# Westerns: What are your favorites?



## littlemissattitude (Apr 18, 2005)

Over on another forum, someone asked the question: which are your favorite western films? My first reaction was, what favorite westers? But once I thought about it for just a few minutes, I realized that I do have some favorites in that genre. So I thought I'd share them here, too, and ask you all what your favorites are. Now, I know this doesn't have too much to do with science fiction or fantasy - although there is "The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao" and "The Valley of the Gwangi" - but there's nothing wrong with venturing a bit afield now and then.

So, here are my favorites, listed in no particular order:

1) "Will Penny" (1968), in which Charleton Heston plays an aging cowboy who takes up with a widow woman (Joan Hackett) and doesn't quite know what to do with his feelings.

2) "Tom Horn" (1980), Steve McQueen's next to last film. He plays a former army scout hired to hunt down rustlers but finds himself on trial for the murder of a boy killed while he's doing his job. Besides it being a great film, somehow the cinematographer managed to make it look like the whole cast jumped into a time machine and actually went on location into the past to film the thing.

3) "Junior Bonner" (1972), another Steve McQueen film (not that I'm a fan or anything 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 ), directed by Sam Peckinpah, this is a modern-day western about a dysfunctional rodeo family. I happened to see this one a few months ago on TV after a lot of years (I saw this one in the theatre when it first was out) and was pleased to see that it holds up well.

4) "They Died With Their Boots On" (1941), Raoul Walsh directs Errol Flynn as George Armstrong Custer. Custer comes out looking rather better than history treats him, but the politicians and the businessmen don't look so hot. History takes a backseat to storytelling (translation: don't expect historical accuracy here) but it's a good story, well told and beautifully photographed.

5) "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), No explanation necessary. "Who _are_ those guys?"

6) "Little Big Man" (1970), Dustin Hoffman plays Jack Crabb, a very old man looking back on his life as a boy raised by Indians, as a gunslinger, as a scout for General Custer. This is a really good, really funny, really sweet movie.

7) "Ride the High Country" (1962), Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in another Sam Peckinpah-directed western. McCrea and Scott run into trouble while guarding a shipment of gold.

8) "Support Your Local Sheriff" (1969), in which James Garner hires on as sheriff in a town that has been through three sheriffs in the past two months. There are those who believe this movie is funnier than "Blazing Saddles", and I tend to agree with them.

So, what are your favorite western films?


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## Quokka (Apr 18, 2005)

I'd have to say that Westerns are far from a favourite movie genre of mine and to be honest I haven't seen all that many but here goes. Unforgiven (1992), Blazing Saddles (1974), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The man who shot Liberty Valance (1962). I don't suppose The last of the Mohicans (1992) is really a western and for the SF link how about Westworld (1973).


By the way, thanks for the info on the films littlemissattitude, I don't remember seeing Support Your Local Sheriff or Little Big Man and they sounded interesting. Think i may check out the local video store, Dustin Hoffman in a western?


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## dwndrgn (Apr 18, 2005)

I'm not a big western fan but I'd have to throw in a few Squint Spaghetties here...

Fistful of Dollars - a loner uses the greed of two fueding families to teach them a lesson and earn a few bucks.  Best western score ever.
For a Few Dollars More - the loner is back and teaming up with a rival bounty hunter to find an outlaw.
Two Mules for Sister Sara - Nun Sara (wonderfully played by Shirley McClaine) is saved from attack by an advance scout.  Through several adventures they become closer but he doesn't learn her secret until much later.
Silverado - not the greatest movie but a very odd group of actors put together and they seemed to fit even though you wouldn't think so.  Plus, I just love Jeff Goldblum to pieces.  He can do no wrong.  
And that's about it.  I just don't get excited by westerns too much.


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## littlemissattitude (Apr 18, 2005)

Quokka said:
			
		

> By the way, thanks for the info on the films littlemissattitude, I don't remember seeing Support Your Local Sheriff or Little Big Man and they sounded interesting. Think i may check out the local video store, Dustin Hoffman in a western?


 
Yes, as unbelievable as it sounds, Dustin Hoffman was in a western. Of course, you know that makes it Not Your Typical Western. But I very definitely recommend it. It's a wonderful movie.

Oh, and I remembered another western that I really liked. It's called "Riders of the Purple Sage" and was made for TV (cable, I think) in 1996. It stars Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, and is a melancholy western romance.

And dwndrgn...I've seen "Two Mules for Sister Sara".  Not a bad movie at all.


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## Foxbat (Apr 18, 2005)

The Good The Bad & The Ugly is, for me, the finest Western ever made (even though it was shot in Spain by Italians).

Other than that, I'm a sucker for John Ford's work (Fort Apache, The Searchers etc.)


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## Leto (Apr 18, 2005)

My 3 favorites has already been cited :
- Fistful of dollars
- For a few dollars more
- The good, the bad and the ugly
Sergio Leone is on my top director list and gave Clint Eastwood his best part. 

Recently,  I was favorably surprised by Ron Howard's The Missing with Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones. I'm not fond of this director usual "goody woody" story but this one is very good. 

On the parody side, I'm partial to the Trinity saga as My name is Trinity


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## Culhwch (Apr 24, 2005)

Leto said:
			
		

> Recently, I was favorably surprised by Ron Howard's The Missing with Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones. I'm not fond of this director usual "goody woody" story but this one is very good.


 
Really? The Missing was two-and-a-bit of the most agonising hours of my life...

Haven't seen a lot of the older Westerns, but I am keen to see Once Apon A Time In The West, if only for the fantastic cover art of the DVD, but I can't find it in any of the video-rental places around me, sadly. Just rows and rows of Hilary Duff movies (and there is something really disturbing in that fact).

Recently I loved Open Range, with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. A very quiet, understated film, but with a kicker of a gun-fight finale. Also a fan of Dances With Wolves (preparing to get howled down) and, of course, Unforgiven.


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## Leto (Apr 24, 2005)

See, every tastes are in the world. Personnaly i was bored by Dances with Wolves and Open range.


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## The Master™ (Apr 24, 2005)

Spaghetti Westerns - first and foremost my favourites...

Then John Wayne movies - From The Searchers through to The Shootist!!!

Maverick, Dances with Wolves, Wild Bunch, High Noon...

For series - Brisco County Jnr, Hopalong Cassidy, Rawhide, Champion the wonder horse, Lone Ranger...


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## littlemissattitude (Apr 24, 2005)

Actually, I liked "Dances With Wolves".  Not well enough for it to make my list of favorites, but it wasn't a bad movie.  Could have been a little shorter, I guess.  But, all in all, not bad at all.  And, it did win seven Academy Awards, after all, including Best Picture.

I haven't seen either "Open Range" or "The Missing".  "The Missing" looks good, though, and I am a fan of Ron Howard's directing efforts.  Have to see if I can rent it.  But "Open Range" just didn't really appeal to me, based on the reviews and previews of it that I saw.


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## a|one (Apr 24, 2005)

_Unforgiven_, _The Good the Bad and the Ugly_, and _The last of the Mohicans_ (close enough says I).


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## Winters_Sorrow (Apr 24, 2005)

I try to fight against it, but I have to agree with the Master - for me the western genre is defined by John Wayne & John Ford - nearly all of the westerns I've enjoyed have had one or other at the helm

the exceptions are - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, The Treasure of Sierra Madre and The Man who shot Liberty Valance


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## The Master™ (Apr 25, 2005)

Winters_Sorrow said:
			
		

> I try to fight against it, but I have to agree with the Master - for me the western genre is defined by John Wayne & John Ford - nearly all of the westerns I've enjoyed have had one or other at the helm


 
What did I do??? All this animosity!!! SHEESH!!!


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## Alexa (Apr 26, 2005)

Ha ha ! The Master is in trouble !  

I have a weakness for Clint Eastwood, so I love all of his movies without exception.

I love also the Trinity saga with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. They make me laugh every time I watch them.

I love also all the movies with Chuck Norris. Kinda romantic guy, this Chuck.

Well, I must admit I like westerns in general.


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## littlemissattitude (Apr 26, 2005)

Alexa said:
			
		

> I love also all the movies with Chuck Norris. Kinda romantic guy, this Chuck.


 
Yeah, but it would be kind of nice if he could act.

*ducks bricks thrown by Alexa*


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## Alexa (Apr 26, 2005)

Unfortunately, he's dead. You must admit, at least he could fight.


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## dwndrgn (Apr 26, 2005)

Chuck Norris isn't dead.  At least as far as I know.  Just recently he made a statement about the Terry Shaivo (sp) situation.


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## Alexa (Apr 26, 2005)

I heard he had an accident a few years ago, during the preparation of a movie, a tough cascade. Glad to hear that info was not true.


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## Teresa Edgerton (Apr 26, 2005)

I, too, would list _Support Your Local Sheriff_.  (Not to be confused with the much less amusing follow-up  _Support Your Local Gunfighter_.)  For years, SYLS was a family favorite, and we could all send each other into giggles repeating some of the tag-lines.

_Maverick_ -- the TV show, not the movie -- is still a lot of fun after all these years, particularly the James Garner episodes.  They used to slip in a story, every now and again, that was based on some classic piece of literature or drama.  One that I particularly enjoyed was a version of Sheridan's  _The Rivals_, with the scene of action transferred from England to New Orleans.


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## littlemissattitude (Apr 27, 2005)

dwndrgn said:
			
		

> Chuck Norris isn't dead. At least as far as I know. Just recently he made a statement about the Terry Shaivo (sp) situation.


 
Naw, he isn't dead.  In fact he drifts through town every once in awhile as he's friends with Fresno's mayor, Alan Autry - also an actor who you might have seen if you've ever seen the series "In the Heat of the Night", in which he played Bubba.  Which is why he is known in these parts as "Mayor Bubba."


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## Alexa (Apr 27, 2005)

Oh California, country of dreams and actors ! I have to visit it one day.


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## angrybuddhist (May 8, 2005)

I never thought that I liked westerns, but so many have been mentioned that I loved while growing up I had to comment. The James Garner Support Your Local Sheriff and Gunfighter movies were hysterical. Bruce Dern sitting in a jail cell without bars was a classic scene. I think Silverado is the best western soap opera ever made. John Cleese as a western sheriff was inspired casting. "Today my jurisdiction ends here. Pick up my hat." I also would like to see the Trinity movies again. Trinity made cowboys cool to young boys. An oddball western I also like is Dirty Dingus McGee with Frank Sinatra in the title role. Of course I had the hots for Michele Carey while growing up, so that could explain my fondness for that movie. It looks like I like my westerns mixed with a good dose of humor.


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## littlemissattitude (May 8, 2005)

angrybuddhist...I agree that "Dirty Dingus McGee" was one of the most off-kilter westerns I've ever seen.  Not to mention that it was pretty funny.  Good movie.


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## stelfox1 (May 8, 2005)

My favourite Western has to be Lonesome Dove with Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall, it was an all round good show.


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## HenryVI (May 8, 2005)

My favorite of all time is "Lonesome Dove", then I also like "The Missing".  But my favorite westerns are the novels by the great authors like Louis Lamour, Zane Grey, and Max Brand.


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## stelfox1 (May 8, 2005)

Tommy Lee Jones definitely suits the part of a cowboy tho.


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## BAYLOR (May 18, 2020)

The Good The Bad and The Ugly.


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## hitmouse (May 18, 2020)

BAYLOR said:


> The Good The Bad and The Ugly.


Yes. 
Surprised no-one on this necrothread mentioned High Noon or Outlaw Josie Wales.


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## Vince W (May 18, 2020)

hitmouse said:


> Yes.
> Surprised no-one on this necrothread mentioned High Noon or Outlaw Josie Wales.


Both great choices. I would also add _Pale Rider_. One of my all-time favourites is _The Cowboys_ starring John Wayne. I saw it when I was about the same age as the boys in the film. I watch it any time I see it on.


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## Don (May 19, 2020)

Mackenna's Gold (my favorite)
Outlaw Josie Wales, Joe Kidd, High Plains Drifter, and the other Eastwoods.
Stagecoach, Angel and the Badman (John Wayne)
Cowboys & Aliens
Urban Cowboy (It's a comedy when viewed as a lengthy Travolta and Winger screen test.)


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## Alex The G and T (May 19, 2020)

All this talk of Western spoofery, five years ago, and nary a mention of *Cat Balou*?  For shame.


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 19, 2020)

Alex The G and T said:


> five years ago


Fifteen, actually. *sigh*


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## -K2- (May 19, 2020)

Without a doubt... the best cowboy movie--ever--not western, but 'cowboy' movie, is Monte Walsh with Tom Selleck...ever, EVVvvvver.

Past that, I love Yellow Sky with Gregory Peck, The Mountain Men (Charlton Heston and Brian Kieth), Jerimiah Johnson w/Robert Redford, Hondo w/John Wayne...pfft, I could go on for hours. You'll never lose with old B&Ws, but as far as a series (yeah, not a movie), half-hour and early hour long Gunsmokes are awesome (55-61), and Laramie when in B&W is always a winner.

K2


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 19, 2020)

_My Darling Clementine _(John Ford, 1946) -- with Henry Fonda. Try especially to see the so-called "pre-release" cut, which is longer and has much less of that incessant melodramatic background music that Hollywood used to layer over everything. The loveliest Western you'll ever see, with a strong core of goodness and calm.

_Wagon Master _(Ford, 1950) -- rare starring role for eternal Ford (and John Wayne) supporting player Ben Johnson. 

_Red River _(Howard Hawks, 1948). There is no more exciting sequence in film history than the montage showing the beginning of the cattle drive. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift, in an ideal duel of acting styles. Plus Hank Worden! (Who was the very best thing about Ford's _The Searchers_, about which I have too many reservations to be able to list here.)

_True Grit _(Henry Hathaway, 1969). I like the Coen Brothers remake/homage/near exact copy too, but this is the real thing.

_The Train Robbers _(Burt Kennedy, 1973). John Wayne, Ben Johnson, and company, plus Ricardo Montalban and Ann-Margret. Kennedy is usually thought of as an unexciting, journeyman director, but I think his adoption of spaghetti western aesthetics here (just watch the first five minutes and you'll know precisely what I mean), not to mention the way he messes around with them, is brilliant. Actually, he directed two other Westerns mentioned as favorites here, _Dirty Dingus Magee _(which has some brilliant parodies of sequences from _For a Fistful of Dollars_) and _Support Your Local Sheriff_.

_Shane _(George Stevens, 1953). Western as myth. 

_3:10 to Yuma _(Delmer Dawes, 1957) _-- _as if Robert Bresson and Sergei Eisrnstein collaborated to direct a Western.

_The Wild Bunch _(Sam Peckinpah, 1969). I could rave about it forever, but just think of the cast: William Holden and Robert Ryan. Ernest Borgnine. Plus Ben Johnson (again!) and Warren Oates, who make every movie they're in much better. 

_Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid _(Peckinpah, 1973). Just mentally cut out all of Bob Dylan's scenes, and you have a perfect movie.

_Once Upon a Time in the West _(Sergio Leone, 1968). Basically a long visual poem on Western themes.


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## Alex The G and T (May 19, 2020)

In the not-quite-really a western category: *Quigley Down Under*.  Tom Selleck.


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## Droflet (May 19, 2020)

Many great westerns but only two that really stand out for me. *Shane *and *Red Rive*r.


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## Vladd67 (May 19, 2020)

The Magnificent Seven
High Noon (and though not set in the old west I still think of it as a Western, Outland)
A Fist full of Dollars ( and Yojimbo and Last Man Standing)
For a few Dollars more
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, the final three way gunfight is a classic scene.




Silverado
Tombstone 
Pale Rider
High Plains Drifter
5 Card Stud
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
For awhile in Milton Keynes there was an EasyCinema that showed classic films at low ticket prices and seeing The Magnificent Seven and The Good The Bad and The Ugly on the big screen was such a better viewing experience than watching them on TV.


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## mosaix (May 19, 2020)

Shane. 

Whoever got that dog to slink off when Jack Palance entered the saloon deserved an Oscar just for that scene. Brilliant.


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## Elckerlyc (May 19, 2020)

Vladd67 said:


> The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, the final three way gunfight is a classic scene.


To do this movie justice, it should be called *The Good, The Bad, The Ugly And The Score*


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## Ian Fortytwo (May 19, 2020)

*Pale Rider, *Clint Eastwood at his best.


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## Rodders (May 19, 2020)

The cowboy trope was never really my genre, so I didn’t pay too much attention to it. As a child of the seventies, I enjoyed the spaghetti westerns, the Fist Full of Dollars trilogy being a cowboy staple. John Wayne was a big influence for me growing up and I remember True Grit being superb and thoroughly enjoyable.

My favourites, though would be James Garner’s Support Your Local Sheriff. There was a follow up called Support Your Local Gambler which i also enjoyed and will make the effort to watch them when they come on.

As a kid I watched an awesome cowboy movie called Red Sun. A gruff gunslinger (Charles Bronson) and a Samurai search for a stolen sword that was a gift for the US president. A great end. I only ever saw it once, but it stayed with me. I’d love to watch it again.

My girlfriend and I watch an Audi Murphy called No Name On The Bullet. It was very well done and totally recommended.


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## Narkalui (May 20, 2020)

Once Upon A Time In The West was amazing. Also The Missing and I don't think Rio Bravo has been mentioned yet


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## CupofJoe (May 20, 2020)

Like many, my image of the Western is formed around John Ford's aesthetic. The composition and photography is beautiful.
So my list would go:
Stagecoach [1939]
My darling Clementine [1946]
Fort Apache [1948]
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon [1949]
Rio Grande [1950]
Cheyenne Autumn [1964]
Then there are:
How the West Was Won [1962]
Open Range [2003]
Bone Tomahawk [2015]
TV Series Longmire [an old-fashioned western in all but name]
I limited myself to 10...


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## hitmouse (May 20, 2020)

TV series: Deadwood. 
deeply impressive.


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## JNG01 (May 20, 2020)

Culhwch said:


> Really? The Missing was two-and-a-bit of the most agonising hours of my life...
> 
> Haven't seen a lot of the older Westerns, but I am keen to see Once Apon A Time In The West, if only for the fantastic cover art of the DVD, but I can't find it in any of the video-rental places around me, sadly. Just rows and rows of Hilary Duff movies (and there is something really disturbing in that fact).
> 
> Recently I loved Open Range, with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. A very quiet, understated film, but with a kicker of a gun-fight finale. Also a fan of Dances With Wolves (preparing to get howled down) and, of course, Unforgiven.



It's not a popular pick, but I"m with you here--Open Range is high on the list of great westerns.


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 20, 2020)

Culhwch said:


> Really? The Missing was two-and-a-bit of the most agonising hours of my life...
> 
> Haven't seen a lot of the older Westerns, but I am keen to see Once Apon A Time In The West, if only for the fantastic cover art of the DVD, but I can't find it in any of the video-rental places around me, sadly. Just rows and rows of Hilary Duff movies (and there is something really disturbing in that fact).
> 
> Recently I loved Open Range, with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. A very quiet, understated film, but with a kicker of a gun-fight finale. Also a fan of Dances With Wolves (preparing to get howled down) and, of course, Unforgiven.


FWIW, _Once Upon a Time in the West _is currently on Netflix, in the US at least.


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 20, 2020)

Oh, wait. I just responded to a fifteen-year-old post, from back before there was a streaming service called Netflix!

I did wonder about that mention of video-rental places...


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## Vince W (May 21, 2020)

_The Apple Dumpling Gang _was a childhood favourite of mine.


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## Rodders (May 21, 2020)

I’m not quite sure why the cowboy movies died out.


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## Don (May 21, 2020)

Vladd67 said:


> Tombstone



Thank you for reminding me about Tombstone, it's also a favorite and does double duty as a comedy.

"For a man that don't go heeled, you run your mouth kinda reckless, don't ya?..."
"Go ahead, skin it! Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens."

"Listen, Mr. Kansas Law Dog. Law don't go around here. Savvy?..."
"Who was that other idiot?"

"I'd take the deal, then crawfish and drill that old devil..."
"How 'bout you, Juanito? What would you do?"
"I already did it."


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## -K2- (May 21, 2020)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance."

Also, "Rawhide" with Tyrone Power and Susan Hayward

K2


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 21, 2020)

-K2- said:


> I'm surprised no one has mentioned "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance.


Somebody did, actually. Not my favorite because most of it was shot on a sound stage, and it shows. It would have been much better if the studio had allowed Ford to shoot it on location, as he wanted to. Also, James Stewart is much too old for the role he's supposed to be playing.


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## Culhwch (May 22, 2020)

tegeus-Cromis said:


> Oh, wait. I just responded to a fifteen-year-old post, from back before there was a streaming service called Netflix!
> 
> I did wonder about that mention of video-rental places...



It was a different time, that's for sure. For one thing, we were allowed outside.

Oh, and I still haven't seen _Once Upon A Time In The West_, if anyone is wondering. Currently deeply immersed in _Red Dead Redemption 2_, though, and living the cowboy dream!


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 22, 2020)

Culhwch said:


> It was a different time, that's for sure. For one thing, we were allowed outside.
> 
> Oh, and I still haven't seen _Once Upon A Time In The West_, if anyone is wondering. Currently deeply immersed in _Red Dead Redemption 2_, though, and living the cowboy dream!


Well, as I said, it's currently on Netflix. In the US, at least.


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## -K2- (May 22, 2020)

A newer movie that I enjoy for its authenticity is Appaloosa. The gunfight scenes and final duel showdown are fantastic:


Spoiler: Final Gunfight/Duel











K2


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## Elckerlyc (May 22, 2020)

I haven't seen many westerns lately. Any list of favorites would have to be based of what I remember from movies I saw 30 years ago.
But I would have to name* Once Upon A Time In The West*. It's on my general list of favorites.
*Jeremiah Johnson*
I have vague memories of *Shane*. Don't know why exactly, but it must have a reason.
*3:10 to Yuma*. (2007). Perhaps because it is fairly recent. Don't know the original version.

Edit: I forgot to mention the *Dollars Trilogy.*


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## tegeus-Cromis (May 22, 2020)

Elckerlyc said:


> *3:10 to Yuma*. (2007). Perhaps because it is fairly recent. Don't know the original version.


I've seen them both. The original version is a masterpiece. The 2007 remake is at best a pale imitation of it.


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## JimC (Jun 10, 2020)

High Noon
Little Big Man
The Searchers
The Shootist
Shane
Jeremiah Johnson


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