I have the wa-wa-wa as an earworm right now, thanks, Liz! This makes me want to corral my family into watching a Western tonight. I really like 2016's "Hell or High Water" as a very "modern" Western with Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine.
Cue Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” aka one of the best OST tracks aka my power song when I am anxious in Walmart. What a great list, so many films I need to check out. I’ve picked 3 from this list that are at the top of my “watch this asap” page in my notes app. Fantastically written Liz!
For some reason, I thought "Stagecoach" was a long movie - but it's running time is just 96 minutes. I must be getting it confused with those other great 1939 films, like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (125 minutes) or Gone with the Wind (221 minutes). 1939 is often referred to as one of the best years in the history of Hollywood. The Wizard of Oz (101 minutes) came out then too.
Stagecoach honestly, and I mean this with love, feels a little long in some parts so I totally understand where you are coming from. 1939 was a great year for films!!! I mean how can you top both Gone with the Wind AND Wizard of Oz?
For an old Western featuring Jimmy Stewart you MUST try "Destry Rides Again"! After his experiences in the war he made a run of darker Westerns directed by Anthony Mann which are well worth watching as Jimmy works off some of his PTSD. Try "Winchester 73" and "The Man From Laramie" for starters.
There are so many great John Wayne movies, not only the two you've cited but a pair made with director Howard Hawks: "Red River" and "Rio Bravo". The "Cavalry Trilogy" he made under John Ford's direction are also terrific.
I will caution you about one Western, however. While "The Magnificent 7" is an endlessly rewatchable film with some of the greatest lines in Cinema, it is based on Akira Kurasowa's "Seven Samurai" and poses the risk of getting you hooked on Japanese cinema. Meh - there are worse fates.
I am not even a super Western fan, but I am glad The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at least made honorable mention on your list! I love, love, love that movie. Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Edmond O’Brien, Andy Devine and Lee Marvin, etc. was a great cast and who isn’t a sucker for good vs. evil and standing up to the bad guys, and you are so right about the “print the legend” line. Love your Hollywood dresses post too. Keep up the good work!!’
I don't know if it counts as a western, but Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has always been one of my favorites and I always thought of it as a western. Good luck with trying to watch all the movies suggested and getting through the next semester.
Curious about your thoughts on “Open Range”? Hopefully Kevin Costner ranks above Matt Damon. My favorite John Wayne movie was always “El Dorado” (just FYI). Thanks for the article and reminding me of the good times watching Westerns with my dad.
I can't believe you hated Tombstone. It gets a little slow when Kurt Russell and Dana Delaney go for a picnic, but the rest is fantastic. It's my favorite western.
Ok. Dismissing Tombstone is a shame. Val Kilmer is amazing in that movie. Joe- you might need to suck it up and power through the end of the movie. You will walk around saying “I’m you huckleberry” for a week
It's been a while since this list first appeared, but revisiting it I am amazed (appalled?) that nobody (not even I) thought to recommend Shane, as glorious a western as ever Hollywood produced.
My Darling Clementine is John Ford and Henry Fonda's telling of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. It might enhance your viewing pleasure to know that, as a young man getting started in Hollywood, John Ford made the acquaintance of Wyatt Earp who was working as technical advisor on Westerns by such as William S, Hart.
It takes it's time getting every element in place, but Gregory Peck's The Big Country rewards the patience with it's fish out of water (you'll get the joke when you see the movie) tale of a newcomer thrust between two warring groups.
Just because ... My Name Is Nobody, a spaghetti western starring Henry Fonda and Terence Hill is a hilarious and moving tale of the passing of an era. It is not a great movie but it is a very fun one.
As a nod to recent Westerns, I second the endorsement of Wind River and suggest The Legend Of Five Mile Cave (featuring Adam Baldwin, of Firefly, which is also a Western.)
I see that somebody else has recommended Once Upon a Time in the West, so I just wanted to second that recommendation. It's probably my favorite Western (it's a Clint Eastwood Western without Clint Eastwood). It also has music from Ennio Morricone, who is a god.
If you ever find a repertory theater showing it on the big screen, it
I have the wa-wa-wa as an earworm right now, thanks, Liz! This makes me want to corral my family into watching a Western tonight. I really like 2016's "Hell or High Water" as a very "modern" Western with Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine.
Cue Ennio Morricone’s “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” aka one of the best OST tracks aka my power song when I am anxious in Walmart. What a great list, so many films I need to check out. I’ve picked 3 from this list that are at the top of my “watch this asap” page in my notes app. Fantastically written Liz!
Outlaw Josey Wales
If you liked Unforgiven, I would add "The Wild Bunch."
For some reason, I thought "Stagecoach" was a long movie - but it's running time is just 96 minutes. I must be getting it confused with those other great 1939 films, like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (125 minutes) or Gone with the Wind (221 minutes). 1939 is often referred to as one of the best years in the history of Hollywood. The Wizard of Oz (101 minutes) came out then too.
Stagecoach honestly, and I mean this with love, feels a little long in some parts so I totally understand where you are coming from. 1939 was a great year for films!!! I mean how can you top both Gone with the Wind AND Wizard of Oz?
For an old Western featuring Jimmy Stewart you MUST try "Destry Rides Again"! After his experiences in the war he made a run of darker Westerns directed by Anthony Mann which are well worth watching as Jimmy works off some of his PTSD. Try "Winchester 73" and "The Man From Laramie" for starters.
There are so many great John Wayne movies, not only the two you've cited but a pair made with director Howard Hawks: "Red River" and "Rio Bravo". The "Cavalry Trilogy" he made under John Ford's direction are also terrific.
I will caution you about one Western, however. While "The Magnificent 7" is an endlessly rewatchable film with some of the greatest lines in Cinema, it is based on Akira Kurasowa's "Seven Samurai" and poses the risk of getting you hooked on Japanese cinema. Meh - there are worse fates.
Another western with Jimmy? COUNT ME IN! I will have to try the Magnificent 7 and Seven Samurai combo now
I am not even a super Western fan, but I am glad The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at least made honorable mention on your list! I love, love, love that movie. Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Edmond O’Brien, Andy Devine and Lee Marvin, etc. was a great cast and who isn’t a sucker for good vs. evil and standing up to the bad guys, and you are so right about the “print the legend” line. Love your Hollywood dresses post too. Keep up the good work!!’
Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate your support! The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is such an iconic film that I couldn't just not mention it!
I don't know if it counts as a western, but Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has always been one of my favorites and I always thought of it as a western. Good luck with trying to watch all the movies suggested and getting through the next semester.
Ooh, and Rio Bravo. That one is most certainly a western and I loved to watch it with my Dad.
You are very much speaking my language, here!
Justified is the gratest thing ever.
I strongly recommend watching the Eastwood/Leone collaborations in order, and then Once Upon a Time in the West.
Other enthusiastic recommendations include...
"Jeremiah Johnson"
Possibly my single favorite movie ever made.
"The Tall T"
🎶 Whatever happened to Randolph Scott, riding the trail alone? 🎶
And it's a quintessential product of Elmore Leonard, of Justified fame.
"Lonesome Dove"
Robert Duvall. 'Nuf sed.
Oh, and when you inevitably set out to watch all of Jimmy Stewart's Westerns, you officially have permission to skip "The Rare Breed". It is not good.
Curious about your thoughts on “Open Range”? Hopefully Kevin Costner ranks above Matt Damon. My favorite John Wayne movie was always “El Dorado” (just FYI). Thanks for the article and reminding me of the good times watching Westerns with my dad.
I can't believe you hated Tombstone. It gets a little slow when Kurt Russell and Dana Delaney go for a picnic, but the rest is fantastic. It's my favorite western.
Ok. Dismissing Tombstone is a shame. Val Kilmer is amazing in that movie. Joe- you might need to suck it up and power through the end of the movie. You will walk around saying “I’m you huckleberry” for a week
Liz. Not Joe.
I need to know more about this Matt Damon situation.
Agreed.
It's been a while since this list first appeared, but revisiting it I am amazed (appalled?) that nobody (not even I) thought to recommend Shane, as glorious a western as ever Hollywood produced.
My Darling Clementine is John Ford and Henry Fonda's telling of the Gunfight at the OK Corral. It might enhance your viewing pleasure to know that, as a young man getting started in Hollywood, John Ford made the acquaintance of Wyatt Earp who was working as technical advisor on Westerns by such as William S, Hart.
It takes it's time getting every element in place, but Gregory Peck's The Big Country rewards the patience with it's fish out of water (you'll get the joke when you see the movie) tale of a newcomer thrust between two warring groups.
Just because ... My Name Is Nobody, a spaghetti western starring Henry Fonda and Terence Hill is a hilarious and moving tale of the passing of an era. It is not a great movie but it is a very fun one.
As a nod to recent Westerns, I second the endorsement of Wind River and suggest The Legend Of Five Mile Cave (featuring Adam Baldwin, of Firefly, which is also a Western.)
I keep responding to your posts and being told I have unsubscribed. Here's a direct approach.
You love Westerns and you love John Wayne. Great. Ditto.
t I want to hear about John Ford's The Searchers -- anything and everything you have learned, think, feel, or want people to know about it.
Most beautifully scenic film ever shot? Horribly overrated? Ford's version of Taxi Driver (without the dance scene)?
Check out Stuart Byron's 'The Searchers: Cult Movie of the New Hollywood' (1979) and
https://slate.com/culture/2006/07/revisiting-the-searchers.html
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-searchers-1956
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Searchers#Critical_interpretations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33pcq85UdY4
https://kitbashed.com/blog/the-searchers
https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/young-debbie-edwards-found-lana-wood-on-the-searchers
https://www.amazon.com/Searchers-Making-American-Legend/dp/1608191052
https://www.rogerebert.com/scanners/all-trails-lead-to-the-searchers
https://www.cowboysindians.com/2016/10/the-searchers-at-60/
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1211909
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233458755_As_Sure_as_the_Turning_of_a_Page_A_Bibliography_for_The_Searchers
Thank you for whatever consideration you give this request!
John Granger, HogwartsProfessor Substack
I see that somebody else has recommended Once Upon a Time in the West, so I just wanted to second that recommendation. It's probably my favorite Western (it's a Clint Eastwood Western without Clint Eastwood). It also has music from Ennio Morricone, who is a god.
If you ever find a repertory theater showing it on the big screen, it
is a must see.