Monday
07Jul2008
Still 'Search'ing for an Accurate List of the Greatest Westerns
Monday, July 7, 2008 at 12:08PM 
I am almost in complete agreement with Anne Thompson,
the Deputy Editor of Variety.com, who railed a recent list put together by the
Western Writers of America.
Her headline: "Westerns Top 100 List Sucks:
Shane Number One"
That about says it all.
Shane is by no means the best
Western ever made. But this list has a much more populist bent than a truly
artistic one and that's fine, unless you're trying to be accurate. See, the
problem is, you just can't defend Shane as the best Western of all time.
It
borders on the illogical to not have
The Searchers as the number one Western,
because in addition to being an exceedingly well-made film, it for the first
time blurred the line between right and wrong, meaning most of the good Westerns that
preceded it had failed to account for the moral ambiguity of living life by the
gun and had failed to account for revenge, which is one of the most common
thematic devices in a Western.
In other words, The Searchers said, "this is how
Westerns will be made now." And if you look at the films that followed it for 35
years, that's exactly what happened. Then Clint Eastwood made
Unforgiven, bled all the revenge right out of
William Munny and said, "that's just about enough of that."
The Searchers did make their list, at number three, but
when your top ten has two
John Wayne movies and two
Kevin Costner movies and
when Costner has more films on the list as a director than
John Ford, you need
to re-evaluate. Seriously, Open Range over Unforgiven, The Good the Bad and the
Ugly, Stagecoach, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, True
Grit, Rio Bravo, and Blazing Saddles? I mean, it's a great gunfight
there at the end, but that's
about it.
So the
Western Writers of America have failed us. You
may be asking yourself, who are these masked men? Well, they're all reputable
writers, some have written novels, others screenplays. And now you might be
asking yourself, then wouldn't they know more about Westerns than you?
You'd think so, and thanks for pointing that out. But
let's examine their list of Westerns that made the Top 10:
1 - Shane2 - High Noon
3 - The Searchers
4 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5 - Dances With Wolves
6 - The Wild Bunch
7 - Red River
8 - Tombstone
9 - The Magnificent Seven
10- Open Range
See what I mean? I like Tombstone a lot, think it's a much more entertaining film than Dances With Wolves, but neither one of them belong in the top ten. Do you know how many Westerns there have been? And how many very good ones, for that matter? Most of the glaring omissions are in the 11 - 20 range, with the exception of Rio Bravo, which is a bit lower. Of course, I have some lingering questions about what makes a Western. This list contains not only The Grapes of Wrath but The Last of the Mohicans, as well. And in an official press release, the Executive Director of the WWA praised 2007 filmmakers for 3:10 to Yuma, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood (is that a Western or does it just take place in the West?). Both Yuma and No Country made the final cut of 100, and in fact Yuma placed number 23, but if No Country is also eligible, shouldn't it be substantially higher than number 79? It's certainly curious, you must admit, that a movie like Jeremiah Johnson is considered better than No Country for Old Men. By a panel of experts, no less. Anne Thompson said this group should be ashamed of their list, and she's exactly right.Colin Boyd | Permalink | in Lists, Westerns | 3 References Print Article | Email Article | 24 Comments | Share Article 
Reader Comments (24)
I hadn't thought about it much, but the Western "Top Movies" lists are usually not worth much. But I actually kind of like what the Western Writers put together. That Top 10 list doesn't have any bad westerns on it, but some shouldn't be that high on the list.
Another point - in addition to the non westerns mentioned on the list, I also saw Thunderheart and Blazing Saddles in there. I'm not sure the logic on this. Blazing Saddles is a comedy first and western a distant second. Thunderheart is probably on there because it takes place on an Indian Reservation.
These lists are always very subjective, but honestly - for Westerns this one isn't too bad.
the list has achieved it's real goal - getting people talking about it, and getting people talking about the folks who created it.
just looking at the top ten, i'd say "tombstone" and "open range" definitely don't need to be that high on the list. nice films each. but since there have been so many ground-breaking, genre-redefining westerns ["searchers" as you mentioned, was one], one would expect to see those in the top ten. i have only seen the ten you mention here. but "open range" ahead of "once upon a time in the west", "the good the bad and the ugly"??? sergio leone changed how westerns were made for the next ten years at least.
but lists like this always are subject to the personal preferences of those viewing it. i personally, have at least 5 john wayne films i'd put ahead of "the searchers". "the searchers" is a great film. but just because martin scorses thinks it's the "citizen kane" of westerns, that doesn't make it so.
to me anyway. i'd put "red river" and "mcclintock" and "true grit" all ahead of that one.
such are lists. where's "young guns"? did "silverado" even make it? how about "paint your wagon"? guess i'll have to look after all.
Paint Your Wagon...You know, they call the wind Mariah.
watching everybody kick up a bit of dust around this list has been kind of fun--it's amazing that so many peripheral Westerns show up on peoples' lists--one person's The Shootist is the next guy's The Shooting. People will argue the "westerness" of everything from Lonely Are The Brave to Hud to Coogan's Bluff to The Beguiled to There Will Be Blood--it doesn't end.
I spend a lot of time arguing genre in my gig. Arthur Penn insisted to me recently that Bonnie & Clyde is a Western. And there are so many genre benders--have you seen the new Criterion version of The Furies? Anthony Mann midway between his noirs and his Westerns, with a heavy mix of gothic melodrama and incestuous psychodrama thrown in, and most recently there was Firefly and the movie Serenity, which takes me back to when I was a writer on the animated series The Adventures Of The Galaxy Rangers, a similar SF/Western hybrid.
Anyway, I'm thinking about writing up a list of most atypical Westerns, including El Topo, the recent psychedelic Renegade (it has to be seen, trust me), Zachariah, Robert Downey Sr.'s Greaser's Palace, Monte Hellman's two Westerns, and some others. Suggestions are welcome.
by the way, Lonesome Dove and Deadwood have to be at the top of any serious list, and excluding them because they're TV is crap.
I absolutely agree with that. For your atypical Westerns, it's gotta be Rustler's Rhapsody for me.
Top Ten Westerns. No Problem. 1 The Searchers.2 The Wild Bunch.3 Lonesome Dove.4 Once upon a time in The west.5 Shane. 6 Hour of the Gun. 7 Rio Bravo. 8 Open Range. 9 The Man who shot Liberty Valence. 10 The Shootist.
High Noon is boring.
Butch Cassidy nearly made it.
So did Wyatt Earp, mainly because of the superb dennie Quaid's performance as a certain homicidal dentist.
Top Ten Westerns. No Problem. 1 The Searchers.2 The Wild Bunch.3 Lonesome Dove.4 Once upon a time in The west.5 Shane. 6 Hour of the Gun. 7 Rio Bravo. 8 Open Range. 9 The Man who shot Liberty Valence. 10 The Shootist.
High Noon is boring.
Butch Cassidy nearly made it.
So did Wyatt Earp, mainly because of the superb Dennis Quaid's performance as a certain homicidal dentist.
If we're including Lonesome Dove, and there are plenty of reasons on both sides of the argument, it has to be top five in my book. It's probably third, maybe fourth.
The why not is essentially that it didn't have to conform to movie restraints. I can't remember how long it is, but it's an enormous work. If it were scaled down the way movies are, would it be as good?
the 10 best westerns are:1.Unforgiven.Clint Eastwood.2.Pale rider.Clint Eastwood.3.The outlaw Josey Wales.Clint Eastwood.4.The good the bad and the ugly.Sergio Leone.5.Red river.Howard Hawks.6.Pat Garret and Billy the kid.Sam Peckinpah.7.She wore a yellow ribbon.John Ford.8.High plains drifter.Clint Eastwood.9.Colorado jim.Anthony mann.10.A fistful of dollars.Sergio leone.
Where does "liberty valance" fall short? I'm not a movie expert and would be interested in what you guys have to say about that movie, which is one of my favorites, of course.
2007 was indeed the year the greatest western films were ever made (shown). But, Colin, have you ever heard of the film "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"? Probably not.
You as well as the so called list of best westerns have failed to mention one of the greatest western films and probably one of the best films, in terms of direction, cinematography, musical score, and most especially acting, of all time.
I love western, and I don't have anything against Unforgiven, Shane, No Country for Old Men, There will be Blood, etc (fyi, I have a DVD copy of each of them). But it seems to me that if you were planning to defend the deserving western films that did not make it to the list, I tell you, you just failed in your attemp. I cannot even believe that you would rank 310 to Yuma along with No country and there will blood and miss out on Jesse James. Where have you been?
Watch Jesse James and let this film benchmark for you all of the western films in existence. Believe me, this film really takes you there. And when you're there, only then can you say that you have the right to say something about western.
All of the previously listed films are great. I have to add "The Big Country", "Duel in the Sun" and "Silverado." These films capture the West like "The Searchers" and all of John Ford's films. No matter how many times "The Searchers" is shown on TV, it just grabs your attention. However, "Giant", while technically not a western, is a motion picture for the ages. The cinematography is spectacular and you never lose the feeling of being in the wide expanse of the West. I saw "Red River" in the theater as a child and seem to have used it as a benchmark. I guess we all wish that John Ford would have had today's technology to work with. Finally, I love "Hondo" and "Rustlers' Rhapsody".
My all time best Westerns are 1. Little Big Man 2. The Wild Bunch 3. Ride the High Country 4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 5. Johnny Guitar 6. Rio Bravo 7. The Searchers 8. The Wind 9. Once Upon a Time in the West 10. The Good, the Bad & the Ugly! (I have to add that I don't really consider "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" a true Western though)
My all time best Westerns are 1. Little Big Man 2. The Wild Bunch 3. Ride the High Country 4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 5. Johnny Guitar 6. Rio Bravo 7. The Searchers 8. The Wind 9. Once Upon a Time in the West 10. The Good, the Bad & the Ugly!
"To like or not to like a film including a Western is a story of self-reflection"
"To like or not to like a film including a Western is a story of self-reflection."
This is always going to be difficult unless there is some sort of definition of what constitutes a western. Here are my own rules:
It must take place West of the Mississippi. For me this even rules out the Everglades and "Distant Drums".
There must be the movement of horses (the true stars of Westerns) across a recognisably Western landscape;
There must be the settlement of accounts or dispute by the force of arms, preferably a Colt revolver;
The theme must, to a certain extent, be elegiac to reflect the hardness and hardships of the times;
It must take place between the settlement of the West and the establishment of civilisation, although a few early 20th century forays into Mexico are acceptable.
This rules out "Let There be Blood", "Blazing Saddles" and "No Country for Old Men". I also exclude 2 of the finest Westerns ever produced, namely "Deadwood" and "Lonesome Dove" on the grounds that they do not fit into the cinematic format. Here's my list:
1. The Searchers
2. The Wild Bunch
3. Red River
4. The Assassination of Jesse James"
5. The Outlaw Josey Wales
6. Dances with Wolves
7. 3.10 to Yuma (the Glenn Ford version)
8. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
9. Pat Garett and Billy the Kid
10. Shane
The Outlaw Josie Wales would have been the best western ever,but for the presence of Sondra Locke.Even though the plot is sub-Searchers the acting by Eastwood is excellent.Wales does not use one word when a bullet wil suffice.
Sorry for the poor spelling
I was rather disappointed that One Eyed Jacks didn't make the list.
I realize it's an obscure movie, but very well done with a great cast.
I think Once Upon a Time in the West should be considered in the top ten, and I might throw True Grit in there as well. I'm not a big fan of The Searchers, I thought John Wayne's acting in that was overrated, and really not very good. The repeated line "That'll be the day," just came off as stupid.
I vote Will Penney and Paint Your Wagon. Forget that it is a musical. It is the most historically accurate treatment, particularly that of the gold rush era (I happen to live in Grass Valley, CA). And forget the silly stuff....
In reference to the list that started this discussion, I was amazed that there wasn't a railroad movie on the list at all.