MASTER LIST #3: The 101 Greatest Westerns

There are two types of westerns: the traditional (High Noon and such) and the revisionist (like Brokeback Mountain and Dances WIth Wolves). They are quite different from one another, making this genre a wide-ranging one. I would say there's a greater education about the western in store for me; there must be scores of great 30s, 40s, and 50s-era oaters I must see. Unfortunately, they are nearly impossible to catch, because the Western genre is all but economically dead and is therefore sorely unavailable for revisitation on DVD, unless you have Netflix (which I don't). Still, out of the ones I've seen, the best are ranked in terms of (1) quality, (2) relevance to genre, (3) popularity and influence. Here are the results:

1) The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Sergio Leone, 66)
2) The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 69)
3) Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 92)
4) The Searchers (John Ford, 56)
5) Red River (Howard Hawks, 48)
6) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 62)
7) Stagecoach (John Ford, 39)
8) The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 76)
9) The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, 53)
10) Once Upon A Time In The West (Sergio Leone, 69)
11) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 69)
12) Ride The High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 62)
13) High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 52)
14) The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
15) Winchester ’73 (Anthony Mann, 50)
16) Shane (George Stevens, 53)
17) My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 46)
18) Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 59)
19) The Long Riders (Walter Hill, 80)
20) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston, 48)
21) Day of the Outlaw (Andre De Toth, 59)
22) Lonesome Dove (Simon Wincer, 89)
23) The Shooting (Monte Hellman, 67)
24) Bad Company (Robert Benton, 72)
25) Yellow Sky (William A. Wellman, 48)
26) Fort Apache (John Ford, 48)
27) The Tin Star (Anthony Mann, 57)
28) No Country For Old Men (The Coen Brothers, 2007)
29) Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 54)
30) A Fistful of Dollars (Sergio Leone, 64)
31) For A Few Dollars More (Sergio Leone, 65)
32) High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood, 73)
33) She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 49)
34) Colorado Territory (Raoul Walsh, 49)
35) The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 57)
36) The Man From Laramie (Anthony Mann, 55)
37) The Shootist (Don Siegel, 76)
38) Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 73)
39) Bend of the River (Anthony Mann, 52)
40) The Cowboys (Mark Rydell, 72)
41) Ride Lonesome (Budd Boetticher, 59)
42) Bad Day At Black Rock (John Sturges, 55)
43) The Professionals (Richard Brooks, 66)
44) Ride in the Whirlwind (Monte Hellman, 65)
45) The Left-Handed Gun (Arthur Penn, 58)
46) Little Big Man (Arthur Penn, 70)
47) McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 71)
48) Hud (Martin Ritt, 63)
49) Broken Arrow (Delmer Daves, 50)
50) Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch, 95)
51) The Man From Snowy River (George Miller, 82)
52) Open Range (Kevin Costner, 2003)
53) Hombre (Martin Ritt, 67)
54) Jeremiah Johnson (Sydney Pollack, 72)
55) True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 69)
56) My Name is Nobody (Tonio Valerii, 73)
57) The Hired Hand (Peter Fonda, 71)
58) Silvarado (Laurence Kasdan, 85)
59) Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 74)
60) Valdez is Coming (Edwin Sherin, 71)
61) Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 80)
62) Giant (George Stevens, 56)
63) The Gunfighter (Henry King, 50)
64) Lonely Are The Brave (David Miller, 62)
65) Western Union (Fritz Lang, 41)
66) The Quick and the Dead (Sam Raimi, 95)
67) The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (Robert M. Young, 82)
68) Lone Star (John Sayles, 96)
69) Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
70) Bite The Bullet (Richard Brooks, 75)
71) The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 03)
72) The Westerner (William Wyler, 40)
73) Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (John Sturges, 57)
74) China 9, Liberty 37 (Monte Hellman, 78)
75) Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (Abraham Polonsky, 69)
76) Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 39)
77) One-Eyed Jacks (Marlon Brando, 61)
78) The Good Old Boys (Tommy Lee Jones, 95)
79) Heartland (Richard Pearce, 79)
80) Two Mules for Sister Sara (Don Siegel, 70)
81) Duel in the Sun (King Vidor, 46)
82) Ulzana’s Raid (Robert Aldrich, 72)
83) Django (Sergio Corbucci, 66)
84) The Ballad of Little Jo (Maggie Greenwald, 93)
85) The Valley of Gwangi (Jim O’Connelly, 69)
86) A Man Called Horse (Elliot Silverstein, 70)
87) Tombstone (George Pan Cosmatos, 93)
88) Wild Bill (Walter Hill, 95)
89) Dances With Wolves (Kevin Costner, 90)
90) Rio Grande (John Ford, 50)
91) Flaming Star (Don Siegel, 60)
92) Wyatt Earp (Laurence Kasdan, 94)
93) The Grey Fox (Philip Borsos, 82)
94) Barbarosa (Fred Schepisi, 82)
95) Calamity Jane (David Butler, 53)
96) They Call Me Trinity (Enzo Barnoni, 70)
97) Duck, You Sucker (Sergio Leone, 71)
98) Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (Richard Lester, 79)
99) The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend (Preston Sturges, 49)
100) Westworld (Michael Crichton, 73)
101) Sergeant Rutledge (John Ford, 60)

LIST BREAKDOWNS:
BREAKDOWN BY FILMMAKER:

EIGHT FILMS:
John Ford: The Searchers (4), The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (6), Stagecoach (7), My Darling Clementine (17), Fort Apache (26), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (33), Rio Grande (90), Sergeant Rutledge (101)
FIVE FILMS EACH:
Anthony Mann: The Naked Spur (9), Winchester ’73 (15), The Tin Star (27), The Man From Laramie (36), Bend of the River (39)
Sergio Leone: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1), Once Upon A Time In The West (10), A Fistful of Dollars (30), For A Few Dollars More (31), Duck, You Sucker (97)
THREE FILMS EACH:
Sam Peckinpah: The Wild Bunch (2), Ride The High Country (12), Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid (38)
Clint Eastwood: Unforgiven (3), The Outlaw Josey Wales (8), High Plains Drifter (32)
Monte Hellman: The Shooting (22), Ride in the Whirlwind (44), China 9, Liberty 37 (74)
Don Siegel: The Shootist (37), Two Mules for Sister Sara (80), Flaming Star (91)
TWO FILMS EACH:
Howard Hawks: Red River (5), Rio Bravo (18)
George Stevens: Shane (16), Giant (62)
Walter Hill: The Long Riders (19), Wild Bill (88)
Budd Boetticher: The Tall T (35), Ride Lonesome (41)
John Sturges: Bad Day At Black Rock (42), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (73)
Richard Brooks: The Professionals (43), Bite The Bullet (70)
Arthur Penn: The Left-Handed Gun (45), Little Big Man (46)
Martin Ritt: Hud (48), Hombre (53)
Laurence Kasdan: Silvarado (58), Wyatt Earp (92)
Kevin Costner: Open Range (52), Dances With Wolves (89)

BREAKDOWN BY DECADE:
PRE 1950s (3): 1903: The Great Train Robbery (71); 1939: Stagecoach (7), Destry Rides Again (76)

1940s (11): 1940: The Westerner (71); 1941: Western Union (65); 1946: My Darling Clementine (17); Duel in the Sun (81); 1948 (OFFICIALLY THE FIRST GREAT YEAR FOR WESTERNS): Red River (5), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (20), Yellow Sky (25), Fort Apache (26); 1949: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (33); Colorado Territory (34); The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend (99)

1950s (21): 1950: Winchester ’73 (15), Broken Arrow (49), The Gunfighter (63), Rio Grande (90); 1952: High Noon (13), Bend of the River (39); 1953: The Naked Spur (9), Shane (16), Calamity Jane (95): 1954: Johnny Guitar (29); 1955: The Man From Laramie (36), Bad Day At Black Rock (42); 1956: The Searchers (4), Giant (62); 1957: The Tin Star (27), The Tall T (35), Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (73); 1958: The Left-Handed Gun (45); 1959 (AN INCREDIBLE TRIO): Rio Bravo (18), Day of the Outlaw (21), Ride Lonesome (41)

1960s (21) (OFFICIALLY. QUALITY-WISE, THE BEST DECADE FOR WESTERNS): 1960: Flaming Star (91); Sergeant Rutledge (101); One-Eyed Jacks (77); 1962: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (6); Ride The High Country (12), Lonely Are The Brave (64); 1963: Hud (48); 1964: A Fistful of Dollars (30); 1965: For A Few Dollars More (31), Ride in the Whirlwind (44); 1966: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1), The Professionals (43), Django (83); 1967: The Shooting (23), Hombre (53); 1969 (OFFICIALLY THE BEST YEAR FOR WESTERNS): The Wild Bunch (2), Once Upon A Time In The West (10), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (11), True Grit (55), Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (75), The Valley of Gwangi (85)

1970s (22)(OFFICIALLY, QUALITY-WISE, THE 2nd BEST DECADE FOR WESTERNS): 1970: Little Big Man (46); Two Mules for Sister Sara (80); A Man Called Horse (86); They Call Me Trinity (96); 1971: McCabe and Mrs. Miller (47), The Hired Hand (57), Valdez is Coming (60), Duck, You Sucker (97); 1974: Bad Company (24), The Cowboys (40), Jeremiah Johnson (54), Ulzana’s Raid (82); 1973: High Plains Drifter (32), My Name is Nobody (56), Westworld (100); 1974: Blazing Saddles (59); 1975: Bite The Bullet (70); 1976: The Outlaw Josey Wales (8), The Shootist (37); 1978: China 9, Liberty 37 (74); 1979: Heartland (79), Butch and Sundance: The Early Days (98)

1980s (8): 1980: The Long Riders (19), Heaven’s Gate (61); 1982: The Man From Snowy River (51), The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (67), The Grey Fox (93), Barbarosa (94); 1985: Silvarado (58); 1989: Lonesome Dove (22)

1990s (10): 1990: Dances With Wolves (89); 1992: Unforgiven (3); 1993: The Ballad of Little Jo (84), Tombstone (87); 1994: Wyatt Earp (92); 1995 (THE BEST RECENT YEAR FOR WESTERNS): Dead Man (50), The Quick and the Dead (66), The Good Old Boys (78), Wild Bill (88); 1996: Lone Star (68)

2000s (4): Open Range (52); Brokeback Mountain (69); The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (14); No Country For Old Men (28)