Summary

• Western genre may recycle tropes, but its versatility showcases a mix of conventions, subverted tropes, and trend-setting styles in its best films.
• Mid-20th-century directors explored the Western genre's possibilities beyond expectations, influencing contemporary storytelling.
• Best Westerns include classic good-vs-evil stories with great characters, still shaping modern action and adventure genres.

Westerns have often been criticized as a genre offering the same, tired tropes and recycled stories – something that many blame for the genre’s ‘death’ following its huge popularity from the 1930s to the late 1960s. However, while Westerns draw from the same well of iconography to tell their stories thanks to their setting, the genre is incredibly versatile and diverse. Just like the greatest films of any major, foundational genre, the best Westerns ever made are a mix of conventions executed at their peak, classic tropes being subverted to break genre boundaries, and trend-setting cinematic styles.

Even before the sub-genres of revisionist Westerns, anti-Westerns, or neo-Westerns formally entered the filmmaker's lexicon, mid-20th-century directors have long explored the genre's possibilities beyond what audiences expect. Meanwhile, there's also no shortage of straightforward good-vs-evil stories with great characters in the best Westerns ever made, and these films make up the bulk of those that heavily influenced contemporary action and adventure storytelling today. Although it might not be as popular as it once was, the Western genre remains a big part of the movie industry and an important part of the history of cinema.

25 The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (2018)

The Coen Brothers' Darkly Comedic Western Anthology

While the Coen Brothers have made Western movies in the past, including several neo-Western movies, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs feels like their attempt to fit as many of their ideas for the genre into one film as possible.

The anthology movie tells six separate stories, from the tale of a singing gunslinger to the story of a young woman who is part of a wagon train to the story of an old prospector digging for gold, with the underlying theme of violence and bleakness in the Old West. Despite the often cynical view of these stories and their unhappy endings, there is a lot of humor to enjoy in the movie.

The first and titular story starring Tim Blake Nelson as Scruggs is particularly hilarious, like the Coen's take on a Western-themed cartoon, and the rest of the stories are filled with their brand of dark comedy. The movie also features a strong cast, including James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson, and many more.

24 3:10 To Yuma (2007)

Christian Bale And Russell Crowe Lead An Elmore Leonard Adaptation

An adaptation of Elmore Leonard's Western short story 3:10 to Yuma was previously made in 1957 to great effect, but the more modern take on the material from 2007 is an even more effective retelling.

Russell Crowe stars in the movie as an outlaw who is captured and scheduled to be sent to prison for hanging via a train in Yuma. Christian Bale co-stars as the desperate farmer who takes a job as part of the posse tasked with delivering the prisoner to the train on time.

The simple setup makes for an intriguing thriller with some great characters. Crowe and Bale play off each other well as two very complex takes on the typical Western hero and villain archetypes. Mangold also directs some thrilling Western set pieces that propel the action as the posse is picked off one by one.

23 Shane (1953)

A Gunfighter Defends A Family Of Farmers

Shane delivers one of the great heroic tales of the Western genre with one of the greatest stories of good versus evil that still strikes a chord all these decades later. The movie stars Alan Ladd as the titular gunfighter who has turned into a drifter, eventually being hired as a farmhand for a mild-mannered family. However, when a local land baron attempts to muscle the family off of their land, Shane steps into his old ways to become the family's protector.

There have been countless movies like this in which the reluctant warrior is called back into action for a noble cause, however, many of them look to Shane for inspiration. The acclaimed comic book movie Logan even directly references Shane as it tells a similar story. It is a riveting and exciting Western adventure with a crowd-pleasing and somewhat heartbreaking hero at its center.

22 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)

A Dark Tale Of An Infamous Western Figure

More modern stories not only enjoy dismantling the tropes of the genre but also some of the iconic figures of Western pop culture. Jesse James was mostly been depicted as a Robin Hood-like character and a likable antihero in Western movies.

However, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford takes a much darker look at his legacy as the murderer and twisted criminal that he truly was. Brad Pitt stars as Jesse, but the star of the show is Casey Affleck who gives a brilliant and layered performance as Robert Ford, the man who idolized Jesse and ultimately killed him.

Along with being an examination of these two Western figures, the movie is also a commentary on celebrities and the obsession people can have with them. It is a dark and bleak genre entry that is also one of the best of the 21st century.

21 Tombstone (1993)

Wyatt Earp Leads A Fight Against Cowboys

Wyatt Earp is another Western figure who has been at the center of countless movies in the genre. However, none of them have been as good as Tombstone. The movie follows the story of Wyatt's ascension into a legend as he goes from business owner to lawman as he and his allies took on the villainous Cowboys who overran the town of Tombstone, leading to the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral and its aftermath.

The movie is a rollicking and thrilling Western ride with tough heroes, intimidating villains, and some of the most quotable Western lines of all time. Kurt Russell makes for a pitch-perfect Wyatt Earp and he is backed by an incredible cast that also includes Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton as his brothers. However, it is Val Kilmer who steals the show as Doc Holliday, creating one of the genre's greatest anti-heroes.

20 The Wild Bunch (1969)

A Band Of Aging Gunmen Take A Final Stand

Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch was a bit of a game-changer in of Westerns as well as action movies in general. While gunfights and violence had always been a part of these types of movies, The Wild Bunch sought to depict it as a brutal and bloody story that helped start a wave of more graphic action sequences.

The movie follows a group of aging outlaws who set out to take one last big score but find themselves the targets of some powerful enemies. What makes it one of the best Westerns ever made is how The Wild Bunch culminates in one of the best shootouts in movie history.

It is one of the most intense and visceral action sequences ever created in cinema history which still packs a bunch all these years later. It is a movie that presents a group of unlikable, deadly, and vicious characters yet dares the audience to root for them.

19 The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

A Moral Dilemma At The Heart Of A Western Adventure

Older Western movies sometimes have an unfair reputation of being simplistic stories about the men in white hats shooting at the men in black hats. However, a movie like The Ox-Bow Incident proves they could tell complex stories within the genre. Henry Fonda stars in the movie about a posse who tracks down a trio of men suspected of killing a local farmer. As tensions build, the posse becomes divided on whether to kill the men or not.

The Ox-Bow Incident's examination of morality and mob justice also means that it's one of the first true revisionist Western films. The debate at the center of the story is interesting with the stance on both sides feeling like it is grounded in some reality rather than simply being the point of view of some genre clichés.

18 The Revenant (2015)

DiCaprio's Oscar-Winning Performance As A Western Survivor

From Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, the movie is a beautiful yet brutal odyssey

In The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio plays a fur trader who is wounded and left for dead by his treacherous companions. He is then forced to make his way back home through the unforgiving landscape. From Oscar winner Alejandro González Iñárritu, the movie is a beautiful yet brutal odyssey. DiCaprio gives a powerful performance and is ed by Tom Hardy in a solid villainous role.

Considering how much the actor suffered during the making of this ode to the harsh and wild frontier, it's also quite fitting that DiCaprio earned his first Best Actor Oscar win in one of the best Westerns ever made. In many ways, it feels like an intense survival story more than a typical Western, but it does include some terrific set pieces, including the opening one-take action sequence when the fur trade camp is raided.

17 High Noon (1952)

Gary Cooper Stars In The Western Tale Of Heroism

Not only is High Noon one of the best Westerns ever made, but it also delivers one of the best movie heroes of all time in the form of protagonist Will Kane. Gary Cooper stars as Kane, a lawman who is about to hang up his badge when an outlaw heads to town looking to settle a score with him. When no one else in town will help him, Kane stands determined to face his destiny alone.

Along with being a tense Western story with a thrilling climax, it is also a morality tale about someone standing up for what is right even when no one else is willing to stand beside them. The movie was reportedly a movie in response to the McCarthyism attack on Hollywood figures in the 1950s with it being a call for heroes to stand up for what is right even as the rest of society is overcome with fear and inaction.

16 A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)

The First Entry In The Dollars Trilogy

The first movie in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars popularized an entire subgenre known as the Spaghetti Western with its flawless execution and iconic style. The movie sees the Man with No Name – played by Clint Eastwood – inserting himself into a tense conflict with three warring brothers, playing the different factions off against each other.

The movie is inspired by the Akira Kurosawa samurai movie Yojimbo. Largely responsible for catapulting Eastwood into pop culture legend, A Fistful of Dollars also features a beautiful score from composer Ennio Morricone.

Eastwood helped to cement a new kind of protagonist for the Western genre. He had the strong stoic energy of Gary Cooper and John Wayne, but he was also more morally gray and had a charming sense of humor about him that helped push these types of heroes into new territory.