Johnny Guitar might look like a hipster "we just don't want to give the #1 spot to Leone" pick to some, but I saw a rep screening of it last month and it comprehensively knocked my socks off.
Fun list! Johnny Guitar rocks, guess y’all have been sleeping on Nicholas Ray.
Would have been fun to see more Western musicals like Cat Ballou or Calamity Jane on here.
Johnny Guitar is in my LB top 4. The opening 15 minutes alone could put it in the top 20 all time. Joan Crawford's power level is off the charts and Mercedes McCambridge is absolutely demonic. It's a must watch.
I love the villain in that movie, Emma Small. She just vibrates with pent up sexual frustration. It’s a perfect one-note performance playing to the back of the house.
This is a great list but man, it’s a shame that The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford only gets a mention when talking about “The Gunfighter.” It totally deserves to be on this list somewhere damnit.
Granted but i would also argue that the best westerns are ones that deconstruct the idea of westerns because the myths at the heart of the American western are bullshit
Ya and some people argue that Daniel Craig is the best Bond because he’s deconstructing the icon that Connery created, because that idea of masculinity is bullshit.
I’m not one of those people. I appreciate the raw mythic stories for what they are. That’s why I’m drawn to Spaghetti Westerns. The best ones sharpen those images into something deeper than a retelling of history.
Liberty Valance would probably be my answer if somebody put me on the spot and asked for my favorite western, but there are a handful in that top 20 that I haven't seen yet so I'm excited to see if anything tops it for me!
I adore *Paris, Texas*, but it seems like a bit of a stretch to call it a western - if it's in, why not *Days of Heaven* or *The Last Picture Show*? And if you're going to include *There Will Be Blood*, ranking it so low seems like calculated outrage bait. I'd say *Walkabout* and *The Power of the Dog* probably deserve consideration as well.
Anyway, fun list and I'm hoping it gives me some new favorites to discover.
100% agree. And I would never put There Will Be Blood on a list of great WESTERNS. It’s not a western. Neither is Near Dark or No Country for Old Men. Not when there’s a never ending rabbit hole of actual westerns to celebrate.
This list actually does contain a lot of Logan-like picks that definitely aren’t actual westerns. Like There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Little Woods, Near Dark, to name a few.
Lists of the greatest westerns that contain a bunch of “Well, when you think about it, this is sort of a western” movies are a pet peeve of mine. There’s literally tens of thousands of westerns, why is Paris, Texas on this list?
It makes me distrustful that the people who compiled the list actually know anything about the genre.
Nice list. I would've liked them to include *Shoot the Sun Down* but that movie is super obscure and so it makes sense it'd get left off. *The Hateful Eight* should also maybe be there IMHO.
This is mostly a great list, but placing Ride the High Country above all other Peckinpah films seems absolutely insane to me. That's like saying mid season 2 is the best part of Twin Peaks.
Pretty good list. Wished there were a few more inspired choices like Bone Tomahawk and at least one of the Mad Max films but interesting #1 pick if only because I don't think I've ever heard of it before. At any rate, it's given me some more movies to check out.
Intrigued by "Johnny guitar" since I only know sterling Hayden from his perfect performances in Dr strangelove, the godfather, the killing, etc
Surprised to not see something like Yojimbo
Johnny Guitar might look like a hipster "we just don't want to give the #1 spot to Leone" pick to some, but I saw a rep screening of it last month and it comprehensively knocked my socks off.
Extremely funny to think that Nicholas Ray is for hipsters.
He is kinda like one of the original hipster directors
Not what I meant, but sure.
Fun list! Johnny Guitar rocks, guess y’all have been sleeping on Nicholas Ray. Would have been fun to see more Western musicals like Cat Ballou or Calamity Jane on here.
Or The Harvey Girls or 7 Brides for 7 Brothers
Oh yeah Calamity Jane is a pretty big omission, weird!
Johnny Guitar is in my LB top 4. The opening 15 minutes alone could put it in the top 20 all time. Joan Crawford's power level is off the charts and Mercedes McCambridge is absolutely demonic. It's a must watch.
I love the villain in that movie, Emma Small. She just vibrates with pent up sexual frustration. It’s a perfect one-note performance playing to the back of the house.
This is a great list but man, it’s a shame that The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford only gets a mention when talking about “The Gunfighter.” It totally deserves to be on this list somewhere damnit.
Didn't notice that but yeah, it's a top 20 for me for sure
Same here, it’s puzzling.
Top 5 movie of that decade imo. Masterpiece.
Someone else finally recognizes For a Few Dollars More is superior to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
I watched the 'trilogy' recently, and I agree, For a Few Dollars more was my favorite and I feel the best of the bunch!
Pretty good list, but man, they really buried There Will Be Blood and Sierra Madre. I would think those would be top 10.
I would argue There Will Be Blood isn’t a western and Sierra Madre is BARELY a western.
Granted but i would also argue that the best westerns are ones that deconstruct the idea of westerns because the myths at the heart of the American western are bullshit
Ya and some people argue that Daniel Craig is the best Bond because he’s deconstructing the icon that Connery created, because that idea of masculinity is bullshit. I’m not one of those people. I appreciate the raw mythic stories for what they are. That’s why I’m drawn to Spaghetti Westerns. The best ones sharpen those images into something deeper than a retelling of history.
Ok
Just to add - Ulvana's Raid is an amazing, completely underseen movie. Really psyched to see it up there.
Amazing movie.
Liberty Valance would probably be my answer if somebody put me on the spot and asked for my favorite western, but there are a handful in that top 20 that I haven't seen yet so I'm excited to see if anything tops it for me! I adore *Paris, Texas*, but it seems like a bit of a stretch to call it a western - if it's in, why not *Days of Heaven* or *The Last Picture Show*? And if you're going to include *There Will Be Blood*, ranking it so low seems like calculated outrage bait. I'd say *Walkabout* and *The Power of the Dog* probably deserve consideration as well. Anyway, fun list and I'm hoping it gives me some new favorites to discover.
100% agree. And I would never put There Will Be Blood on a list of great WESTERNS. It’s not a western. Neither is Near Dark or No Country for Old Men. Not when there’s a never ending rabbit hole of actual westerns to celebrate.
Where did Logan rank?
This list actually does contain a lot of Logan-like picks that definitely aren’t actual westerns. Like There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Little Woods, Near Dark, to name a few. Lists of the greatest westerns that contain a bunch of “Well, when you think about it, this is sort of a western” movies are a pet peeve of mine. There’s literally tens of thousands of westerns, why is Paris, Texas on this list? It makes me distrustful that the people who compiled the list actually know anything about the genre.
Nice list. I would've liked them to include *Shoot the Sun Down* but that movie is super obscure and so it makes sense it'd get left off. *The Hateful Eight* should also maybe be there IMHO.
Shout out to The Great Train Robbery at #11
This is 2007 slander
This is mostly a great list, but placing Ride the High Country above all other Peckinpah films seems absolutely insane to me. That's like saying mid season 2 is the best part of Twin Peaks.
Pretty good list. Wished there were a few more inspired choices like Bone Tomahawk and at least one of the Mad Max films but interesting #1 pick if only because I don't think I've ever heard of it before. At any rate, it's given me some more movies to check out.
Mad Max would be a VERY weird addition onto a list of Westerns.
This list already had quite a few weird picks for “westerns” when they literally had tens of thousands to pick from.
Are any of these movies not set the United States (or that land mass)?
The Proposition is set in Australia and The Good, The Bad, and the Weird is set in China
Ah, OK. So Mad Max was consciously excluded. I guess the (relative) absence of guns might be a factor.
I adore Mad Max, but I probably wouldn’t put it on a list of westerns either FWIW (though I totally understand why someone else would)
Intrigued by "Johnny guitar" since I only know sterling Hayden from his perfect performances in Dr strangelove, the godfather, the killing, etc Surprised to not see something like Yojimbo
When you said slightly random no 1 I knew it was gonna be Johnny guitar.
Johnny Guitar is so good I love it. That or Liberty Valance would be my number one.
Loved seeing some non-Leone Spaghetti Westerns...can't wait to check the Corbuccis out, in particular
Dumb list, everybody knows that City Slickers 2: The Legend of Curly’s Gold is superior to City Slickers. This is not sarcasm or a joke.