I've really been getting into Westerns lately. Seems like the thing for males in their late 40s to do.

The Virginian was a damn fine show. Tried to read the novel it was based on, but it is unreadable.

Is it me, or is Pale Rider basically the same film as Shane, except that whereas the Preacher does the wife, Shane doesn't? I realize that Westerns are really formulaic, but these movies were a little too close. The mom in Shane was hotter than the mom in Pale Rider.

Send any recommendations on.

Really interesting how all these films deal with the classic themes they're associated with as well as things like race, ethnicity, and immigration and the animosity between the Blue and the Grey.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance - one of my favorite films.

The Shootist is very good.

The Searchers
Red River
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Unforgiven

That's a good start.

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High Plains Drifter
The Outlaw Josey Wales
Unforgiven

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Brokeback Mountain
Young Guns
Three Amigos

Liberty Valance,such an underrated movie. The cast is outstanding.
Sons of Katie Elder
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Do you conciser Cavalry Movies Westerns?

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Silverado

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Magnificent Seven is top 3 on any list of Westerns.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Movies
The Good The Bad & The Ugly
High Plains Drifter
For a Few Dollars More
Hang 'Em High
True Grit (Wayne or the Bridges version)
Once Upon a Time in the West
3:10 to Yuma


TV Series
Deadwood
Godless
Hell on Wheels

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Sherman remarked, "Well, Grant, we've had the devil's own day, haven't we?" Grant looked up. "Yes," he replied, followed by a puff. "Yes. Lick 'em tomorrow, though."

Don't forget all the great Samurai movies that the great westerns stole form and vice versa.

High Noon (my all time favorite movie bar none)
Ox Bow Incident
Bad Day at Black Rock (not sure if really a western)

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly is awesome.

Gracias, all y'all. I look forward to seeing the ones I haven't seen.

Yep. I suggest buying the Sergio Leone (& Clint) spaghetti western trilogy. All great movies.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

“Tombstone”
“Hud”
“Ride With the Devil”
“Lone Star”
“Desperado”
“Dead Man”

And if you want to torture yourself, “Silent Tongue”.

Oh and “Blazing Saddles”

I know The Searchers is always near the top of the list in terms of classic westerns but I didn’t really care for it. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance was great though.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

I understand about The Searchers. On its face, it's not a gripping film.

But the themes and the cinematography (it's a stunning film) do put it in a special category - particularly for a Western.

I would definitely watch Valance, Red River, and Unforgiven before The Searchers though if just flipping around. But The Searchers is a film that should be seen at least once.

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You know me like that.

Lots of good mentions, so far. I’ve seen most many times. I love me a good western.
I still haven’t seen Tombstone, even though I have a copy. I’ll get around to it someday, WZ.

One glaring omission is Winchester 73. Nothing like Jimmy Stewart in a cowboy hat.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Shit I totally forgot about John Ford's stuff. Stagecoach is awesome for an early Western. Had to watch it for a film class

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Good call. Haven’t seen it in many years. May have to search it out this weekend.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

You can watch it for free on the Kanopy website though I think it requires a college email

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There was no such thing as email when I was in college, but I’ll endeavor to persevere.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

FWIW, here’s Mike Royko’s list from 1997...

Now for our list, which is in no special order because we gave up trying to rank any single western as the greatest: "The Magnificent Seven," "True Grit," "The Wild Bunch," "High Noon," "The Shootist," "Stagecoach," "Unforgiven," "Viva Zapata!," "The Searchers" and "Shane."

Some might argue that "Viva Zapata!" was not a true western since it was the story of the Mexican patriot-revolutionary. But Emiliano (Marlon Brando) and his followers wore big hats, rode horses, shot it out with bad guys and treated women like weak and dumb creatures, so what else does it need?

Others will sniff that "The Magnificent Seven" was a western remake of the great Japanese movie "Seven Samurai." Sure, it admitted that in the credits. But so what? If the Japanese producer had a choice, he would surely have made a western rather than a movie in which the heroes were stumpy, bowlegged guys who wore bathrobes and couldn't speak English.

Some might be surprised that "Red River" was omitted since it usually makes the critics' great westerns lists. Sorry, but we decided that the movie's many fine points were bogged down by the female lead, Joanne Dru, I believe, who was so clinging, manipulative, gooey and intrusive that she should have been tossed to the Indians. And by the ridiculous notion that delicate Montgomery Clift would get in a knock-down fistfight with the Duke and hold his own. The twit couldn't have arm-wrestled Dru.

The club also abandoned our Rule of 12, which outlawed any western that couldn't be seen by a 12-year-old boy. This would have ruled out "Unforgiven" and "The Wild Bunch" because of their lewd women.

As one of our liberal members said: "If a lad is old enough to score drugs and do drive-by shootings, he's old enough to see a cowboy's kind of gal."

It's a changing world.

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“Mr. Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”- JD Vance
“My god, what an !diot.”- JD Vance tweet on Trump
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy”- JD Vance

I don’t even pay attention put Encore western has found itself on more as a background show when I’m working. But yeah, the man with no name trilogy and pretty much all of Eastwood’s stuff gets me to pay attention. Unforgivin is marvelous.

Not JDC approved, but I always liked High Plains Drifter as an add to those already provided.

She wanted it.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Indeed. Until she realized she didn't. Great sequence imho.

That sequence wouldn’t be made today. That’s a damn shame.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Love westerns. If I had to list my absolute 2 favorite I think I would go with Good the Bad and the Ugly as well as Unforgiven.

that would be a pretty solid double feature.

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Red River could have been the greatest Western ever but it pulled its punch at the end.

Wayne and Clift should have had it out.

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So, this thread isn't about that salad dressing then.

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- Henry George