I break them down into 3 categories. John Wayne films, Clint Eastwood films, all others. Can't help it, that's just the way I like it. If you truly don't like Westerns please keep it to yourself or PM me with your hate. I just want this thread to be about enjoying something. If no one responds...oh well.
John Wayne...
1. "The Cowboys." What a great title huh? Some great scenes with the boys getting drunk and talking brave. Bruce Dern was the most hated man in the US for killing John Wayne in that movie. He only died in a few.
2. "True Grit." John Wayne's best scene in any movie is the gunfight 1 on 4. I still get chills when I see it. My favorite line is his call to charge into the gunfight. "Fill your hand you son of a b---h."
3. "Red River." Oh my gosh, what a great movie. The cattle drive scenes are amazing. Seeing John Wayne play a dark role was awesome. He was also a young man who portrayed an old man.
4. "Stagecoach." The role that won him acclaim as an actor and made him a John Ford favorite.
5. "The Shootist." His last movie. If ever there was a role written especially for an actor to play, this was it. A classic.
6. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." John Wayne's first real dark role and he played it well. Lee Marvin was awesome as the villian in this film. Jimmy Stewart was amazing too. Wish they had made more films together.
7. "McLintock." I love it because it is fun. A lot of great comedic lines and scenes. The best is Wayne trying to ascend the stairs drunk and bringing the ladies down with him.
8. "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon." John Wayne made 4 cavalry films. This one is my favorite because once again he was a young man portraying an old man. Victor McGlaglen as Sgt. Quincannon is hilarious. Love the scenes with the CO's wife whom Wayne calls "Old Iron Pants."
9. "Rooster Cogburn." One of the true travesties of his film career is that he didn't make more films with Kathrine Hepburn. The scenes between the two of them are so much fun. Especially when angry.
10. "The Searchers." This one is not for the politically correct but the Duke's acting is amazing. He plays a brooding, angry Uncle Ethan who spends years tracking down his neice kidnapped by Indians. All along he intends to kill her because she has "turned Indian" at the end he scoops Natalie Wood up in his arms to take her home. The last scene of him standing in the doorway, not really fitting in with the civilization inside the house is a tribute to Harry Carey Sr. with his stance. He turns his back and walks away as the doorway frames his exit. Amazing cinematography and at that time highly controversial.
Clint Eastwood...
1. "The Outlaw Josey Wales." From start to finish this movie has more great lines in it than any other I have ever seen.
2. "Unforgiven." Clint as a gunman who can't shoot any more so he gets a shotgun is really fine writing. His moralism and how it fades to hatred and a return to his darkness is awesome.
3. "Pale Rider." Not a well acted film but something draws me to it every time. The young girl reading the Bible and talking about death riding a white horse as he rides into camp is just so right somehow.
4. "Two Mules For Sister Sara." The first time I saw it I was blown away. It was just such a unique concept, a nun helping a hired hitman. Great lines all through it.
5. "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly." Just a great title but also just a fun movie to watch. If I hear the theme song come on the TV I will come running from another part of the house to see if it is on.
6. "Hang 'Em High." I could not help but wonder how I would want revenge if they had done that to me. Something about it rang true to me.
7. "High Plains Drifter." Cool concept. Ghost comes back to avenge his death participated in by a whole town. The town doesn't know him and he takes them all over. Read the book "Blood Meridian." Don't know why this film makes me think of that.
8. "Dirty Harry." Okay not a western, but he didn't make that many and this is like westerns with great lines everywhere.
9. "Fistful of Dollars." Just a great western. No explanation beyond that needed.
10. "For a Few Dollars More." The sequel was just as good.
All others...
1. "Lonseome Dove." Might be the best western ever made. It would get my vote.
2. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Talk about a fun film. Newman and Redford should have made more westerns.
3. "Quigley Down Under." I love it when the western takes on a new frontier.
4. "The Sacketts." Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, and Ben Johnson. Three great western film actors.
5. "The Magnificent Seven." Wow what a cast and what a great movie. The theme song is haunting. The story is great.
6. "Ride the High Country." If you haven't seen it you are missing out. Joel McCray and Randolph Scott are awesome as aging gunfighters struggling with duty and honor.
7. "Blazing Saddles." If you don't like this film check your pulse. That's all I can tell you. It's brilliant.
8. "Tombstone." May be the only western that can rival "Josey Wales" for great lines.
9. "Dances With Wolves." The last seen where Winds in His Hair is on top of the hill yelling to him that he will always be his friend is a magnificent moment in film. The whole film is superior.
10. "High Noon." The classic western story of a lone man against superior odds. Grace Kelly is eye candy. Gary Cooper gives the role of his life.
There are so many others. But these are the ones I love.
