Noon" you would like "Rio Bravo" also. (Suggested by Violinman, and I agree) I forgot to mention - I love your rendition of the theme to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly!
Oh, I think I've seen a little bit of that one!
You are fun.
Lonesome Dove, which was the winner of the 1986 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction is a first rate western mini series starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones as the two leads. First rate all around.
Good choices there! I was into sci-fi and horror until I saw the Dollars Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More/The Good The Bad The Ugly). Eli Wallach was severely underrated as an actor and i wasn't surprised to see him in multiple films on your list. Lee Van Cleef as Angel Eyes still gives me chills, just no mercy in his character at all. I agree with you about 2 and a half hours not feeling that long. Plus we got The Ecstasy of Gold from Ennio Morricone.
So much greatness from those few films. Nowadays I think I prefer the Dirty Harry movies, but one of the Dollars films is always good for a slow hot summer afternoon.
I liked your cowgirl outfit, that was really cool too. Ever hear the Beacn Boys "Long, Tall Texan"? Give it a listen if not. Cheers from seven years in the future 🙂
I'm glad you are open minded and gave westerns a chance. Check out lonesome dove, the mini series. A rewarding experience.
Here are my favorite Westerns
1. Once Upon A Time In The West-Great gunfight scenes to open & close the movie. Henry Fonda has NEVER been this evil in a movie!
2. High Plains Drifter-Clint Eastwood stars in this sci-fi Western
3. Unforgiven-Clint Eastwood's masterpiece
4. The Outlaw Josey Wales-Clint Eastwood stars in this classic
5. High Noon-You already reviewed this one
6. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid-Paul Newman & Robert Redford-Action + comedy=Classic
7. The Magnificent Seven-You already reviewed this one.
8. Shane-Jack Palance as the gunfighter/hired gun is excellent.
9. True Grit-You already reviewed this one
10. Westworld-Yul Brynner looks just like he did in Magnificent 7 & plays a robot gunfighter in this sci-fi Western.
I don't know if you're still watching westerns, but I scrolled through the comments and didn't notice a mention of the Wild Bunch, maybe I missed it. It is really amazing. Peckinpah's masterpiece.
There are definitely more Western movies I wanna see. Some of them I own! Here are a few I really like.
1. Open Range (2003) My favorite Western! Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall star. Love the story, characters, and flow of the movie. The climatic shootout is my favorite (really violent though, hence the "R" rating).
2. Rio Bravo (1959) John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson. Walter Brennan as Stumpy is a pretty humorous character.
3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence (1962) John Wayne & James Stewart star, together for the 1st time. One of the last black & white westerns.
4. True Grit (1969) & (2010). That's right, I like em both. They look fantastic on blu ray.
5. The Man from Laramie (1955) James Stewart
I could list more, but wanted to keep the list at 5 films.
Just discovered your channel-initially watching your reaction to The Giant Claw. Then this one!
I’d love to give you multiple recommendations, but I’ll hold it to one:
You’ve simply got to see the William Wyler Western film The Big Country! So good it hurts!
I would say "The Searchers" is probably the best western ever made and while not strictly a western "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" is amazing. It leaves you feeling satisfied while at the same time, taking the wind out of your sails.
I stumbled on your channel while looking up clips of Marty. What a stroke of luck.
I'd say The Treasure of the Sierra Madre counts as a western. It certainly ticks a lot of the boxes. I talked about it in this video from April 2021: ruclips.net/video/M3sWO7Warkk/видео.html
I discussed The Searchers here (Apr 2017): ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html
(Please forgive the much-delayed response!)
For the same reason you're saying in the video, I didn't like westerns before. But one day I saw Open Range (starring Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner) and became fond of Westerns. The plains stretched endlessly against the blue sky, and it looked very cool for cowboys to work on horseback. Needless to say that the story and acting of the movie were very good. I liked it so much that for a while I was watching only Western movies. The Magnificent Seven was very popular in Japan, partly because it was a remake of the Japanese "Seven Samurai". When I saw High Noon, I was full of nervous excitement and prayed that someone would help Gary Cooper. True Grit was one of the best western movies I've ever seen. John Wayne was as attractive as he was in Stagecoach. The remake (2010) was also superb and particularly the music (Leaning On The Everlasting Arms) was very impressive. Let me tell you one more thing. Henry Fond in My Darling Clementine is super super cool!
Thanks for your fantastic videos :) I have YT comment anxiety 😂😬 but I just really wanted to give another shout-out to the very unusual "Once Upon a Time in the West" which another commenter has mentioned. It is a beautiful and strange movie, and Henry Fonda is cast ***brilliantly*** against type as the villain. You'll forever see those beautiful ice-blue eyes differently!!! I don't know who came up with the idea, but it was absolutely genius. And Ennio Morricone's score is one of the most beautiful in film. Great characters with Bronson and Robards, and--I won't say more than this--one of the best duelling finales ever. Hope you get a chance to see it!
Thanks for the recommendation! And thank you for commenting! I know exactly how you feel, haha. I also have a terrible time getting up the nerve to leave comments on other people's YT videos. :)
@@Weiselberry Thank you so much!!! (And high five for YT commenting anxiety solidarity! 😁) I look forward to seeing more videos...I have been venturing into some new reading/watching based on your recommendations :)
Aw, thanks! Hope you find some stuff you enjoy! Feel free to comment again some time. Or not, if you don't want to. That's fine too. :)
As a kid in the 1950s I attended the local cinema most Saturday afternoons to watch cartoons, a serial and a B or C grade movie, usually a Western. At the time I didn't really care for the genre but grew to appreciate it after discovering the really good ones. There are so many I enjoy, such as the original 3:10 to Yuma, Unforgiven and Wayne's final film, The Shootist. However, one that I think Jerome might enjoy is Will Penny. Before that I had not rated Charlton Heston highly as an actor, but he was terrific in that role and it may be his best work. Donald Pleasence plays a very bad baddie very well and it has such stalwarts in the cast as Bruce Dern, Ben Johnson and Slim Pickens. Add in Joan Hacket as the love interest, a cute kid and a touching ending reminiscent of Shane......who could ask for anything more.
I love your thumbnails...
Five more westerns you should watch.
1 The Searchers
2. Red River
3 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
4. Fort Apache
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales
I've since seen The Searchers (definitely a great one), but none of the others.
See John Wayne become a western Capt Bligh in Red River. The Outlaw Josey Wales, my favorite Clint Eastwood western and Chief Dan George, another scene stealer.
Yes I was going to say to watch #5
The two John Ford "cavalry" movies mentioned above are among my favorites, especially "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon." I never get tired of watching that one. There's a third, "Rio Grande", as part of the cavalry trilogy, but I don't rank it up with the other two. But by far and away, my favorite western is "The Big Country." Can't keep my eyes off of Gregory Peck and he and Jean Simmons definitely have chemistry.
@@GoGreen1977 FT Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon are the two best movies made about the US Army (unfortunately made by a Sailor).
John Wayne's THE SHOOTIST is worth a look, as a portrait of a man, and an era, being left behind. Great cast, a perfect swan song for an iconic actor.
Yes, I watched that about a year ago: ruclips.net/video/M3sWO7Warkk/видео.html
My favorite all-time Western movie is Shane, starring Alan Ladd.
Those are all excellent picks. Of course, as I watched I started thinking of my own top 5 westerns. I'd go with four of your five and add The Searchers in place of True Grit.
The song at the beginning of True Grit was sung by Glen Campbell. Like all of his music really like the True Grit song also. One of my favorite movies also.
So very entertaining! "Violinman" and I thoroughly enjoyed these reviews! If I may suggest, you may be pleasantly surprised by "The Cowboys". Although it has cattle, dust, guns and John Wayne, it's more of a coming-of-age tale than a cattle-drive story. "Chisum" is another great John Wayne movie with some moral dilemmas that you would enjoy.
Now that you've gotten into monster movies, I'd be curious to see your take on 'The Valley of Gwangi' (1969). It has a score by Jerome Moross, who won an oscar for his score for 'The Big Country,' but I think the Gwangi score, while very similar at times, is much more interesting. It's actually my second favorite film score of all time (right behind Bernard Hermann's score for another Ray Harryhausen movie, 'Jason and the Argonauts' (1963)).
Good movie (Gwangi)!
Another good video JW. When I was younger, I had a distinct dislike for the genre. But as I've gotten older, I can appreciate select movies. Some I watched because I loved an actress in it in other movies. Then watching it, I found the story tolerable. (Clare Trevor, Jane Russell, Gene Tierney, Marilyn Monroe…) But that does backfire sometimes, as I found out watching a couple of Veronica Lake westerns.
The thing is, a well made movie will be good, regardless of genre. So things like Butch Cassidy, Stagecoach, or Blazing Saddles, among others, can appeal to people who don't always like westerns. The problem is that so many were low budget movies slapped together on the formula. And if the formula doesn't appeal to you, then you'll have a negative idea of the genre. It probably didn't help that UHF stations would air the cheap ones on a regular basis.
I'm really enjoying your channel. I enjoyed all those westerns, but I haven't seen True Grit the movie. I read the book and it's very entertaining. I'm sure you get tons of recommendations and here are a few more. If you like The Magnificent Seven, I recommend the movie that it was based off of: Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. Like the Magnificent Seven, it focuses as much on the characters and their relationships as the action. Also, for Western novels, I highly recommend Lonesome Dove. It is a great Western epic. It does focus on cowboys on a crazy cattle drive, but again, the characters are so well-done and likeable. It's a long book, but it just flew by.
I just discovered your channel (literally, yesterday) -- when I did a search on The Third Man to see what critical thought there was about that film. (I should mention a few things: I'm a geezer (born 1954); I've seen The Third Man probably about a dozen times; and like you, it's one of my favorite go-to movies when I want to be entertained.) I just watched your 5 Westerns video, and I can't disagree that those are all good films. Like you, I was never a fan of westerns, but the more I watched movies, the more I discovered that some westerns were more than just shoot-em-ups. Two I would definitely recommend you take a look at: Once Upon A Time In The West and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. Quite a few others have mentioned Once Upon A Time for good reason: It's scope is epic; Leone has an amazing sense of composing shots; His use of sound is brilliant; Henry Fonda -- cast against type -- may be one of the vilest, most sadistic villains ever portrayed; And Charles Bronson's performance (and his character's motivation) are wonderful. As for Mccabe and Mrs. Miller, it is a post-modern western (made by Robert Altman, in 1971), with a anti-hero protagonist (played by Warren Beatty), and I've always thought the gunfight at the end was a twisted version of the High Noon gunfight (plus -- Vilmos Zsigomond's cinematography is incredibly lush). One more Western -- but a fun one that parodies the genre, is Buster Keaton's Go West (1925) -- clever gags, and always a treat to watch Keaton's amazing and balletic use of his body. Thanks for the channel.
I may have stated this already on another video of yours (I've been watching a bunch) but for me the all time top western is El Dorado 1966. It has it all!
I know you already saw this video, but for anyone scrolling through the comments who hasn't and may be interested, I talked about El Dorado (which was great!) here: ruclips.net/video/Ck-1aUh9HBw/видео.html
My Grandparents got me into Westerns. My nan would always have Rawhide on, on Sundays when i'd get in from Sunday School. Mag 7 is great i'll admit, my favorite part in that movie is toward the beginning when Yul Bryner runs that cart up the hill alongside Steven Mcqueen, and when they get down the guy asks Bryner "Where you from?" And Bryner just points backward while lightning his cigar i think. Then the guy asks him "Where yer headed?" Bryner does'nt say a word just points forward. Cool AF
True Grit is good, the remake with Jeff Bridges is alright too. I especially like the Duke in "The Shootist", one of his last, good Western. Glad you mentioned one of the Dollars Film, masterful IMO, GBU, my favorite scene, well theres a few, i do luv the scene where theres this big war, and Clint's "Man with No Name" he lights the fuse to the Dynamite they rigged along this big bridge; and Sergio Leone, he shoots this scene basically showing the bridge in the background. We see our man Clint, running up and he just about gets down by these sandbags, and the whole bridge explodes, and the debris literally blasts right toward the camera, with some just narrowly missing Clint's leg.
That to me is such a epic shot, no director would be able to do that today, infact they wouldn't even go to the trouble to build a actual bridge to blow up, it would just all be CGI. And Leone had them build that bridge twice cause i don't think he got the explosion on the first try.
And the other scene i really like is closer to the end, when the war has been fought and Clint's Man with No Name, comes across a dying young soldier, he kneels down to the man, and i think he gestures for a toke on his cigar. Clint looks and holds up the cigar, giving the man a few puffs on it before he dies. Then he just grabs this poncho that was lying by him i think and puts it on. I just luv that scene, it shows that even though he is this tough badass, that lives by his own rules, he does have humanity to him also.
Great reviews of great choices, well done! I would like to recommend two quirkier westerns that take place at the very end of the old west: Big Jake (1971) starring John Wayne, his son Patrick, Maureen O'Hara, Richard Boone and a host of great western character actors -a brilliant movie where we see the old west giving way to the modern world ; the other is The Professionals (1966) starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Robert Ryan, and Ralph Bellamy - an action adventure, twisted love story, and kidnapping/rescue that's not quite what you thought was happening. Very entertaining. I highly recommend both of these films.
Love all your choices. You may have mentioned this and I missed it, but I think the reason Magnificent Seven feels like a crossover is because it is. It is an American adaptation of the classic The Seven Samurai, which I have seen. It's good too, but I love the western more. It's my favorite western movie and one of the best Yul Brynner performances.
I also highly recommend Rio Bravo, The Searchers, Red River and Rawhide.
I know this is absurdly belated, but I'm going through old comments on this video and trying to provide links to mini reviews if I have them.
Seven Samurai mini review: ruclips.net/video/nOkkgfY9ic8/видео.html
Rio Bravo mini review: ruclips.net/video/AAhCzgL6DJk/видео.html
The Searchers mini review: ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html
Red River mini review: ruclips.net/video/8FsWKZc-0CQ/видео.html
The only one I haven't talked about on YT to date is Rawhide, but I did see it and enjoyed it a lot.
Fun list. I agree with all your choices, but I'd also include (if we're talking great westerns) The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, The Cowboys, The Ox-Bow Incident, and Go West (Buster Keaton).
Incidentally, Eastwood's character in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was inspired by Yojimbo, directed by Akira Kurosawa, whose movie Seven Samurai (my favorite) inspired The Magnificent Seven 😁
Let me know if you ever react to any of Kurosawa's movies 😏
Nice. This video isn't a favorites list, and I've seen many more westerns in the years since I made it, but if I ever made such a video, a couple of these movies would probably cross over. I've seen a few of the ones you listed, but The Searchers and The Cowboys are the only ones I've reviewed in my "what else I saw" series.
Yes, I'm familiar with the Kurosawa-spaghetti western connection (and if I hadn't been aware of it before, there are LOTS of comments here to inform me!). I talked about a few Kurosawa/Mifune films last year, Yojimbo and Sanjuro among them. That was shortly after I'd watched A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, so of course I saw the parallels and similarities (very obvious in the first movie's case). But while I enjoyed the samurai movies and Mifune's wonderful performance, I liked the Dollars trilogy even better. I've got more Kurosawa films on my watchlist, so I'm sure they'll come up sometime in the future.
'Once Upon a Time in the West' - truly great. And for a bit of fun 'They Call Me Trinity' / 'Trinity is Still My Name'.
If you ever get the chance I would recommend my personal favorite Western television series, Have Gun Will Travel, which is a cut above the rest. These are shows I can watch many times over; the quality of the writing being exceptional and the main character, Paladin, fascinating.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly has been one of my favorite films for as long as I can remember. You might like Two mules for Sister Sara. Its another Eastwood western.
"Hombre" starring Paul Newman, Frederick March, Barbara Rush, and Richard Boone is a favorite of mine. "The Magnificent Seven" is a great "western" classic and a favorite of mine. "Tombstone" is great too!
Love your channel keep it up.
Thanks!
I am happy you have changed your mind
I just discovered your channel. So you may see a bunch of Random comments from me all at one. :)
These are great movies. (I never cared much for "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", but I know I am in the minority.)
I would really like to see your thoughts on the mini-series: "Lonesome Dove". That is my absolutely favorite western, and it has so many actors who, at that time, were just waiting to be discovered.
Hey there, just looking back at some of your old youtube videos (you did see The Big Country, one of my favorites), I still recommend you watch Once Upon A Time In The West, (Charles Bronson again playing a harmonica) Henry Fonda playing a great (now get this) a real bad guy villain, Jason Robards playing a lovable bad guy good guy and the beautiful Claudia Cardinale. The music was by Ennio Morricone and I must say it is memorable except in the beginning where its just sound of a squeaky windmill, telegraph, etc. One I did not mention in one of your today 2018 videos is The Cowboys starring that John Wayne (mmm who's that guy, just kidding), and YOU WILL NOT SEE A BETTER BAD GUY VILLAIN (not yelling emphasizing), until you see Bruce Dern. Roscoe Lee Brown is also in this, music by John Williams (yep, Jaws, and Dracula 1978), and directed by Mark Rydell (before On Golden Pond). (OHH, The Good The Bad and The Ugly, excellent, outstanding yes it is but Once Upon A Time In The West is a masterpiece though and True Grit 1968, but another recommendation True Grit remake with Jeff Bridges and Mark Damon, a must watch but I think I saw you review this but I will be looking. It was actually pretty good went with the book more then the 1968s. Someone below mentioned a movie called The Unforgiven, and there is a The Unforgiven in 1960 but another recommendation from me is Unforgiven 1992 directed by Clint Eastwood starring himself, Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman. Clint Eastwood dedicated Unforgiven to Sergio Leone as well. One more (sorry about the long comment) John Wayne's last, The Shootist. (Lauren Bacall and Ron Howard and a bunch of old character actors). The recommendations I made here I am pretty sure will NOT chase you away from westerns especially Once Upon A Time. Oh, don't forget Day Of The Dolphin, hehe, and still can't wait for G vs TSM.
You should consider doing reviews of the Johhny Weissmuller Tarzan movies. The arc (for better or worse) is similar to many of the sequels you have covered in other genres. Ranging from impressive, to outlandish to outright goofy. I have a dark horse favorite of the series so it would be cool to see if you favored it as well.
If you liked these you might also like “The Outlaw Josie Wales” & “The Missing”. “TOJW” is one of the last of the “great westerns” & one of my favorite films - lots going on psychologically & has some good characters. “The Missing” is a 2003 movie with Cate Blanchette as a single mother/rancher trying to rescue her daughter with the help of her estranged father played by Jones. This film struck me by the realism & use of actual Chiricahua dialect. Also has Val Kilmer.
I'm a fan of Westerns. Good Westerns. There's actually quite a few. Aside from big shots like the ones directed by John Ford, we often see the anti-hero as the antagonist and when written well, it's easy to get hooked. I really dig the ones you chose too. On a side note, John Wayne was a cool guy in real life. I love the spaghetti westerns, The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is my favorite of them for sure.
Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven", Walter Hill's "The Long Riders" and a made-for-HBO movie starring Mickey Rourke called "The Last Outlaw" are 3 of my favorites, along with most of the ones you mentioned here.
The western that won me over after watching through the Dollars trilogy without really getting it, was ‘Once Upon A Time In The West’.
Like you, I do not love Westerns but there are a few that have crept onto my favorites list, some of which you've already listed. Allow me to recommend Red River, another John Wayne vehicle. Others include Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, and Silverado.
This video was seven years ago; I generally like westerns just fine now!
I did a mini review of Red River in 2019: ruclips.net/video/8FsWKZc-0CQ/видео.html I haven't gotten to the others on your list yet.
From the five you selected I think you would enjoy Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, for light-hearted comedy, The Shootist and Against a Crooked Sky for story tinged with tragedy.
-Will Penny, Charlton Heston said it was his favorite role....that's one I think you'd enjoy.
-Also, the Professionals, with stellar cast of Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Claudia Cardinal, Ralph Bellamy is a good one.
-Ride the High Country has an interesting plot, starring Joel McCrea, Randolph Scott and Mariette Hartley.
I haven't seen The Professionals, so I'll have to look into that. But I did a mini review of Will Penny in this video: ruclips.net/video/kYv4fC6PSn4/видео.html And I believe I talked about Ride the High Country in this one: ruclips.net/video/Ogky_yfGl3g/видео.html
She wore a yellow ribbon, tombstone, the horse soldiers, fort Apache, the searchers.
Agreed. I'm not a huge Western fan myself, but there are films that transcend the genre. A few more I would recommend include The Big Country, Destry Rides Again, The Searchers, The Angel and the Badman. A less conventional Western I saw recently that I liked was called Westward the Women. And a non-Western John Wayne movie that's good is The Quiet Man.
Seen all of those except Destry Rides Again. I especially enjoyed Angel and the Badman, and The Searchers, of course, is in a class of its own.
I would nominate The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs as a must-see Western. It is, IMHO, among the handful of truly great films made by The Coen brothers. Along with several other commenters, I also recommend Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo. It has action, romance, comedy, drama, John Wayne being all John Wayne-y, and even a musical interlude. It's a perfect film to watch with your family. (I've just noticed this video is 7 years old! I presume then you will have caught up by now and seen Rio Bravo?)
The musical interlude is great. :) I reviewed Rio Bravo in this video from late last year: ruclips.net/video/AAhCzgL6DJk/видео.html
I'm not usually much of a western fan, but I have to agree that Magnificent Seven, True Grit, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly are ridiculously good movies. (I haven't seen the others on the list.) The main characters are awesome, but I especially love Mattie Ross. I saw The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly by accident, and it just sucked me in.
Hey Jerome -- In re: "The Mag 7" -- you mentioned you didn't know of actor Brad Dexter. A reliable supporting actor from the '50's through the 80's, Dexter has a good part in 1950's "The Asphalt Jungle". He plays Louis Calhern's overconfident creepy bagman. If you haven't seen the "Asphalt Jungle", check it out; it's the grandaddy of the "heist" film.
I've seen him in a couple of noirs since I made this video--99 River Street and Macao. He's a bit of a creep in both, but I hear he was actually a nice man in real life. Still haven't gotten around to seeing The Asphalt Jungle.
@@Weiselberry Boris Karloff was the same --- played boogie men in the "reel" world; but a most charming gent in the "real" world! ----- Sorry Jerome. I just flew in from Miami; and boy are my jokes tired.
You'll probably really like "Stars in My Crown" from 1950 with Ellen Drew & Joel McCrea. Main themes are the rewards of self-sacrifice, revealing racism as a sin, loving your neighbors in spite of differences and letting youth take over and run the world, among others.
The Wild Bunch and Pat Garret and Billy the Kid. Hands Down 2 of the greatest Westerns ever made
Jerome Weiselberry needs to be hired by AMC!!!!
An old western that I'm a fan of is 'Hell's Hinges' (1916) with William S. Hart.
The Searchers, is also a really good one. I'm not too into the western genera myself, but that film is very entertaining.
*Update* I watched The Searchers about a year after I posted this. Here's the mini review: ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html
Probably your best review I've seen to date. Glen Campbell, lol!
Winchester 73 with James Stewart directed by Anthony Mann along with The Naked Spur and The Man from Laramie. Same star and director. Wagon Master directed by John Ford is a lesser known film by the great director. With Ben Johnson and Harry Carey Jr.
I reviewed Winchester '73 in April 2020: ruclips.net/video/qWkQIyNPilU/видео.html
And I reviewed The Naked Spur a couple months ago: ruclips.net/video/mCnlHwqnFWo/видео.html
I don't think I've got Wagon Master on my list yet, but given how much I liked Ben Johnson in She Wore A Yellow Ribbon recently, I'll have to keep an eye out for it... Thanks!
For something more serious but definitely non-cattle-related, try The Ox-Bow Incident.
Campbell never did much as an actor, but he was a great session musician, starting with The Champs Tequila in 1958 . . . . A "Wreaking Crew" guy.
Very eloquent.
"The Unforgiven" is the cap.
Comedy Westerns - Destry Rides Again 1939, North to Alaska 1960, McClintock 1963, and Support Your Local Sheriff 1969. Sergio Leone Westerns - the Dollars trilogy, Once Upon a Time in the West 1968, and A Fistful of Dynamite 1971. John Ford Westerns - his cavalry trilogy starting with Fort Apache 1948, My Darling Clementine 1946, The Searchers 1956 and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962. Clint Eastwood Westerns - High Plains Drifter 1973, The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976, and Unforgiven 1992. Sam Peckinpah Westerns - Ride the High Country 1962, The Wild Bunch 1969, and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, 1973. More John Wayne Westerns - Red River 1948, Hondo 1953, and Rio Bravo 1959. More classic Westerns - Union Pacific 1939, The Westerner 1940, Shane 1953, Jeremiah Johnson 1972, and Tombstone 1993.
I also thought I hated westerns, until I saw "TWO MULES FOR SISTER SARA" (1970). It has a score by musical genius Ennio Morricone, who also did the score to "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly."
Oh, I forgot about that one! I saw it years ago. A fun movie.
You must see "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Silverado", and the Coen Brothers' remake of "True Grit" (2010, one of the best movies ever made). "No Country for Old Men" is a superb modern day Western. We may never know John Wayne's range as an actor because he played characters that were all very much alike, but in his narrow range, he was a fine actor, and many young men look to him as a model of respectable manhood. "Missouri Breaks" is very ribald, but it is lavish with fabulous acting. It has both Jack Nicholson AND Marlon Brando PLUS Mary Steenbergen.
Brad Dexter was in everything and saved Frank Sinatra's like back in 1965 while filming one of his usual journeyman's roles in the only film Sinatra directed (None but the Brave).
Golly ma'am, you sure are purty.
Yes, I too, never liked the Western very much. But after watching a few and getting to like them, I can say that some of my favorite films are Cowboys and Indians. It began for me by accidentally sitting down to watch True Grit (1969) by mistake and staying to watch because I couldn't take my eyes off it.
Of your 5 picks, I agree with you on:
Stagecoach (1939)
True Grit (1969)
If you get a chance, try to catch some of my personal favorites:
Lonesome Dove (1989) - Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones (In my opinion, one of the best ever made.)
Little Big Man (1970) - Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway
How the West Was Won (1962) - Everybody is in this but the kitchen sink
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972) - Paul Newman and a great cast
They Died With Their Boots On (1941) - Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHaviland
The Westerner (1940) - Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan in another tale of Judge Roy Bean
High Noon can be classed as an art film. It's really about the moral death of a town, and it shows that in real time as well as everything else. And I love Katy Jurado, and Grace Kelly coming of age. I haven't seen all of these, and still don't know if I will. The Magnificent Seven is supposed to be a westernization of The Seven Samurai, but I never got into Japanese films of that era so I haven't seen either.
I applaud 3 of your choices: High Noon, Stagecoach, and Good, Bad, and the Ugly. May I recommend 4 others that I think you would love. Shane, director George Stevens. Red River, director Howard Hawks. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and especially The Searchers, director John Ford. Martin Scorsese basically lifted Taxi Driver from The Searchers. Believe me check it out. It will change you...
*Update* I've now seen all four of your recommendations! And I've got mini reviews for them too.
Shane mini review: ruclips.net/video/C-3c6B66fE0/видео.html
Red River mini review (3rd on the list): ruclips.net/video/8FsWKZc-0CQ/видео.html
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon mini review (3rd on the list): ruclips.net/video/dRfsyKBbs9I/видео.html
The Searchers mini review (2nd): ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html
Rio Bravo is a western I remember fondly which you may enjoy.
*Update* I reviewed Rio Bravo last summer (fourth on the list): ruclips.net/video/AAhCzgL6DJk/видео.html
Here are some other westerns you might enjoy as well... "The Cowboys" with John Wayne, "Once upon a time in the west" with Charles Bronson and Henry Fonda, "Hombre" with Paul Newman, "Ulzana's raid" with Burt Lancaster and last but not least, (If you like Tarantino) "Django" and "The hateful eight". 😉😙
I forgot to include Winchester 73 on my list.
Even if you don't like a genre. There are films that are really good. Not really a big Western fan but i could name at least 20 masterpieces.
J.W.- it's fun how similar we are. I grew up in a home where my mom loved westerns and i dissed😄 them thinking them as type of low class pulp entertainment. But two you should consider:
*The Searchers* [1956] Hands down the best ever, inspired by a true event. In 1999 when the AFI came out with their first list titled "100 years 100 movies" *The Searchers* was ranked #96. While i still wasn't keen on westerns, i knew this was a travesty. [the were a couple of other rankings i knew were way off, notably *Vertigo*]
Sure enough, AFI did a "10th anniversary" list of the 100 and *The Searchers* zipped up to #12.
The 2nd film for you to consider is the Coen Brothers remake of *True Grit*. The John Wayne version is v. good but the Jeff Bridges version is great!. Hailee Steinfeld is supernaturally good in her first acting job [i think].
I just discovered your channel and i love your vids!
Thanks! I made this video a very long time ago and have happily watched many westerns since, probably averaging one per month. I've got mini reviews up of both The Searchers and the True Grit remake. They're also fairly old videos, but I'll give you the links anyway.
The Searchers: ruclips.net/video/yjs0470vV-Q/видео.html
True Grit: ruclips.net/video/e8NfCcxVHmo/видео.html
I'd like to recommend "Nevada Smith" starring Steve Mc Queen.
Thanks for the recommendation! I think I might have seen half of that one, not sure.
Whatchoo talkin bout Weiselberry!? Im one of your biggest fans, and I have a sothern drawl and play the guitar...all cool.
So are you...thats why I follow your vids!
If you want, you should watch the more recent version of True Grit, purely because the young girl actress knocks it out of the park with her acting. Oh, and Frisco Kid with young Harrison Ford and Gene Wilder is laugh out loud hilarious!
I actually ended up seeing the remake of True Grit last year. I talked about it briefly in this video: ruclips.net/video/e8NfCcxVHmo/видео.html
What about Blazing Saddles?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I hope you'll consider watching the movie Yellow Sky and the movie The Big Country, both with Gregory Peck. I think you'll like those.
I've seen The Big Country. Though it was quite a while ago, I remember liking it. Thanks!
Red River, Shane, The Virginian, Rawhide (the movie with Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward), Lonesome Dove. Most popular art is on the 80/20 scale. 80% is crap and 20% is good. Westerns and country music are on a 90/10 scale. But the 10 % is very good.
Throw in WESTWARD THE WOMEN with Robert Taylor in a hard-bitten story of a wagon-train of mail-order brides, some who don't survive. Powerful film, very well acted.
Yes, that's a very good movie.
Sergio Leone also made "Once Upon a Time in the West." If you liked "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly" you should check it out. Great Cast!!
Have you read True Grit yet?..Its an incredibly entertaining fast read..highly recommended!!.. Got thru reading again recently..Good the Bad and the Ugly ,always in my top 10 films of any genre..
No, I still haven't read it! Thanks for mentioning it and reminding me. I saw A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More early last year, and I'd say the entire trilogy would easily make my favorite westerns list if I made one. Awesome movies.
@@Weiselberry I hope you do read it..Its like both film versions, tho you get inside the head of Mattie Ross in depth in amusing ways that can't be conveyed on film...Check out Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West and Duck You Sucker also,if you like your westerns more on the "cerebral" side..
One Eyed Jacks might make it on your list. Free on youtube right now.
I highly recommend 'Vera Cruz', 'The Professionals' and 'The Hallelujah Trail'. All three happen to star Burt Lancaster and I'm still deciding if that's by coincidence or design. xD
Hm. I'm trying to think if I've seen Burt Lancaster in any westerns. I can only come up with The Unforgiven, which I don't think I liked much. But I'll look up the ones you mentioned. Thanks for the recommendations!
Yeah, I found The Unforgiven way too uncomfortable for me to watch again after my Dad had me see it with him one night, so I agree there.
Lawman with Burt Lancaster is also a great film. It has a tremendous ending.
Now try Once Upon a Time in the West
Hi JW...
Just watched "High Noon" (for the first time in, like, over 30 years). Thoroughly enjoyed. Killer cast. But one thing I did not know (that I learned from the IMdB):
This film was intended as an allegory for the failure by some of the Hollywood community to stand up to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC) during Sen. Joseph McCarthy's hunt to find "Communists" in the film industry.
Very interesting. Did you know this...??
I didn't know it when I saw the film, but I've heard that several times since.
If you like movies were different kinds of people are throwing together, You will like the western, “The outlaw Josie Wales” starring Clint Eastwood. Josie wells is an ex confederate who meets up with Indians, Jayhawker, Mexicans, and a bluetick hound.
Josie Wales: “It seems when I start liking somebody they ain’t around long.”
Indian: “I noticed when you get to disliking somebody that ain’t around long either.”
Lonesome Dove
I like all of Clint's spaghetti westerns thanks to my dad's love for them heh
Yes they are all good but I wanted to see "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly but it cost a Fistful of Dollars and I needed A Few Dollars More!".
The Outlaw Josey Wales is not to be missed.
Try Open Range and The Outlaw Josey Wales.
They’re utterly brilliant.
Yeessss! The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...one of my cureent 3 favorite films.
I'd recommend if i could, 3 Godfathers (2 versions) and the Coen bros remake of True Grit. Its actually better than the original in my opinion. That doesn't happen much.
Try the “The Big Country”
Check out The Great Silence (1968). It is hands down the best western ever made.
Try "My Darling Clementine" directed by John Ford, starring Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp.
it's a very good movie sir, but too many details have been changed and it is now certain that this famous duel has become sure and proven as historical fact. So it becomes very difficult to change the history. Greetings p..s Hollywood with my whole love towards its factory of dreams can do and undo everything
@@Faber9722 This is the West sir.
@@WolfGratz do you mean this is the west how it is changed and reviewed by hollywood?
@@Faber9722 The West as defined by Hollywood prints and or adapts the Legend. History recounts the truth or at least an approximation thereof. IMHO it is a mistake to confuse the two.
For the record though Ford's retelling is if anything less "true" than the alleged story Earp told Ford - if he told him anything cos much as I admire the old man his stories about his film making were always just as unreliable as his Legends.