Westerns Are Dead - Top 17 Best Westerns
I've denied the fact long enough, Western movies are dead, gone, history, kaput. The genre died in 1992 with Ned Logan in "Unforgiven". No, that was not the last Western, nor even the last good Western, but that movie made a statement, e.g., not all good guys are good guys. Oh sure, that point had previously been made many times, but somehow when Clint Eastwood did it, he put an exclamation mark after it. Worse still, he crammed so much really good "stuff" in "Unforgiven" that it almost seems disrespectful to do more, to do it again.
This seems an appropriate time (I'm 73) to list my top Westerns, not because my list is perfect, not because I'm right, not because I think my list is better than your list, but because I love Westerns, always have. Somehow that solitary cowboy brings out the best feelings we harbor for what it's like to be a man, a real man. Movies are an escape, Westerns are an especial kind of escape that make the viewer wonder, "Could I ever summon up enough courage to be that brave, that good?"
My list can probably be remembered more for who/what it doesn't contain. One John Wayne movie? Yep. The Duke made a lot of movies, a lot of Westerns and I love to watch them all, but so many became "cookie cutter" Westerns, and comedies to boot. "Rio Bravo" (1959)? "El Dorado" (1966)? Yep, Duke in the lead role of the same story, different cast, and mostly a comedy. Same reason "Silverado" (1985) and "Goin South (1978) don't make my list, i.e., "Western Comedy" just doesn't fit my "Western" list. A Western can BE funny, can have funny moments, but don't try to BE a comedy. Did I miss any? Any of your favorites? I'll bet.
Western Movie Genre - RIP.
This seems an appropriate time (I'm 73) to list my top Westerns, not because my list is perfect, not because I'm right, not because I think my list is better than your list, but because I love Westerns, always have. Somehow that solitary cowboy brings out the best feelings we harbor for what it's like to be a man, a real man. Movies are an escape, Westerns are an especial kind of escape that make the viewer wonder, "Could I ever summon up enough courage to be that brave, that good?"
My list can probably be remembered more for who/what it doesn't contain. One John Wayne movie? Yep. The Duke made a lot of movies, a lot of Westerns and I love to watch them all, but so many became "cookie cutter" Westerns, and comedies to boot. "Rio Bravo" (1959)? "El Dorado" (1966)? Yep, Duke in the lead role of the same story, different cast, and mostly a comedy. Same reason "Silverado" (1985) and "Goin South (1978) don't make my list, i.e., "Western Comedy" just doesn't fit my "Western" list. A Western can BE funny, can have funny moments, but don't try to BE a comedy. Did I miss any? Any of your favorites? I'll bet.
Western Movie Genre - RIP.
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