What is the best Western ever made?

Best Western Ever Made?


  • Total voters
    51
Why can't I vote for Shane or Silverado?

:rolleyes:
 
Not jist the killin' but the lovin'

Andrew Sangster said:
Being a latecomer to the Western genre, my vote would be for "Unforgiven"
Cheers
Andrew
Does "Brokeback Mountain fit into the poll?

:cool:
 
Unforgiven should be on the list.
 
Noooooooooooooooooooo!

Merrill Bowan said:
Why can't I vote for Shane or Silverado?

:rolleyes:

Merrill,

Because I made the poll in a hurry...

But just for you, I'll say it:
"Shane, Shane! Come back!"

And for you Tombstone fans:
"I'm your huckleberry"

But seriously about Tombstone, wasn't that the one where Kurt Russell does his awful slow-mo "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shout while running through the water? Doesn't matter how good Val Kilmer was, you can't overcome your lead giving that bad of a performance in a competition for Best Western.

Blazing Saddles is an awesome movie, but like the Academy, I have trouble giving comedies their due in these sorts of things.
 
Tom Stickel said:
Merrill,

Because I made the poll in a hurry...

But just for you, I'll say it:
"Shane, Shane! Come back!"

And for you Tombstone fans:
"I'm your huckleberry"

But seriously about Tombstone, wasn't that the one where Kurt Russell does his awful slow-mo "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shout while running through the water? Doesn't matter how good Val Kilmer was, you can't overcome your lead giving that bad of a performance in a competition for Best Western.

Blazing Saddles is an awesome movie, but like the Academy, I have trouble giving comedies their due in these sorts of things.

For many years, I have collected photographs of famous people's tombstones. I have just finished writing a book composing some of my favorite photographs which I am hoping to get published by next spring.

Since this thread mentions tombstone, I thought you might all be interested in seeing a photograph of the tombstone of WYATT EARP, who is buried in Colma, California.
 

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I almost forgot about Dances With Wolves. Does that count? If so, it moves to the top of my list. That movie really made me hate the "white man", until I realized, hey.....:D
 
Tom Stickel said:
But just for you, I'll say it:
"Shane, Shane! Come back!"
Thanks, I needed that! :D
 
Ken Elder said:
Since this thread mentions tombstone, I thought you might all be interested in seeing a photograph of the tombstone of WYATT EARP, who is buried in Colma, California.
Gee, how neat....BTW, have you ever verified the reality of the famous western tombstone:

Here lies the body of Lester Moore;
Took four slugs from a .44;
No Les, no more.

...or is it just a fable?​

[Later edited for accuracy. mdb. (I remembered "four" at first, but I doubted it as I wrote it.)]
 
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Merrill Bowan said:
Gee, how neat....BTW, have you ever verified the reality of the famous western tombstone:

Here lies the body of Lester Moore;
Took two slugs from a .44;
No less, no more.


...or is it just a fable?​
There is such a tombstone located in the Boot Hill Cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona. It does NOT say NO LESS NO MORE. It says NO LES NO MORE. (only one S)

Lester Moore was a real person who who worked for the Wells Fargo company. A man named Hank Dunstan appeared to claim a package which was delivered, but severely damaged. An argument erupted and six shooters were drawn. Lester Moore was killed with 4 shotes from a Colt .44. He did manage to get off one shot that mortally wounded Hank Dunstan.

I have never been able to find out who came up with that epitaph, nor have I been able to confirm that it was his epitaph from the day of his burial or if it was added at a later date.
 
Ken Elder said:
I have never been able to find out who came up with that epitaph, nor have I been able to confirm that it was his epitaph from the day of his burial or if it was added at a later date.
Thanks, Ken. :)
 
High Noon?

Aahhh yes "A mans gotta do what a mans gotta do..."

Sorry, but Clint Eastwood & Gene Hackman in "Unforgiven" give superb performances. It still has my vote.

What about TV series?

Gunsmoke?
Bonanza?
The Lone Ranger?
The Adventures of Davy Crockett? He had 3 ears... A left ear a right ear and a wild frontier:D

Now, however, my pick would undoubtedly be "Deadwood" Fantastic!!

Now back to Brokeback Mountain... Wilson Sue sent me a list of rejected titles. Included were:
Prances with wolves
The magnificent seven inches
The man who came all over Liberty Valence
Unfortunately I cannot remember the rest.

Cheers
Andrew
 
Not only will I not accept a list without High Noon I refuse to particpate without the following movies listed:

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
True Grit
Stage Coach (How could you leave this one off?)
Shane
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Red River
Once Upon a Time in the West
Ride the High Country

Sorry to be so adamant about it - but this is a serious topic.
 
Eugene Benfield III said:
Not only will I not accept a list without High Noon I refuse to particpate without the following movies listed:

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
True Grit
Stage Coach (How could you leave this one off?)
Shane
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Red River
Once Upon a Time in the West
Ride the High Country

Sorry to be so adamant about it - but this is a serious topic.
Eugene,

The point of a poll is to vote for one movie. If you'll see the title of the poll it's for the "Best Western" (singular) .If you would like to make a top ten list, which I believe you just did, that's a different subject. ;)

As previously mentioned, I was in a hurry when I made the list.


I take it your vote is for "high noon"
 
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Gotta go with the man with no name

I really like most of the movies in the poll, but I loved Clint's and Sergio Leone's work together, and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" is a great representation of that work. As for "The Magnificent Seven," it's a great movie as well. Fans of it should check out Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai." That's the movie that "The Magnificent Seven" borrowed from for it's story. While not technically a "western" as it is set in Japan, it has a similar feel due to the period the piece is set in. Highly recommended.
 
Eugene Balogh said:
I really like most of the movies in the poll, but I loved Clint's and Sergio Leone's work together, and "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" is a great representation of that work. As for "The Magnificent Seven," it's a great movie as well. Fans of it should check out Akira Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai." That's the movie that "The Magnificent Seven" borrowed from for it's story. While not technically a "western" as it is set in Japan, it has a similar feel due to the period the piece is set in. Highly recommended.

Eugene,

Thanks for the input. I have to say that I liked the Seven Samurai a bit more than the Magnificent Seven. As long as you get past the overacting style that was used in those movies, it is a beautifully shot, well paced story. When the sword master dies in that movie by gunfire it's a lot more symbolic and moving than the similar episode in the Magnificent Seven, as an example. I could go on about the Seven Samurai, but I'll stop and actually go do some work...
 
Ethan Ranipka said:
What about Back to the Future 3?... The only western with a hoverboard :cool:

In the vein of non-traditional "westerns" like the 7 Samurai, how about Mad Max? Feels very much like a western with an Australian twist...
 
shocked...i'm shocked

It's mid-term election time and this poll is rigged! The list must include, in no particular order:

1. Rio Bravo-Howard Hawks directed John Wayne, Walter Brennan , Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, and Ricky Nelson.

2. McClintock!-John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara.

3. High Noon-Do not forsake me, oh, my darlin'... The loyalty of the townsfolk will remind you of a lot of pts.

4. Big Jake-John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, a loyal dog.

5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance-Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, Lee Marvin, etc.

Now that's entertainment. :)
 
best quotes

Tom Stickel said:
So as not to continue hijacking another thread, and to take our minds off more serious things, please post a vote for your favorite Western movie.

They are all good selections. But I beleive it is the dialogue that makes the movie. For that reason, Clint is all one has to say.

"A man's got to make a livin'"

to which he replies

"Dyin' ain't much of a livin'"
 
ah, a kindred spirit

You are correct, IMHO. The dialogue is king. Certainly, the setting, action, theme, and plots of westerns are critical. But, those memorable lines shine. Eastwood makes a fine western, all right. I'd have to go with "Rio Bravo" or "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" for favorites. The chemistry of the characters seems richer in those than a lot of modern movies. "Silverado" had good interaction, as well, though. Clint's great, but... the man had no name.:)
 
The best western of all time is simple: The Treasure of Sierra Madre. This movie, along with Citizen Cane, has been called the best movie ever made (any genre).
 
Not that it's a great western...

..but does anybody besides me and my bride think that Sharon Stone's "Quick and the Dead" is an underrated movie? She's generally a pretty lame actress, but when she has a good director, like she did in that movie, she pulls it off (acting-wise, that is....LOL!). :D
 
young guys vote

i vote unforgiven!
 
They are all good selections. But I beleive it is the dialogue that makes the movie. For that reason, Clint is all one has to say.

"You're wanted, Wales.
Reckon I'm right popular. You a bounty hunter?
A man's got to do something for a living these days.
Dyin' ain't much of a living, boy."

And that's why it got my vote.

"I wish we had time to bury them fellas."
"To hell with them fellas. Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms."
 
Lonesome Dove. Can't beat Capt. Call and Gus. Best damn sh@#*t kicker of all time.

The original, none of the prequel, sequel crap.
 
best western--Unforgiven

Magnificent seven spawned a genre and revived the western when almost dead. Then came Clint and the spagetti's.

Jeramiah Johnson was a damn good early western not the wild western cow poke type.
 
The Johnson City, TN Best Western is pretty nice....



Oh, and I vote for Shanghai Noon, or Unforgiven depending on how much martial arts you like in your westerns...