Favorite Westerns

Yes, I know today is Easter; I'll let you all celebrate and honor as you will. In the meantime my mind wandered (as it is wont to do on occasion) and I recalled Ranando making a post about the film "The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford," which was a very good, detailed but moody character study on the topic.

And that brought me to a question: what were MY favorite Westerns? Perhaps not my "ultimate pedestal" Westerns forced on me by opinion, but the ones I like to watch over and over -- that's my benchmark. In no particular order but only as they come to mind:




1. The Long Riders
Made in 1980, the movie featured the brothers Carradine, Keach, Quaid and Guesteach. There is something remarkably alluring about this Walter Hill film. It never seems to lose its fascination for me. I could watch this DVD weekly and find something eloquent about its presence.




2. The Wild Bunch
How classic can it be? The quintessential Sam Peckinpah movie, with slo-mo and all. Despite that distracting tool, TWB (1969) featured prototypical performances by, primarily, William Holden. Who'd'a thunk WH pigeonholed as a Bad Guy? Few, then. Plus stellar performances by Warren Oates, Ernest Borgnine (already saddled by alcohol, as was Holden), Robert Ryan and Edmond O'Brien. Classic western filmmaking!




3. Unforgiven
Eastwood made hordes of fabulous Westerns. Hell, it could be said that his entire career was proffered on the back of Westerns. This film, in my opinion, supercedes them all but not necessarily by design. A culmination of every film aspect he'd yet learned to date, Unforgiven simply shines in its darkness. Somehow Eastwood, in the guise of William Munny, seems to focus and focus and focus. It is spare and dense and thin and sparse and evocative and beautiful and ugly.




4. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
This 1972 film featured Paul Newman as the Judge His Own Se'f. I cried at the demise of the Watch Bear. I absolutely loved Stacy Keach's albino Bad Bob. Ava Gardner was classic as Lily Langtry. Heavy sigh.




5. Jeremiah Johnson
Am I stuck in 1972? Or is it co-inky-dink? This was the benchmark film that clearly pushed Robert Redford over the Liberal Top. He connected with the land and, because he could, purchased thousands and thousands of acres for his future Sundance Ranch. Hell, he snaked away hundred of acres for a couple of thousand dollars. Despite that, JJ is the quintessential Mountain Man film, despite the film itself called The Mountain Men (Charleton Heston and Brian Keith). I find this film watchable again and again. Simply good film-making and captivating story-telling.


6. Tombstone

Kurt Russell was a far distant second choice for Wyatt Earp. And, in my opinion, this film kicks the living ass out of Costner's Wyatt Earp. In 1993, director George Cosmatos had a striking film in his mind. And with Powers Booth, Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton and Sam Elliott; it doesn't get any better than that. Russell is the better Wyatt, plain and simple. And any western without Sam Elliott is, well, pretty much diminished.

There are, of course, many others:

• Little Big Man;
• Wyatt Earp;
• Silverado;
• Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid;
• Dances With Wolves;
• The Outlaw Josey Wales;
• Stagecoach (original);
• Open Range;
• Hombre;
• Lonesome Dove (series);
  

And even more. Plus this: you can be guaranteed that any western film containing Sam Elliott will be excellent, to include "The Quick and the Dead," "The Desperate Trail" and "Conagher." Certainly Mr. Elliott has made more, but I particularly enjoy his starring roles. An aside: I can't write that of other actors known for westerns such as John Wayne or Clint Eastwood; yes, Sam Elliott is an actor that quintessentially good.

What are YOUR favorite Westerns?


BZ