Counting down the top 10 Westerns in Cinema:

10.My Name is Nobody
Part parody, part personal religious & generational trek there is nothing quite like it. The humor and curious plan of the no named character matched with this being Henry Fonda’s last western and the narrative’s knowledge and treatment as such make it an unpolished western gem.

9.A Big Hand for the Little Lady
Low budget and impossible to find in DVD or on cable anymore this is one of the best small scale archetype western plots aground. A husband gets in a high stakes poker game with the territory’s most powerful men and in mid game bets his home and all his cash only to die before the hand is done so in steps his quiet, meek wife (a smart and perfect Joanne Woodward) to stand toe to toe with them and finish the game. Many aspects of the film could be better and this is ripe for a retelling but at it’s core is a small western in the vein of “10 Angry Men”.

8.Rio Bravo/El Dorado
So nice they had to make it thrice (the last one and not worth mentioning was Rio Lobo). Everyone knows this plot premise: Drunk sheriff arrests the corrupt brother of the most powerful man in the territory and has to hold him till the marshal can make it in to take him away. In the mean time he fights off withdrawal, countless mercenaries & his own doubt. A man marked for death if not for his best friend that he wronged years back coming to help keep the peace and stave off the black hats. Neither film was perfect (narrative structure in Rio Bravo is weak in the beginning and casting/direction in El Dorado isn’t as fun or stylish) but as a whole they both make a cornerstone in the Western genre.

7.Dances with Wolves
The epic that broke the rule of “no one can make a good western anymore”. Before Kevin Costner became annoying he was the brilliant director/actor that made a 3 hour film that you didn’t want to end and was firing on all cylinders for every 180 minuets. Indians became native americans without becoming dull or 2D in the inverse of the dumb, campy, firewater drinking films before and the personal introspective story that was tried many times before is truly achieved here.

6.High Noon
Stylish and one of a small group of films that makes black & white film feel more like obsidian & platinum. Grace Kelly is spot on a the cold hearted prudish wife who grows to warm to the struggle of life and the love of her husband. At times a bit to preachy and left leaning self righteous but regardless an original and fresh take on the genre perfectly done.

5.The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Brash, loud, fast (and deliberately slow in all the best ways) there is nothing like a Sergio Leone film and this is one of the most fun.

4.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Classic and traditional in it’s story of a straight laced lawyer in the rough and tumble world of the west but untraditional in it’s take on the role of a man in society. Asking questions of how much violence is acceptable and where does the line lie between reasonable defense and forceful aggression. It’s the forcing of two western archetypes to come face to face and build a balance we can all live with that makes this one of the greats

3.The Magnificent Seven
As with “A Big Hand for the Little Lady” and “Rio Bravo/El Dorado” this is the mother of all western tales. A retelling of the masterpiece”Seven Samurai” this ensemble cast is picture perfect and makes a timeless film (regardless of weak directing) that has 3 sequels (of little note) and been the source of inspiration to countless other films both serious and comedic (Three Amigos!).|

2.Stagecoach
John Ford starts his dominance of the western and defines much of the look and style that makes it timeless and universal with this film. Short story styles meets epic landscape in this film of a coach filled with opposites making their way across land filled with trouble. The film that launched John Wayne from serial western status and brought scope to the genre.

1.Once Upon a Time in the West
The perfect western, an Epic Opera of violence, sex & hope. It has the scope that every other western dreams off, a soundtrack that redefines the relationship between the visual and audible & a plot that has never been told as well again even though many have tried. Above all else this is where Sergio Leone as the mythical son of John Ford comes and kills the father king with the most dynamic and perfect visual directing ever done regardless of genre. A film that everyone must watch atleast once in a theater like surroundings.

Guilty Pleasures
1.Blazing Saddles : “Oh, I don’t know… Play chess… screw…”

2.Quigley Down Under : Dingo’s ate my Baby!

3.The Sons of Katie Elder : Bothers fighting over the youngest going to school to become respectable

4.Big Jake : You can call me Dad, you can call me Father, you can call me Jacob and you can call me Jake. You can call me a dirty old son-of-a-bitch, but if you EVER call me Daddy again, I’ll finish this fight.

5.McLintock! : The drunken sequel to “The Quiet Man” just 18 years later and in the west. Swell party, where’s the whisky? Also one of the best monologues on what makes a good marriage.

Overrated
1.The Searchers : John Wayne as a hate filled, drunk racist the novelty of it doesn’t carry the slow plot that much. The directing is flat and the acting aside from the drama is boring. Why this is on so many top ten lists always boggles me.

2.Unforgiven : A dismal plot, Eastwood’s less visual directing attempt and how anguish and hate makes 2D characters less fake still doesn’t make sense to me. If this film wasn’t the narrative capstone to a brilliant career in westerns it wouldn’t be so highly regarded.