The 50 greatest westerns – The full list

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We count down the greatest westerns of all time

| 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 |

50

The Hired Hand

Dir Peter Fonda (Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Verna Bloom)

49

Lonesome Dove (1989)

Dir Simon Wincer (Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Danny Glover)

48

Open Range (2003)

Dir Kevin Costner (Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Annette Bening)

47

The Claim (2000)

Dir Michael Winterbottom (Peter Mullan, Milla Jovovich, Wes Bentley)

46

Rancho Deluxe (1975)

Dir Frank Perry (Jeff Bridges, Sam Waterston, Slim Pickens)

45

Meek's Cutoff (2010)

Dir Kelly Reichardt (Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson)

44

Day of the Outlaw (1959)

Dir André de Toth (Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise)

43

The Missouri Breaks (1976)

Dir Arthur Penn (Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton)

42

Ulzana’s Raid (1972)

Dir Robert Aldrich (Burt Lancaster, Bruce Davison, Joaquín Martínez)

41

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Dir Mel Brooks (Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Madeline Kahn)

| 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 |

40

Wagon Master (1950)

Dir John Ford (Ben Johnson, Joanne Dru, Ward Bond)

39

Requiescant (aka Kill and Pray) (1967)

Dir Carlo Lizzani (Lou Castel, Mark Damon, Pier Paolo Pasolini)

38

A Man Called Horse (1970)

Dir Elliot Silverstein (Richard Harris, Judith Anderson, James Gammon)

37

Vera Cruz (1954)

Dir Robert Aldrich (Gary Cooper, Burt Lancaster, Denise Darcel)

36

Little Big Man (1970)

Dir Arthur Penn (Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George)

35

Rancho Notorious (1952)

Dir Fritz Lang (Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy and Mel Ferrer)

34

Ride the High Country (1962)

Dir Sam Peckinpah (Randolph Scott, Joel McRea, Ron Starr)

33

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Dir John Sturges (Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Eli Wallach et al)

32

The Great Silence (1968)

Dir Sergio Corbucci (Jean-Louis Trintignant, Klaus Kinski, Frank Wolff)

31

High Plains Drifter (1973)

Dir Clint Eastwood (Clint Eastwood, Verna Bloom, Mitch Ryan)

| 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 |

30

7 Women (1966)

Dir John Ford (Anne Bancroft, Sue Lyon, Mildred Dunnock)

29

The Naked Spur (1953)

Dir Anthony Mann (James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan)

28

Rio Bravo (1959)

Dir Howard Hawks (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson)

27

The Ox-bow Incident (1943)

Dir William Wellman (Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn)

26

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Dir Sergio Leone (Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale)

25

Django (1966)

Dir Sergio Corbucci (Franco Nero, José Bódalo, Loredana Nusciak)

24

Shane (1953)

Dir George Stevens (Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin)

23

Stagecoach (1939)

Dir John Ford (John Wayne, Claire Trevor)

22

Seven Men From Now (1956)

Dir Budd Boetticher (Randolph Scott, Lee Marvin, Stuart Whitman)

21

El Topo (1970)

Dir Alejandro Jodorowsky (Alejandro Jodorowsky, Alfonso Arau)

| 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 |

20

High Noon (1952)

Dir Fred Zinnemann (Gary Cooper, Lloyd Bridges, Grace Kelly)

19

One-Eyed Jacks (1961)

Dir Marlon Brando (Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado, Ben Johnson)

18

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Dir Andrew Dominik (Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell)

17

Red River (1948)

Dir Howard Hawks (John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan)

16

Forty Guns (1957)

Dir Samuel Fuller (Barbara Stanwyck, Gene Barry, Robert Dix)

15

Unforgiven (1992)

Dir Clint Eastwood (Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman)

14

The Wild Bunch

Dir Sam Peckinpah (William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan)

13

The Shooting (1968)

Dir Monte Hellman (Millie Perkins, Jack Nicholson, Warren Oates)

12

Heaven’s Gate (1980)

Dir Michael Cimino (Kris Kristofferson, Jeff Bridges, Isabelle Huppert)

11

My Darling Clementine (1946)

Dir John Ford (Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, Victor Mature)

| 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 |

10

The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Dir Sergio Leone (Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef)

9

Decision at Sundown (1957)

Dir Budd Boetticher (Randolph Scott, Noah Beery Jr, HM Wynant)

8

Johnny Guitar (1954)

Dir Nicholas Ray (Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge)

7

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Dir John Ford (James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles)

6

Dead Man (1995)

Dir Jim Jarmusch (Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Crispin Glover)

5

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

Dir Clint Eastwood (Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sandra Locke)

4

Winchester ’73 (1950)

Dir Anthony Mann (James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea)

3

The Searchers (1956)

Dir John Ford (John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Natalie Wood)

2

Pat Garrett

Dir Sam Peckinpah (Kris Kristofferson, James Coburn, Bob Dylan)

1

McCabe

Dir Robert Altman (Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois)

| 50 - 41 | 40 - 31 | 30 - 21 | 20 - 11 | 10 - 1 |


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Comments & ratings

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  • What happened to 'Destry Rides Again'?

    John Jenkins Mon May 30 2011
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  • I strongly agree with Paul, how could you omit The Big Country? I was scrolling the list anticipating a top ten listing as a bare minimum. Do you people actually watch grown-up films as opposed to some of the adolescent rubbish (I mean Dead Man by Jim Jarmusch, 16 year on it is an embarrassment to watch). Write out 500 times - must do better!

    chris gow Thu May 19 2011
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  • Most of the comments here, as with all these kind of lists, seem to be about what you've left off the list. I hate those kind of comments. But... that said... No TRUE GRIT?!? Are you on crack?!?

    lay Sun May 15 2011
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  • young guns , last of the mohicans , the cowboys , true grit, THE ALAMO , , dances with wolves , bury my heart at wounded knee, geronimo, pale rider , could go on with another 10 films with the Duke

    qprmatt Thu May 5 2011
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  • Not strictly a western but with western themes and images , Clint Eastwood's criminally underrated Bronco Billy deserves a passing mention in my book - seriously Richard

    Richard Kimble Thu Apr 28 2011
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  • no 'there will be blood' or 'no country for old men'? if they are classified as a western then i am surprised they are not on the list. also surprised to not see 'the proposition' on the list too.

    s ford Mon Apr 18 2011
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  • No Silverado? No Tombstone? Really? Both Sergio Leone films belong in the top 5. This list has the order completely wrong. Very embarrassing.

    Rain Dog Sat Apr 16 2011
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  • Certainly an odd list. Nice to see someone liking HEAVEN'S GATE and THE CLAIM, but the omissions are glaring. Not including DANCES WITH WOLVES is just showing bias because it won the Oscar over GOODFELLAS (get over it!). When a list excludes BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, it can no longer be taken seriously

    The Movie Nut Fri Apr 15 2011
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  • are you people on drugs? ahahahahahhahahaha

    WTF? Fri Apr 15 2011
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  • WOW, bit of a weird list. personal preferences are of course the crux of any list, but OUATITW not even breaking the top 25??? villainy. and no butch cassidy? stupidity. good bad and ugly will forever be my favourite, after all, it was the movie that made me love westerns when previously i had no desire to watch any. the greatest modern western is assassination of jesse james by the coward robert ford. i personally think the unforgiven is a bit overrated. i guess if anything, having so many obscure titles up there makes me interested to seek them out. personally ive only heard of mcabe and mrs miller vaguely, ive never heard it being held in such esteem by anyone of my western loving friends. also, the aussie western The Proposition is an underrated gem, definitely should have been seen by a wider audience.

    JEREMY Fri Apr 15 2011
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