Westerns are among the most popular genres in cinematic history. Achieving its peak during the years immediately after Hollywood's Golden Age, Westerns quickly became staples at the movie theater, cementing actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood as big-screen icons.
The American Film Institute, recognizing the genre's importance to cinematic history, included it among the ten classic genres they honored with their 2008 special AFI's 10 Top 10. Defining Western as a genre "set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier," the AFI included numerous iconic films that have become legendary among critics and audiences.
10 'Cat Ballou' (1965)
Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin star in the Western comedy Cat Ballou. The plot centers on a young woman who hires a duplicitous gunman to protect her ranch and avenge her father's death, not realizing he is the very man responsible for all her misfortunes.
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Comedy isn't a genre that usually goes hand-in-hand with Western. However, Cat Ballou shows how well they work together. Wacky and wild, Cat Ballou is a brilliant satire of the Western genre powered by a duo of stellar performances. Fonda is a riot as the titular protagonist, while Lee Marvin delivers a comedic tour de force with his Oscar-winning dual role.
9 'Stagecoach' (1939)
Iconic classic director John Ford directed 1939's Stagecoach, one of the earliest Westerns in cinematic history. Set in the 1880s, the game-changing film follows a group of eclectic strangers riding a stagecoach through Apache territory.
Stagecoach is far from perfect. Its depiction of Native Americans is highly problematic, and Ford's approach might be off-putting to some. However, Stagecoach excels as a vivid portrait of the American West thanks to stunning visuals and a collection of ragtag characters that perfectly represent the time's social dynamics in service of a classic story that would shape the Western for years to come.
8 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller' (1971)
Robert Altman's anti-Western film McCabe & Mrs. Miller stars Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. The story centers on the unlikely alliance between a charming gambler and a savvy prostitute as they join forces to open a brothel in 1902's Washington.
McCabe & Mrs. Miller is among the best revisionist Westerns in American cinema. Subversive yet delicate, the film benefits from Altman's precise and earnest approach to presenting small-time life in the Wild West. McCabe & Mrs. Miller is visually beautiful and grounded, challenging stereotypes about masculinity and gender at a time when the Western was synonymous with absolute machismo.
7 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid' (1969)
Few films are more synonymous with the Western genre than Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in the titular roles, two outlaws running from the law after a string of bank robberies.
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The perfect marriage between a buddy film and a Western, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is an ode to brotherhood. Elevated by Newman and Redford's performances, the film is a funny and clever entry into a genre famous for its stoicism and by-the-numbers approach. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is lively, lighthearted, charming even, thanks to a brilliant screenplay and its now-iconic Burt Bacharach score.
6 'The Wild Bunch' (1969)
Sam Peckinpah is among the most iconic Western directors, thanks mostly to his epic revisionist Western The Wild Bunch. William Holden stars as an aging outlaw planning to retire after one last job. However, the heist turns out to be a setup, leading him and his gang to seek refuge in Mexico while pursued by the orchestrator.
Violent and uncompromising, The Wild Bunch was a milestone for the Western genre. The film is kinetic and bittersweet, with a pervasive dread always hanging over the ordeal. The Wild Bunch was at the forefront of a fast-approaching evolution for the Western, simultaneously acting as a love letter to a bygone era for the genre.
5 'Red River' (1948)
Another master of the genre, Howard Hawks delivered one of his ultimate masterpieces with 1948's Red River. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift star as a rancher and his adopted son whose relationship deteriorates during a cattle drive from Texas to Kansas.
Featuring one of Wayne's most interesting and out-of-the-box performances and an outstanding turn from Clift, Red River is an intense and electrifying Western that defined many of the genre's most enduring traits. The film is a grand exploration of deeply humane themes, enhanced by its spectacular setting that perfectly captures the West's majesty.
4 'Unforgiven' (1992)
Some actors are closely related to one film genre, but few share a more mutually-beneficial relationship than Clint Eastwood and the Western. Their decades-long complicity reached its peak with Eastwood's 1992 masterpiece, Unforgiven. The film centers on an aging bandit and his partner, who arrive in a town to kill two criminals and collect their bounty. However, the town's ruthless sheriff has his own brand of justice.
Gritty and relentless, Unforgiven is a brilliant and insightful deconstruction of the Western genre. Peeling back decades of conventions to reveal the truth within, Unforgiven is a fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of violence and masculinity and arguably the best film from 1992.
3 'Shane' (1953)
Alan Ladd stars in George Stevens' seminal Western Shane. The plot centers on the titular character, a mysterious gunslinger attempting to settle into a quiet life in a small Wyoming town. However, his growing relationship with his boss's wife and son prompts him to act against the corrupt cattle baron terrorizing the town.
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A technical and narrative triumph that changed the landscape of Hollywood Westerns, Shane is among the most important and influential Westerns in cinematic history. Featuring a richly emotional narrative complemented by stunning visuals, Shane is a deeply affecting film that understands that, at the core of every great Western, lies an all-powerful melancholy.
2 'High Noon' (1952)
Fred Zinneman directed iconic classic actor Gary Cooper in the 1952 Western High Noon. Happening in real-time, the plot revolves around a town marshal who must choose between facing a gang of criminals or leaving town with his new wife.
High Noon gave Cooper his second Oscar. The film is among the first and most recognizable examples of a revisionist Western, featuring a complex and layered hero struggling between what's right and what's fair. Challenging conventions and daring to step outside the genre's boundaries, High Noon is possibly the most influential Western of the 1950s, a revolutionary film that dared to question and subvert audiences' expectations, thus changing the genre forever.
1 'The Searchers' (1956)
John Ford's seminal masterpiece The Searchers is a timeless classic. John Wayne stars as Ethan Edwards, a soldier returning from the Civil War to discover Comanches have attacked and killed several members of his family. Discovering his nieve is alive, Ethan joins her adopted brother in a dangerous mission to rescue her from deep within Comanche territory.
A complicated story of vengeance heightened by a divisive portrayal of race relations, The Searchers is a rich and rewarding Western that influences an entire generation of filmmakers. Dark and thought-provoking, The Searchers is a riveting portrayal of anger and longing, strengthened by Wayne's finest creation and Ford's most assured and revealing work behind the camera.
