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68 films

Western

The Western is the great American myth on film: the frontier, the lone gunfighter, settlers and Native peoples, law arriving in a lawless land. John Ford gave it monumental landscapes; Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher added psychological edge; Sergio Leone's Italian 'spaghetti' Westerns made it operatic and violent; Peckinpah and Eastwood later questioned the myth. Its themes of honour and violence echo in samurai, crime and science-fiction films.

Where
The United States; also Italy and Spain (spaghetti Westerns)
When
From 1903; golden age 1939–1960; spaghetti Westerns 1960s–70s
Key figures
John Ford, Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann, Sergio Leone, Sam Peckinpah, Clint Eastwood
Landmark films
The Great Train Robbery (1903), Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Legacy
Gave cinema its most durable myth of individual justice and the cost of violence

What to look for

  • Landscape as character
  • The code of the lone hero
  • Showdowns staged like duels
  • Railroads, ranches and frontier towns
  • Revisionist doubts about the myth

Directors with the most films in this genre

John Ford9 filmsSergio Leone5 filmsSam Peckinpah4 filmsSergio Corbucci4 filmsHoward Hawks3 filmsRaoul Walsh3 filmsSergio Sollima3 filmsEdward Dmytryk2 filmsJan Troell2 filmsJohn Huston2 filmsAlejandro G. Iñárritu1 filmAlejandro Jodorowsky1 filmArthur Penn1 filmArturo Ripstein1 filmBuster Keaton1 filmCharlie Chaplin1 filmChloé Zhao1 filmErich von Stroheim1 filmFred Zinnemann1 filmFritz Lang1 filmJacques Audiard1 filmJane Campion1 filmJean Renoir1 filmJim Jarmusch1 film
See all 42 directors
Joseph L. Mankiewicz1 filmKelly Reichardt1 filmKing Vidor1 filmKleber Mendonça Filho1 filmLawrence Kasdan1 filmLisandro Alonso1 filmMichael Cimino1 filmMilčo Mančevski1 filmNicholas Ray1 filmQuentin Tarantino1 filmRichard Pearce1 filmRobert Altman1 filmTakashi Miike1 filmThe Coen Brothers1 filmVictor Fleming1 filmVincente Minnelli1 filmWilliam Wyler1 filmYılmaz Duru1 film

Often combined with

Drama Adventure Romance Comedy Action Thriller

68 films, best rated first

  1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.8
  2. Django Unchained 2012 · Quentin Tarantino · IMDb 8.5
  3. Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.5
  4. For a Few Dollars More 1965 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 8.2
  5. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 · John Huston · IMDb 8.2
  6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962 · John Ford · IMDb 8.1
  7. Greed 1924 · Erich von Stroheim · IMDb 8.0
  8. The New Land 1972 · Jan Troell · IMDb 8.0
  9. The Revenant 2015 · Alejandro G. Iñárritu · IMDb 8.0
  10. A Fistful of Dollars 1964 · Sergio Leone · IMDb 7.9
  11. High Noon 1952 · Fred Zinnemann · IMDb 7.9
  12. Rio Bravo 1959 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.9
  13. The Big Country 1958 · William Wyler · IMDb 7.9
  14. Stagecoach 1939 · John Ford · IMDb 7.8
  15. The Searchers 1956 · John Ford · IMDb 7.8
  16. My Darling Clementine 1946 · John Ford · IMDb 7.7
  17. Red River 1948 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.7
  18. The Great Silence 1968 · Sergio Corbucci · IMDb 7.7
  19. Johnny Guitar 1954 · Nicholas Ray · IMDb 7.6
  20. McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971 · Robert Altman · IMDb 7.6
  21. True Grit 2010 · The Coen Brothers · IMDb 7.6
  22. Dead Man 1995 · Jim Jarmusch · IMDb 7.5
  23. El Dorado 1966 · Howard Hawks · IMDb 7.5
  24. Fort Apache 1948 · John Ford · IMDb 7.4
  25. Home from the Hill 1960 · Vincente Minnelli · IMDb 7.4
  26. Ride the High Country 1962 · Sam Peckinpah · IMDb 7.4
  27. The Big Gundown 1966 · Sergio Sollima · IMDb 7.4
  28. The Rider 2017 · Chloé Zhao · IMDb 7.4
  29. Tiempo de morir 1965 · Arturo Ripstein · IMDb 7.4
  30. Bacurau 2019 · Kleber Mendonça Filho · IMDb 7.3
  31. Colorado Territory 1949 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.2
  32. Django 1966 · Sergio Corbucci · IMDb 7.2
  33. El Topo 1970 · Alejandro Jodorowsky · IMDb 7.2
  34. Heartland 1979 · Richard Pearce · IMDb 7.2
  35. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid 1973 · Sam Peckinpah · IMDb 7.2
  36. Pursued 1947 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.2
  37. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon 1949 · John Ford · IMDb 7.2
  38. Silverado 1985 · Lawrence Kasdan · IMDb 7.2
  39. The Misfits 1961 · John Huston · IMDb 7.2
  40. The Pilgrim 1923 · Charlie Chaplin · IMDb 7.2
  41. They Died with Their Boots On 1941 · Raoul Walsh · IMDb 7.2
  42. Face to Face (1967) 1967 · Sergio Sollima · IMDb 7.1
  43. First Cow 2019 · Kelly Reichardt · IMDb 7.1
  44. Go West 1925 · Buster Keaton · IMDb 7.1
  45. The Mercenary 1968 · Sergio Corbucci · IMDb 7.1
  46. The Southerner 1945 · Jean Renoir · IMDb 7.1
  47. Wagon Master 1950 · John Ford · IMDb 7.1
  48. Warlock 1959 · Edward Dmytryk · IMDb 7.1
  49. 3 Godfathers 1948 · John Ford · IMDb 7.0
  50. Broken Lance 1954 · Edward Dmytryk · IMDb 6.9
  51. The Sisters Brothers 2018 · Jacques Audiard · IMDb 6.9
  52. Rancho Notorious 1952 · Fritz Lang · IMDb 6.8
  53. Run, Man, Run 1968 · Sergio Sollima · IMDb 6.8
  54. The Power of the Dog 2021 · Jane Campion · IMDb 6.8
  55. There Was a Crooked Man... 1970 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · IMDb 6.8
  56. Cheyenne Autumn 1964 · John Ford · IMDb 6.7
  57. Duel in the Sun 1946 · King Vidor · IMDb 6.7
  58. Heaven's Gate 1980 · Michael Cimino · IMDb 6.7
  59. Junior Bonner 1972 · Sam Peckinpah · IMDb 6.7
  60. The Virginian 1929 · Victor Fleming · IMDb 6.7
  61. The Left Handed Gun 1958 · Arthur Penn · IMDb 6.4
  62. Zandy's Bride 1974 · Jan Troell · IMDb 6.4
  63. Dust 2001 · Milčo Mančevski · IMDb 6.3
  64. Navajo Joe 1966 · Sergio Corbucci · IMDb 6.3
  65. Sukiyaki Western Django 2007 · Takashi Miike · IMDb 6.1
  66. Eureka 2023 · Lisandro Alonso · IMDb 6.0
  67. The Deadly Companions 1961 · Sam Peckinpah · IMDb 6.0
  68. A Fistful of Dynamite 1971 · Sergio Leone