AFI's Top 10 Western Nominations Self Version
This list is a list of the AFI's top 10 western nominations. These movies are based on versatility, iconic status, critical acclaim and cultural influence. Also chosen for their direction, script, acting, storyline, cinematography, originality and success. These films were NOT chosen for how highly rated they are overall, but how they rate in the subject of "westerns".
**Honorable Mentions
Northwest Passage (1940)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
7 Men from Now (1956)
A Thunder of Drums (1961)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Billy the Kid (1941)
Dodge City (1939)
El Dorado (1966)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Hombre (1967)
Hondo (1953)
Hud (1963)
Jesse James (1939)
McLintock! (1963)
Nevada Smith (1966)
North to Alaska (1960)
Open Range (2003)
Operation Petticoat (1959)
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Pony Express (1953)
Rio Conchos (1964)
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Tall in the Saddle (1944)
Ten Wanted Men (1955)
The Alamo (1960)
The Big Sky (1952)
The Comancheros (1961)
The Deadly Companions (1961)
The Far Country (1954)
The Long Riders (1980)
The Man from Laramie (1955)
The Naked Spur (1953)
The Outrage (1964)
The Professionals (1966)
The Second Time Around (1961)
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Tombstone-1993
Two Rode Together-1961
Vera Cruz-1954
Villa Rides-1968
Virginia City-1940
Winchester 75-1950
**Honorable Mentions
Northwest Passage (1940)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
7 Men from Now (1956)
A Thunder of Drums (1961)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Billy the Kid (1941)
Dodge City (1939)
El Dorado (1966)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Hombre (1967)
Hondo (1953)
Hud (1963)
Jesse James (1939)
McLintock! (1963)
Nevada Smith (1966)
North to Alaska (1960)
Open Range (2003)
Operation Petticoat (1959)
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Pony Express (1953)
Rio Conchos (1964)
Santa Fe Trail (1940)
Tall in the Saddle (1944)
Ten Wanted Men (1955)
The Alamo (1960)
The Big Sky (1952)
The Comancheros (1961)
The Deadly Companions (1961)
The Far Country (1954)
The Long Riders (1980)
The Man from Laramie (1955)
The Naked Spur (1953)
The Outrage (1964)
The Professionals (1966)
The Second Time Around (1961)
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Tombstone-1993
Two Rode Together-1961
Vera Cruz-1954
Villa Rides-1968
Virginia City-1940
Winchester 75-1950
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- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinA weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
- DirectorHoward HawksArthur RossonStarsJohn WayneMontgomery CliftJoanne DruDunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWilliam HoldenErnest BorgnineRobert RyanAn aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsWarren BeattyJulie ChristieRene AuberjonoisA gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.
- DirectorElliot SilversteinStarsJane FondaLee MarvinMichael CallanA young schoolteacher turns into an outlaw to avenge her murdered father.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartRock HudsonArthur KennedyWhen a town boss confiscates homesteaders' supplies after gold is discovered nearby, a tough cowboy risks his life to try and get it to them.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGregory PeckJean SimmonsCarroll BakerA New England sea captain in the 1880s arrives at his fiancée's sprawling Texas ranch, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsJames StewartJeff ChandlerDebra PagetTom Jeffords tries to make peace between settlers and Apaches in Arizona territory.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsRichard WidmarkCarroll BakerKarl MaldenThe Cheyenne, tired of broken U.S. government promises, head for their ancestral lands but a sympathetic cavalry officer is tasked to bring them back to their reservation.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.
- DirectorKing VidorOtto BrowerWilliam DieterleStarsJennifer JonesJoseph CottenGregory PeckBeautiful, biracial Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between two brothers, one good and the other bad.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley TempleAt Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames DeanSprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckHelen WestcottMillard MitchellNotorious gunfighter Jimmy Ringo rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.
- DirectorJohn FordHenry HathawayGeorge MarshallStarsJames StewartJohn WayneGregory PeckA family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsGeorge O'BrienMadge BellamyCharles Edward BullAfter witnessing the murder of his father by a renegade as a boy, the grown-up Brandon helps to realize his father's dream of a transcontinental railway.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordWill GeerDelle BoltonA mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJoan CrawfordSterling HaydenMercedes McCambridgeAfter helping a wounded gang member, a strong-willed female saloon owner is wrongly suspected of murder and bank robbery by a lynch mob.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsTimothy BottomsJeff BridgesCybill ShepherdIn 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsKirk DouglasGena RowlandsWalter MatthauA fiercely independent cowboy gets himself locked up in prison to escape with an old friend.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsYul BrynnerSteve McQueenCharles BronsonSeven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsCharlton HestonRichard HarrisJim HuttonIn 1864, due to frequent Apache raids from Mexico into the U.S., a Union officer decides to illegally cross the border and destroy the Apache, using a mixed army of Union troops, Confederate POWs, civilian mercenaries, and scouts.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJames StewartJohn WayneVera MilesA senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaLinda DarnellVictor MatureAfter their cattle are stolen and their brother murdered, the Earp brothers have a score to settle with the Clanton family.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsHenry FondaDana AndrewsMary Beth HughesWhen a posse captures three men suspected of killing a local farmer, they become strongly divided over whether or not to lynch the men.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodMichael MoriartyCarrie SnodgressA mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying to encroach on their land.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperJean ArthurJames EllisonWild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody attempt to stop an Indian uprising that was started by white gun-runners.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJoel McCreaRandolph ScottMariette HartleyAn ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneDean MartinRicky NelsonA small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneMaureen O'HaraBen JohnsonA cavalry officer posted on the Rio Grande is confronted with murderous raiding Apaches, a son who's a risk-taking recruit and his wife from whom he has been separated for many years.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJoanne DruJohn AgarCaptain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsJohn WayneLauren BacallRon HowardA dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottRichard BooneMaureen O'SullivanAn independent former ranch foreman is kidnapped along with an heiress, who is being held for ransom by trio of ruthless outlaws.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneKim DarbyGlen CampbellA drunken, hard-nosed U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger help a stubborn teenager track down her father's murderer in Indian Territory.
- DirectorKing BaggotWilliam S. HartStarsWilliam S. HartBarbara BedfordLucien LittlefieldThe government will grant a fringe of terrain for the settlers who want to live and work there. The starting sign will be a gunshot which will iniciate the run for the best fields and claims.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGary CooperWalter BrennanDoris DavenportJudge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.
- DirectorTom GriesStarsCharlton HestonJoan HackettDonald PleasenceAging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by an abandoned woman traveler and her young son.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard BooneMaureen O'HaraIn 1909, when John Fain's gang kidnaps Jacob McCandles' grandson and holds him for ransom, Big Jake sets out to rescue the boy.Replaces Blazing Saddles
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneJorge RiveroJennifer O'NeillAfter the Civil War, Cord McNally searches for the two traitors whose treachery caused the defeat of McNally's unit and the loss of a close friend.High Plains Drifter
- DirectorMark RydellStarsJohn WayneRoscoe Lee BrowneBruce DernRancher Wil Andersen is forced to hire inexperienced boys as cowhands in order to get his herd to market on time but the rough drive is full of dangers and a gang of cattle rustlers is trailing them.Replaces Lone Star
- DirectorArthur PennStarsDustin HoffmanFaye DunawayChief Dan GeorgeJack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Native Americans and fighting with General Custer.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.Replaces the Outlaw Josey Wales
- DirectorHoward HughesHoward HawksStarsJack BuetelThomas MitchellJane RussellWestern legends Pat Garrett, Doc Holliday and Billy the Kid are played against each other over the law and the attentions of vivacious country vixen Rio McDonald.Replaces Silverado