Westerns!

I'm a big fan of genre films and Western just happens to be among my favorite genres. One of the greatest things about the genre is that it's thematically flexible. There are family friendly Westerns that are good vs. evil with little to no shades of grey. Comedic westerns (Blazing Saddles), politically charged Westerns (The Searchers), morally ambiguous westerns (Hombre), romantic Westerns (Brokeback Mountain) and now, science fiction westerns (I don't care what you say, I liked Cowboys & Aliens.)

This thread may or may not have been inspired by commentary in the Feud thread, but it's kind of sad that this genre I grew up with is one that's falling by the wayside. We get maybe one or two Westerns a decade now, and nothing that comes close to even the early 90's Westerns (Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, The Quick and the Dead and, yes, City Slickers.)

So come on. Think really hard and tell me your favorite Western. If you don't have one, get one and then tell me about it.

Westerns are for hillfolk.

Young guns was my favorite movie for the looongest time. That and Tombstone. I need to watch more of the classics honestly.

Westerns are pretty fun movies to watch, and I watched a couple during my lifetime. I would say Blazing Saddles would be my favorite, but that's just silly. I think Tombstone is a good movie.

My favorite Western, happens to be a musical to boot. Western + musical = heaven. It's a typical war-time musical, created solely to entertain the troops during WWII.

Here's a great clip from "Riding High". It's Cass Daley, who performs "Willie, the Wolf of the West". The sound quality is not so great, but the movie is from 1943.

Willie the Wolf of the West & He Loved Me Till the All-Clear Came:

Cass Daley - Willie the Wolf of the West (1943) - YouTube

Cass Daley - Till the All Clear Came (1943) - YouTube

Another clip from the same movie, this time with Dorothy Lamour:

Dorothy Lamour - Riding High (1943) - YouTube

I was quite frankly embarrassed by the answers from my fellow EOFFers in the Back to the Feud thread. 'Wild, Wild West' for the runaway top answer??? No... just no.

There have been some cracking recent westerns like 'True Grit' and I actually really enjoyed the remake of "3:10 to Yuma" (the original is equally awesome) and I would definitely count "Dances with Wolves as a reasonably recent classic.

The old ones are still my favourites though. "The Magnificent Seven", "Fistful of Dollars" "Treasure of Sierra Madre", "Gunfight at the OK Corral". I'm even partial to the odd musical like "Calamity Jane" and "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers".

No-one has yet mentioned the ultimate western though... "High Noon". One of my favourite films of all time let alone westerns. It was one of the earliest movies to have actually been filmed in real time. Edited to the second. Pretty impressive for a film that is 60 years old. If you haven't seen this film then you need to sort it out!

It is my personal opinion that you can never really get a bad western. Even if the script, the acting and the film itself is terrible... you are still guaranteed to have some quality backdrops to sit and admire.

Westerns forever!!

What really defines a Western, anyway? I never really thought of Brokeback Mountain as a Western.

Western = Cowboy hats?

Indy is a Western.

Sorry, I have a vagina.

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Originally Posted by Roto13

What really defines a Western, anyway? I never really thought of Brokeback Mountain as a Western.

Western = Cowboy hats?

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No, Westerns are set in the Wild West, hence the name "Western". Brokeback Mountain fits the description of a Western because of the location of its setting.

Brokeback Mountain doesn't take place in the Wild West. :P

That movie's hilarious, by the way.

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Originally Posted by Chris

Indy is a Western.

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That's a fedora, not a cowboy hat.

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Originally Posted by fierytempest

Sorry, I have a vagina.

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Quite a big one according to your profile Bio...

Back to the Future III is a western, right?

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Originally Posted by Roto13

Brokeback Mountain doesn't take place in the Wild West. :P

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Wyoming is part of the "Wild West" last I checked. :P

man with no name trilogy
obviously

but i have a soft spot for the 90's quick and the dead because the hero was a girl

I really loved Young Guns as a kid.

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Originally Posted by Agent Proto

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Roto13

Brokeback Mountain doesn't take place in the Wild West. :P

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Wyoming is part of the "Wild West" last I checked. :P

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Not Wyoming in the 60s. :P

It's still pretty wild here. Saw folks riding around on horses the other day.

Yeah Roto, you've obviously never been to wyoming xD

Yeah, I didn't realize Wyoming was stuck in a time warp.

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly Finale - YouTube

It's a cliche but I don't care. This scene is perfect. Just so perfect. The utter smurfing tension it creates. I feel myself tensing up every time even though I know how it ends. The music is incredible. It is just the smurfing business.

Brokeback Mountain is more of a modern western romance anyway than your typical western.

I find it much easier to appreciate as a comedy. "Ah man, those two guys managed to stay in the closet for two whole seconds! The moment they see each other again they make out right there in the open in front of that guy's wife and everything! This is even more hilarious than the sex scene!"

cowboys + aliens was good? I should go watch that.

I really liked The Quick and the Dead - I don't care if it's a 'new' western or 'isn't a western, you jackass'. it was set in the wild west and it was a good good guy vs bad guy story.

I'll be honest though - a lot of westerns bore me :(

Back to the Future Part III is my favorite western movie.

There are many westerns that I've yet to see, but I've seen many finewesterns over the years. The Man With No Name trilogy, Unforgiven, Dances with Wolves, High Noon, 3:10 to Yuma (remake), Red River, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Big Country, Cavalry Trilogy etc.

I guess the one to top them all as the quintessential western for me would be Shane. That film had everything I could hope for from a good western.This scene gives the Good, the Bad and the Ugly finale a run for its money as far as tension goes. The film had great acting, a deceptively simple plot with actually lots of layers underneath, fine dialogue, memorable music, grand vista shots and above all else it has its heart in the right place. And the ending is one of the most iconic ones in cinema history. It's definitely worth a watch if you enjoy older westerns. :)

Brokeback Mountain is a western due to location, occupation of the main characters, and the thematically - self discovery, lawlessness, lonesomeness, hunger. Etc. Come on, Rhody, you could've figured that out. ;)

So westerns = cowboy hats?

foa, just say yes to make him satisfied. :p

She knows I will never be satisfied.

The Outlaw Josey Wales is my favourite. There is so many lines out of it that are just brilliant. Unforgiven & How Green Was My Valley is up there too. TBH though I'd watch anything with Clint in it. I thought Once Upon A Time In The West was a little overrated given it's status, even though I'm a fan of Henry Fonda. I'll hold my hands up & say I haven't seen The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly :| I'll get around too it soon though.

Seriously? Aw man. You should do that nowish.

Also The Outlaw Josey Wales is a contender for my favorite because it's hysterical and sad all at once.

Josey Wales: You have any food here?
Lone Watie: All I have is a piece of hard rock candy. But it's not for eatin'. It's just for lookin' through.

Josey Wales: You a bounty hunter?
Bounty hunter: A man's got to do something for a living these days.
Josey Wales: Dyin' ain't much of a living, boy.

There's too many to mention! And yeah I'll see too it.

you guys ever see The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford?

it's a beautiful movie
plot kinda sucks but really beautiful shots and good acting

Once Upon a Time in the West...

Peter Fonda
CHUCK smurfIN BRONSON
and music by Ennio Morricone or however you spell it

/win