Top 10 Westerns

Posted on Aug 22, 2011 in Life Purpose, Top-10's | 1 comment

Number 10: Blazing Saddles- 1974

Blazing Saddles was the second biggest movie by Mel Brooks who appears in three cameo roles. Iconoclastic and politically incorrect, the movie is a galloping horse whose finish line is hilarity. He makes it by uncountable lengths.

In a town where most of the citizens are named Johnson, it is revealed that the town sits on a site wanted by a railroad. Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) sends his goons to the town to make life in the town unbearable so that the townspeople leave and the railroad can come on through. The town sheriff is killed and Lamarr who is politically connected convinces the vulgar and sex obsessed governor (Mel Brooks) to respond to the citizen demands for a new sheriff by sending the first black law enforcement officer ever in the west to become the new sheriff. The new sheriff (Cleavon Little) has a difficult time gaining the town’s trust.

Famous quote: Mexican Bandit: “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges”.

 

Number 9: The Magnificent Seven- 1960

Once again, good versus evil is in this star packed movie. The movie’s cast includes Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, Horst Buchholz and James Coburn.

In this western, a small village of Mexican peasants is raided on a random basis by a group of Mexican bandits. After pillaging the village they vow to return. The village decides to prepare for the bandits’ return by arming themselves. The villagers travel to a nearby town just over the Mexican border. There they meet a gunfighter who convinces them to hire a group of gunfighters to fight the bandits; telling them it will be cheaper and more effective than spending all their money on guns and ammunition. The villagers agree and seven tough gunfighters return to the village with the residents. The gunfighters know they are hopelessly outnumbered but believe that if challenged, the bandits will flee and leave the village alone. Instead, they regroup and plan to attack again. One of the gunfighters is Mexican and learned of the coming attack by infiltrating the bandit’s camp. After a heated debate, and a betrayal by the village, the gunfighters and the villagers decide to stay and fight. After a fierce battle, the gunfighters and villagers prevail, but only three of the magnificent seven survive.

Famous quote: O’Reilley (Charles Bronson) “Don’t you ever say that again about your fathers, because they are not cowards. You think I am brave because I carry a gun; well, your fathers are much braver because they carry responsibility, for you, your brothers, your sisters, and your mothers. And this responsibility is like a big rock that weighs a ton. It bends and it twists them until finally it buries them under the ground. And  nobody says they have to do this. They do it because they love you, and because they want to. I have never had this kind of courage. Running a farm and  working like a mule every day with no guarantee anything will ever come of it. This is bravery. That’s why I never even started anything like that… that’s why I never will.”

 

Number 8. 3:10 To Yuma

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale reprise the roles of Glen Ford and Van Heflin in this bloody, violent and taut 1957 classic of the same name. Wade, played by Russell Crowe and Evans played by Christian Bale are the leads in this movie about an outlaw named Ben Wade who is captured and is being held and transported by a pleasant family man, Dan Evans, to Yuma for trial. Wade is not too concerned as he knows that his gang will be coming to rescue him. As they make their trek across hostile lands a bounty hunter played by Peter Fonda, an arch-enemy of Wade, is introduced. Both the original and its far more violent remake are based on a short story by Elmore Leonard. This film is a bit over-directed by James Mangold. It seems that he felt it necessary to develop deep back stories for Wade and Evans to help the audience better understand the Western genre. For those who have seen the 1957 original, the movie and the path to the film’s climax are not the same – you will be held in suspense until the very end.

Notable quote: Bed Wade: “You ever read the bible, Dan? I read it one time. I was eight years old. My daddy just got hisself killed over a shot of whiskey and my mama said “we’re going back East to start over”. So she gave me a bible, sat me down in the train station, told me to read it. She was gonna get our tickets. Well, I did what she said. I read that bible from cover to cover. It took me three days. She never came back.“

 

Number 7: A Fistful of Dollars-1967

One of dozens of westerns shot in Italy (spaghetti Westerns) A Fistful of Dollars was the first of a trilogy of Westerns aficionados called “The Dollars Trilogy” and it was followed by “For A Few Dollars More” and the great “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”.

The film is based on the 1961 movie, Yojimba, by Akira Kurosawa. A Fistful of Dollars was made by Italian Sergio Leone who succeeded in putting his own imprint of the film that would serve as a mold for several future movies. The movie stars Clint Eastwood as a sardonic gunfighter who makes his way to a small border town. The town is held by competing bands of outlaws and he offers his services to both. Both outlaw camps are unaware of his double-cross. Each gang believes that they have his sole support and can manipulate him. Eastwood’s character, The Man With No Name, outwits both gangs in this tense, action western. This first of the “Dollar Trilogy” introduces viewers to Leones’ trademarks for the “spaghetti western”. Brooding characters, excellent cinematography, intense close ups, and the eerie music of Ennio Morricone. The film is considered to have been the beginning of Clint Eastwood’s movie career and brought the Italian western into the mainstream.

Notable Quote: The Man With No Name: “You said ‘When the man with a pistol meets the man with a Winchester, the man with a pistol is a dead man’. Lets find out.”

 

Number Six: The Searchers-1956

An all-star cast directed by John Ford contributed heavily to this movie’s placement on The Best Westerns Ever list. Starring John Wayne, who arguably gave his best movie performance ever, and Vera Miles, Ward Bond, Jeffrey Hunter, Harry Carey Jr., and Natalie Wood. The movie, based on a novel by the same name and serialized in 1954, tells the saga of Wayne’s arrival in Texas after several years of absence and his search for his niece (Natalie Wood) who has been kidnapped by Indians. The search covers many years.

Upon its initial release the movie did not get much critical acclaim and was not nominated for a single Oscar. A few years later many critics revisited the movie and most agreed that it was John Wayne’s best performance and numbered among director John Ford’s best films.

Memorable Quote: Ethan played by John Wayne: “That’ll be the day.”

 

Number Five: Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid – 1969

The genius pairing of Robert Redford as the Sundance Kid and Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy helped to make this one of the most beloved Westerns of all time. Butch and Sundance along with their Hole In The Wall Gang are train robbers who use their brains and not violence to rob trains successfully. After pushing their luck to the limit, the railroad hires the best trackers money can buy to hunt down the two outlaws and their gang. Figuring that it was finally time to move on they go to Bolivia and begin a new crime spree. Somehow the trackers find them and they are trapped in a barn surrounded by soldiers of the Bolivian army. The soldiers hold back, giving Butch and Sundance the opportunity to try to make a final run for it.

This film is funny, superbly directed by George Roy Hill, has a terrific Burt Bacharach score, great cinematography, but, the defining feature of this film is the wonderful friendship between two rascals whose affection for one another is displayed by wit and deed.

Notable Quote: Butch Cassidy:“I got vision and the rest of the world wears bifocals”.

 

Number Four: High Noon-1952

Fred Zinnemann directed this iconic Western that was released in 1952. Starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly the movie takes place in the time frame of just a few hours. The setting is the little town of Hadleyville, New Mexico where lawman Will Kane (Gary Cooper) is set to wed the gorgeous bride Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly). The whole town will be there. But, then news arrives that a group of ex-convicts, led by Frank Miller (Ian McDonald) is on the way to Hadleyville to get even with Kane who arrested them and sent them to jail.

The 85 minute film compresses real-time (a duration of two hours in Hadleyville) and shows how quickly the townspeople turn on Kane for “bringing trouble to their town”. This confuses Kane who pleads for their help and instead is shot and wounded by the very people he protects. The movie begins at 10 AM and is over at noon in Hadleyville. The film has a climatic ending shoot-out.

Many scholars see this movie as an allegory to the McCarthy era where group fear ruled. Parallels have been drawn to Amy, Kane’s wife, who is divided by her hatred of violence and bloodletting and her devotion to her husband. In order for the townspeople to conform to their group’s pressure they turn on Kane and force him to take on the outlaws alone, at high noon. A gripping score keeps tension high even during inaction in the film.

Famous Quote: Will Kane: “Quit pushing me, Harv. I’m tired of being pushed”.

 

Number Three: Unforgiven-1992

Clint Eastwood directed and starred in this 1992 Oscar-winning film. Closely following the manner that Leonne demonstrated the “Dollar Movies”, Eastwood is no longer the unnamed man. After a bunch of drunken cowboys disfigure a prostitute in the town of Big Whiskey, Wyoming, prostitutes come together disgusted by the punishment meted out by the authoritarian sheriff, “Little Bill” Dagget (Gene Hackman). Dagget fined them several ponies. The prostitutes, led by firebrand Strawberry Alice (Frances Fisher) collect one thousand dollars as a bounty on the perpetrators. Gunslinger, the Schofield Kid (Jaimz Woolvett), seeks out former ruthless outlaw William Munny who has become a hog farmer. The Kid wants Munny to join him in going after the rowdies to collect the bounty. Munny protests that his life has changed, but needing money for his children he decides to join the Kid. Together, they convince Munny’s friend, Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), a church-going, non-violent person, to join them and split the bounty. But Little Bill wants no one challenging his authority as peace-keeper in the town.

During this adventure, Munny’s friend Ned is killed by the sheriff who then displays the body at the town’s saloon, with a sign that says: ”This is what we do to assassins in this town”. Furious, Munny, who along with Ned and The Kid collected the bounty, gives all the bounty to the Kid, telling him to give his share to his kids. The Kid leaves town, and the movie erupts into a violent ending with Munny killing the saloon owner and the sheriff. Just before the credits, the audience learns that Munny has moved to San Francisco, opened a dry goods store and is doing well.

Memorable Quote: Will Munny: “All right, I’m coming out. Any man I see out there, I’m gonna shoot him. Any sumbitch takes a shot at me, I’m not only gonna kill him, but I’m gonna kill his wife, all his friends, and burn his damn house down.“

 

Number 2: Once Upon A Time In The West-1968

Considered by many to be one of the best of all the “Spaghetti Westerns” directed by Sergio Leone, the story follows a young widow and former prostitute (Claudine Cardinale) who finds her husband has been killed and his ranch, valuable to the coming railroad, is wanted by the killers led by Frank (Henry Fonda). She turns to a despondent cowboy called Harmonica (Charles Bronson) for his help in saving her land. Harmonica teams up with a desperado named Cheyenne (Jason Robards). Will they save the day? Does the widow keep her land? Hint: A Fistful Of Dollars closely parallels this great film in theme.

Notable Quote: Frank: “How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can’t even trust his own pants.”

 

Number One: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly-1966

This is the third and final film of “The Dollars Trilogy” and considered by most fans and critics to be the best. Here again, Clint Eastwood plays the role of a reticent and mysterious loner. Representing “The Good” Eastwood as Blondie, hunts for stolen gold.

His adversaries are The Bad, Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) and The Ugly, Tuco (Eli Wallach). Eastwood’s playing of The Good is really a misstatement as he is really the less bad but more intelligent and a better shot than his opponents.

Read reviewer Matt Maul’s take on the New Testament symbolism throughout this movie at http://www.lippsisters.com/2011/04/24/movie-review-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

Memorable Quote: Blondie: “You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig?”

 

Movies provide a painfully clear glimpse into the world around us, and they open the door to hard conversations about how God is pursuing us. Please browse the articles in the “Purpose” category of this website, or read Chapter 12 in Joe Gibbs’ book, Game Plan for Life.