Greatest Westerns (1939-2017)
I've watched well over a thousand movies the last five years, ranging from the silent era to today, and these are what I consider the best Western films, and ones that I would watch again
List activity
189 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
97 titles
- 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.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsJohn WayneElla RainesWard BondRanch hand Rocklin arrives in town to start his new job but his employer has been murdered and the locals don't seem too friendly.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsGregory PeckAnne BaxterRichard WidmarkA pistol-packing tomboy and her grandfather discover a band of bank robbing bandits taking refuge in the neighboring ghost town.
- 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.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartShelley WintersDan DuryeaA cowboy's obsession with a stolen rifle leads to a bullet-ridden odyssey through the American West.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRobert TaylorDenise DarcelHope EmersonA trail guide escorts a group of women from Chicago to California to marry men that have recently begun settling there.
- 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.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJames StewartRuth RomanCorinne CalvetA self-minded adventurer locks horns with a crooked lawman while driving cattle to Dawson.
- DirectorHugo FregoneseStarsVan HeflinAnne BancroftRichard BooneA group of Confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans, Vermont. To get the lay of the land, their leader spends a few days in the town and finds he is getting drawn into its life--especially into that of an attractive widow and her son.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsRobert MitchumTeresa WrightDiana LynnAround the turn of the 20th century, during a harsh northern California winter, members of a ranching family are squabbling among themselves while the two oldest sons go hunting for a panther that is killing their livestock.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSpencer TracyRobert RyanAnne FrancisA one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsGlenn FordBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA bitter land dispute causes a Civil War veteran to take extreme action.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsElizabeth TaylorRock HudsonJames DeanSprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottGail RussellLee MarvinA former sheriff blames himself for his wife's death during a Wells Fargo robbery and vows to track down and kill the seven men responsible.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsBarbara StanwyckBarry SullivanDean JaggerShowdown in Arizona between the Bonnell brothers, U.S.Marshals, and Jessica Drummond, the iron-fist rancher who controls the territory.
- 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.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckJoan CollinsStephen BoydA man is chasing four outlaws who killed his wife and finds them in a small town's jail, but they escape to Mexico.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRobert TaylorRichard WidmarkPatricia OwensMarshal Jake Wade aids outlaw Clint Hollister escape jail but Clint wants to know where Wade hid an old hold-up loot taken while both men were outlaws in the same gang.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsRobert RyanBurl IvesTina LouiseBlaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.
- DirectorBudd BoetticherStarsRandolph ScottKaren SteelePernell RobertsA bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) escorts a killer (James Best) to be tried for murder, but allows the man's outlaw brother (Lee Van Cleef) to catch up with them to have a showdown over a previous shocking murder.
- 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.
- DirectorMarlon BrandoStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenPina PellicerAfter robbing a bank in Mexico, Dad Longworth absconds with the loot leaving his partner Rio to be captured by the Rurales. Rio escapes prison but struggles with his conflicting desires to love Dad's stepdaughter Louise and to get revenge.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanMelvyn DouglasPatricia NealHonest, hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant, egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodGian Maria VolontèMarianne KochA wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodLee Van CleefGian Maria VolontèTwo bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.
- 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.
- DirectorTonino ValeriiStarsLee Van CleefGiuliano GemmaWalter RillaA scruffy garbage boy becomes the pupil of a famed gunfighter, and the stage for confrontation is set when the gunman overruns the boy's town through violence and corruption.
- DirectorGiulio PetroniStarsLee Van CleefJohn Phillip LawMario BregaA young gunfighter forms a tenuous alliance with an aging ex-outlaw to track down and eliminate the bandits who killed his family, till the surprising end.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneRobert MitchumJames CaanCole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher who's trying to steal their water.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanFredric MarchRichard BooneJohn Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Native Americans, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsGregory PeckEva Marie SaintRobert ForsterU.S. Army soldiers round up a group of Apache, mostly women and children. Surprisingly, they find among them a white woman and her half-Apache son.
- 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.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRod SteigerJames CoburnRomolo ValliA low-life bandit and an I.R.A. explosives expert rebel against the government and become heroes of the Mexican Revolution.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsBurt LancasterRobert RyanLee J. CobbA lawman from Bannock arrives in Sabbath to arrest all the cattlemen whose wild celebration the year before resulted in the accidental death of an old man.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsJeff BridgesBarry BrownJim DavisA God-fearing Ohio boy dodging the Civil War draft arrives in St. Joseph, MO where he joins up with a hardscrabble group of like runaways heading west
- 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.
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsGary GrimesBilly Green BushLuke AskewYoung farmboy who always wanted to be a cowhand talks a tough trail boss into hiring him on a cattle drive.
- 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.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodVerna BloomMarianna HillA gun-fighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsMarlon BrandoJack NicholsonRandy QuaidTom Logan is a horse thief. Rancher David Braxton has horses, and a daughter, worth stealing. But Braxton has just hired Lee Clayton, an infamous "regulator", to hunt down the horse thieves; one at a time.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockeChief Dan GeorgeMissouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
- DirectorPhillip BorsosStarsRichard FarnsworthJackie BurroughsKen PogueWhen an aging, but gentlemanly stagecoach robber is released from prison, he decides to go to Canada to become a train robber.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsKirk DouglasTom BurlinsonTerence DonovanIn 1880s Australia, after young Jim Craig's father dies, he takes a job at the Harrison cattle ranch, where he is forced to become a man.
- 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.
- 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."
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosKevin JarreStarsKurt RussellVal KilmerSam ElliottA successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsBrad PittAnthony HopkinsAidan QuinnIn the early 1900s, three brothers and their father living in the remote wilderness of Montana are affected by betrayal, history, love, nature, and war.
- DirectorRobby HensonStarsChris CooperPatricia ClarksonKris KristoffersonDuring the American Civil War, a Union Army captain leads his rag-tag cavalry troop up a misty creek to a remote farm to appropriate enemy (Confederate) livestock. The farm is worked by Sarah Anders, whose husband is away fighting for the Confederate Army. Far from the great armies and battlefields, a very private civil war erupts. The Captain and Sarah are pulled apart by the war's undertow into choices they can not fully control or understand. Each character in this drama must decide whether loyalty will be paid in blood. This story has a relevance to current partisan conflicts. Armies are not filled with murdering psychopaths. Good people can be driven to do bad things. The story chronicles the pathology of war, how escalating events can trigger unasked-for tragedy. Based on a true story about a southern child who shot and killed a union soldier during the Civil War.
- DirectorRobert RedfordStarsRobert RedfordKristin Scott ThomasSam NeillThe mother of a severely traumatized daughter enlists the aid of a unique horse trainer to help the girl's equally injured horse.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerRobert DuvallDiego LunaA former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
- DirectorJohn Lee HancockStarsDennis QuaidBilly Bob ThorntonEmilio EchevarríaBased on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsRussell CroweChristian BaleBen FosterA small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsJeff BridgesMatt DamonHailee SteinfeldA stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.
- DirectorKristian LevringStarsMads MikkelsenEva GreenJeffrey Dean MorganIn 1870s America, the fury of a notorious gang leader is unleashed when a peaceful American settler avenges the death of his family. Then as his cowardly fellow townspeople betray him, he is forced to hunt down the outlaws alone.
- DirectorEd HarrisStarsEd HarrisViggo MortensenRenée ZellwegerTwo friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
- DirectorS. Craig ZahlerStarsKurt RussellPatrick WilsonMatthew FoxIn the dying days of the old west, an elderly sheriff and his posse set out to rescue their town's doctor from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
- DirectorJohn MacleanStarsKodi Smit-McPheeCaren PistoriusAorere PakiA young Scottish man travels across America in pursuit of the woman he loves, attracting the attention of an outlaw who is willing to serve as a guide.
- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsBrady JandreauMooneyTim JandreauAfter suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsHeath LedgerOrlando BloomGeoffrey RushAn innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGlenn FordErnest BorgnineRod SteigerA new foreman rejects the sexual advances of a frustrated rancher's wife, which leads to conflicts that could get him killed.
- DirectorBurt KennedyStarsRaquel WelchRobert CulpErnest BorgnineAfter she is raped and her husband murdered, a woman hires a bounty hunter to instruct her in the use of a gun so she can get her revenge on the three outlaws responsible.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsAudie MurphyCharles DrakeJoan EvansWhen hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
- 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.
- DirectorGianfranco ParoliniStarsLee Van CleefWilliam BergerIgnazio SpallaA master gunfighter sides with a banjo-playing drifter and a Mexican tramp to foil the dignitaries of Daugherty, who want to use stolen army money to buy land that the railroad will cross.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsCharles BronsonToshirô MifuneAlain DelonIn 1870, a gang robs a train and steals a ceremonial Japanese sword meant as a gift for the U.S. President, prompting a manhunt to retrieve it.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsBurt LancasterLee MarvinRobert RyanAn arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.
- DirectorEdwin SherinStarsBurt LancasterSusan ClarkFrank SilveraA Mexican-American sheriff (Burt Lancaster) must resort to violence against a powerful rancher (Frank Tanner, played by Jon Cypher) in order to get just compensation for the pregnant Indian widow of a wrongly killed black man.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsSterling HaydenSebastian CabotCarol KellyA Swedish whaler is out for revenge when he finds out that a greedy oil man murdered his father for their land.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanStarsAudie MurphyFelicia FarrStephen McNallyMistaken for a murderous outlaw, an innocent passerby is forced to go on the run to try and clear his name by catching the real culprit.
- DirectorR.G. SpringsteenStarsBill ElliottMarie WindsorForrest TuckerA reformed gambler turned preacher partnered with a pretty female fugitive outlaw runs into an old pal who's also a marshal, and they both fall for the same bad gal.
- DirectorHerbert ColemanStarsAudie MurphyJohn SaxonZohra LampertBanner Cole is a tough sheriff's deputy who forms a small posse to go after 4 death cell escapees who killed the sheriff , along with 3 other men, and kidnapped a woman with rape in mind.
- DirectorJames Edward GrantStarsJohn WayneGail RussellHarry CareyQuirt Evans, an all round bad guy, is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsDick PowellJane GreerAgnes MooreheadAfter two U.S. cavalrymen transporting a gold shipment get killed, U.S. Army Intelligence investigator John Haven goes undercover to a mining and logging town to find the killers.
- DirectorHarry KellerStarsAudie MurphyDan DuryeaJoan O'BrienA beautiful woman with an ulterior motive hires two gunslingers to escort her through Indian territory so she can be reunited with her awaiting husband.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsKevin CostnerDennis QuaidGene HackmanFrom Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, a man becomes a myth in this thrilling journey of romance, adventure, and desperate heroic action.
- DirectorJesse HibbsStarsAudie MurphySusan CabotDan DuryeaAfter his father and brother are murdered by a corrupt lawyer and sheriff duo, railroad surveyor Clay O'Mara plans his revenge, and is aided by former outlaw Whitey Kincade.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsHenry FondaAnne BaxterMichael ParksFormer inmate and drunkard Ben Chamberlain arrives in a railroad town looking for a woman, causing the railroad police deputies to manhunt for Ben.
- DirectorDorrell McGowanStuart E. McGowanStarsBill ElliottWalter BrennanMarie WindsorShadrach Jones is convinced that his brother was robbed and killed by a Circle K Ranch cowhand and therefore he joins the outfit in order to find the murderer.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsJohn CusackJohn GoodmanL.Q. JonesAfter being wrongfully denied justice, a horse trader seeks his own justice on a treacherous rancher.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsBurt LancasterAudrey HepburnAudie MurphyThe neighbors of a frontier family turn on them when it is suspected that their adopted daughter was stolen from the local Kiowa tribe.
- DirectorGary SiniseStarsJohn MalkovichGary SiniseRay WalstonA nomadic farm worker looks after his dimwitted, gentle-giant friend during the Great Depression.
- 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 HillcoatStarsRay WinstoneGuy PearceEmily WatsonA lawman apprehends a notorious outlaw and gives him nine days to kill his older brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother.
- DirectorAndreas ProchaskaStarsSam RileyTobias MorettiPaula BeerThrough a hidden path, a lone rider reaches a little town high up in the Alps. Nobody knows where the stranger comes from, nor what he wants there. But everyone knows that they don't want him to stay.
- DirectorPotsy PonciroliStarsTim Blake NelsonScott HazeGavin LewisA farmer takes in an injured man with a satchel of cash. When a posse comes for the money, he must decide who to trust. Defending a siege, he reveals a gunslinging talent calling his true identity into question.
- DirectorReynaldo VillalobosStarsSam ElliottKatharine RossBarry CorbinA tough cowboy facing some trouble crosses paths with a lonely woman living in the middle of nowhere.
- DirectorRichard PearceStarsRip TornConchata FerrellBarry PrimusA widow with a young daughter travels to a ranch in Wyoming to manage the household of a rancher. After a while the man and woman develop a relationship that leads to a marriage. But life in the harsh place takes its toll.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJoel McCreaVirginia MayoDorothy MaloneOutlaw Wes McQueen escapes jail to pull a railroad robbery but, upon meeting pretty settler Julie Ann, he wonders about going straight.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsKirk DouglasVirginia MayoJohn AgarA U.S. Marshall and two deputies rescue a cattle rustler from a lynch mob led by a local cattle baron convinced that the rustler also killed his son.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnCarolyn JonesA marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for his role in the rape and murder of the marshal's Native American wife.
- DirectorDavid MillerStarsKirk DouglasGena RowlandsWalter MatthauA fiercely independent cowboy gets himself locked up in prison to escape with an old friend.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsPaul NewmanAva GardnerRoy JensonIn Vinegaroon, Texas, former outlaw Roy Bean appoints himself the judge for the region and dispenses his brand of justice as he sees fit.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsFred MacMurrayLin McCarthyDorothy GreenA robber who is falsely accused of murdering a deputy sheriff tries to start a new life in a border town near Mexico, but his past catches up with him.
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsVictor MatureColeen GrayGlenn LanganTwo sons of a general try to prove that he did not give an order that resulted in the Indian massacre of a wagon train and army fort.