The Greatest Western Movie Ever

You know- that was on the other day, and the exact same thought went through my head.

Really a great film.

Dirty Redlegs.
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The Wild Bunch
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
For a Few Dollars More
Maybe Hombre and Ulzana's Raid.
Surely a few others I'm forgetting

Those are all up there near the Outlaw Josey Wales, but you may be right about it being the best. Hard to call.
 
If mini series are included, I'd put Lonesome Dove at/near the top. As far as movies, The Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Man who shot Liberty Valience,and Jermiah Johnson are all movies I'd put at the top.
 
There is truth in your promise of life and death and movie selection, but...
Once Upon a Time in the West
Stagecoach
Red River
The Good Bad and the Ugly
Blazing Saddles
The Searchers always makes these lists
 
These threads which are based solely on a conclusive statement regarding a wholly subjective matter really irk me, and I feel compelled to jump in and argue the point in the OP.




































.............but this time I got nothin'. Damn if the OP isn't right.
 
"dying aint much of a livin boy"

"to hell with them fellas... buzzards gotta eat... same as worms"

#1--agreed... best ever-- with Unforgiven a close 2.

crint eastwood!
 
More than any other topic the 'greatest western of all time' thread always produces lists that include films that are obvious choices (Searchers, tGBU, Red River) and films that simply don't seem to answer the call (Sons of Katie Elder, Ulzana's Raid, the Unforgiven, Hombre). The disparity seems wide.

To each their own.
 
hell, "Unforgiven" is better than "The Outlaw Josey Wales", imho.
Tombstone is the best western I've ever seen ... and I've seen a shitload of westerns in my 50+ years.
 
I read that Spielberg said that the Searchers is the best movie ever made, not matter the genre. It is certainly a great one for sure. Some of my favorites are:

Silverado
Tombstone
Josey Wales
High Plains Drifter
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Rio Bravo
 
Often in cases where a number one is trying to be established I can't help but make a group of them number one cause there is no way to decide, for instance, greatest NFL running back? How can you label the greatest Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Gale Sayers, Walter Payton....and on and on. There is no way to do it, you have to make a group number one and so I give you my "group" in no particular order

Tombstone
Unforgiven
Outlaw Josey Wales
The Good the bad the ugly
(practically every Clint Eastwood western)
Just about all of John Wayne's westerns except Rooster Cogburn
and there are more i just can't think of all the names.
 
Lonesome Dove
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Red River
The Wild Bunch
Outlaw Josey Wales
Stagecoach (original)
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Little Big Man
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Fist Full of Dollars
How the West Was Won
Unforgiven
Appaloosa
One-Eyed Jacks
Jeremiah Johnson
High Plains Drifter
Once Upon a Time in the West
Tombstone
The Shootist
Valdez is Coming
 
I'll list some older ones, just because I can.

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How about John Ford's "My Darling Clementine" with Henry Fonda playing Wyatt Earp.

It's rarely thought of when this familiar thread is reposted from time to time.

The Link

This one's just as good as any of the more well-known flicks that Ford made with John Wayne.

Victor Mature, wearing a hat that only a huckleberry would put on his head, plays Doc Holliday and Walter Brennan is really good as Papa Clanton.




Another favorite Western of mine, directed by Robert Aldrich, is "Ulzana's Raid" with Burt Lancaster.

The Link

It's a very realistic cavalry flick.




Another really cool film is "Hombre," directed by Martin Ritt, with Paul Newman as "the Good," Richard Boone as "the Bad" and Fredric March as "the Ugly."

The Link




And another good ‘un that's sometimes not thought of, because of its age I suppose, is William Wyler's "The Big Country" with Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives.

The Link




And there's "Night Passage" with Jimmy Stewart and Audie Murphy, scenically filmed on the Durango/Silverton Railroad in Colorado.

The Link

I suspect that noirish title doesn't help much to get it remembered as an excellent oater.




And "The Tin Star," directed by Anthony Mann, with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins.

The Link

It certainly foreshadowed recent darker "Horse Operas" we've seen like Eastwood's "Unforgiven" and Costner's "Open Range."

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All the movies above are great choices and I would personally go with the searchers if I had to choose just one. I love angry and vengeful John Wayne. I also will throw into the mix Big Country with Gregory Peck, Liz Taylor, Charlton Heston, Chuck Connors and Burl Ives. If you have never seen this one - rent it. You won't be disappointed.
 
txlc, you'll only be disappointed if you're not fully satisfied with Jean Simmons starring in "The Big Country" rather than Liz Taylor.

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My Darling Clementine and The Big Country finally got mentioned. Two great movies. I am another fan who has to put The Searchers on the list. John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy of Fort Apache, Rio Grande and She wore a Yellow Ribbon.
Others are:

The Long Riders
The original 3:10 to Yuma
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Dutton Peabody's nomination speech for Ransom Stoddard is one of my favorite scenes in any movie.
 
I'm a little surprised that this thread has made nearly two pages with nary a mention of "The Magnificent Seven."

Yul Brenner is going to tan someone's hide for this.
 
I want to agree with the OP. OJW is a great, great movie, but in order for it to be tops on my list, you'd have to edit out almost every scene with Sondra Locke, especially after the scene where she and her Grandma have their encounter with the banditos. Still one of my favorite movies of all time.

Chief Dan George: "Good thing you showed up when you did. I might have killed her."

My personal favorite is High Plains Drifter. Quintessential Cint Eastwood western. He's bad to the bone, but in a good sort of way. And, another of his movies that gets overlooked but deserves mention is Joe Kidd. Robert Duvall plays a great bad guy in this one. And just because I can, I'll mention also, Hang 'Em High. Clint's first U.S. western after his Sergio Leone triglogy, featuring Pat Hingle, and Dennis Hopper in a small, throw-away role, and the skipper from Gilligan's Island. Side note, Inger Stevens was hot.

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