Need to know: Greatest Westerns of all Time (duels a must)

[Will O'B]

By "duel" do you mean a gunfight where two men stand at opposite ends of the street and see who has the quickest draw (like at the start of "Gunsmoke")? If so, that would eliminate one of my favorite westerns, "The Searchers" because it's more a cowboy/indians picture. I guess if it has to have the duel in it, then I would say either "Liberty Valance" or "My Darling Clementine." I guess you could say I like the way that John Ford shoots a western (he directed all three of my picks).

The following is an editorial comment by the author of this post and in no way does it necessarily reflect the views of this forum, its management or of our beloved Bloomfield:

I've never forgiven John Wayne for his politics during the Vietanam fiasco (much the same way that some have not forgiven Jane Fonda), and I don't care for him as a person. But I liked his acting in "The Searchers" and as Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit."

Will O'Ban

[MarcusR]

Shogun- Oh wait, wrong type of duel, sorry.

Quite close Tom

Red Sun (1971)
Director: Terence Young
Charles Bronson, Toshiro Mifune and Ursula Andress ...

Maybe not a top 10 but still a "must see".



/MarcusR

[Bloomfield]

By "duel" do you mean a gunfight where two men stand at opposite ends of the street and see who has the quickest draw (like at the start of "Gunsmoke")? If so, that would eliminate one of my favorite westerns, "The Searchers" because it's more a cowboy/indians picture. I guess if it has to have the duel in it, then I would say either "Liberty Valance" or "My Darling Clementine." I guess you could say I like the way that John Ford shoots a western (he directed all three of my picks).

Yes, yes: Exactly that kind of duel. The one where it's okay to kill the other guy, because he drew first.

Cranberry: The only reason this is a worthwhile social science project is exactly the fact that Westerns are stereotypical and extremely violent.

[TomB]

Tell your social studies teacher that Westerns are stereotypical and extremely violent

..Uh, but that's what makes them so much fun.

Tom

[scottielvr]

The Gunfighter (Gregory Peck)
High Plains Drifter (great, but won't suit if 'classic' archetypes are needed)
Pale Rider

[Paul]

The Quick and the Dead

[susnfx]

"Support Your Local Sheriff" - of course James Garner throws rocks at the bad guy instead of drawing on him...but the movie is an absolute classic and a must-see.

Susan

[PhilO]

Duel at Diablo (Sydney Poitier, James Garner)
Duel in the Sun (Gregory Peck, Joseph Cotton, Jennifer Jones, aka the cause of the duel)
The Shootist (John Wayne)
Last Train from Gun Hill (Kirk Douglas, Anthony Quinn)
My Darling Clementine (Henry Fonda, Victor Mature)
Tombstone (Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer)
Red River (John Wayne, Montgomery Cliff - the greatest western)
The Big Country (Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Charleton Heston, Jean Simmons - a classic one long duel)
The Gunfighter (Gregory Peck)
Gunfight at the OK Coral (Kirk Douglas)
The Magnificent Seven (Bryner, McQueen, Coburn, Bronson, Wallach, Bucholtz)
El Topo (cultish mexican western by Alexandro Jodorowsky)

Philo

[Lorenzo]

Fistful of Dollars

You got it.

[Will O'B]

Perhaps not in the same league as "Liberty Valance" or "Clementine," but I still like "Pat Garett & Billy The Kid" with James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Slim Pickens and Bob Dylan -- Directed by Sam Peckinpah. It also had Dylan's song, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

Will O'Ban

[Bloomfield]

... It also had Dylan's song, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

Will O'Ban

Thanks for telling me, but I'd probably watch it anyway.

[dubhlinn]

... It also had Dylan's song, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

Will O'Ban

Thanks for telling me, but I'd probably watch it anyway.

Funny....

Joking aside ,it is a superb film for many reasons.
The slo-mo violence is terrifying,the casting is magic and the heart of the plot goes back to Cain and Able.
It has the finest cinematography ever seen in a western and as if all that wasn't enough there is the amazing Bob Dylan soundtrack which contains some truly incredible instrumentals featuring recorders (of all things) and Byron Berline on fiddle.
FWIW,I always thought Knockin on Heavens Door was one of Bobs weaker efforts but works well in the context of the film.

Slan,
D.

[PhilO]

How about Howard Hughs "The Outlaw" with all the viewers ogling Jayne Russell while the rest of the cast were purportedly ogling one another?

Paul Newman versus Richard Boone in "Hombre."

Newman and Redford versus the world in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (one of the greatest of any kind)

Philo

[Will O'B]

... It also had Dylan's song, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

Will O'Ban

Thanks for telling me, but I'd probably watch it anyway.

HA! I don't want to turn you off on the movie, cause it is good -- but the song sort of sets the tone: the Kid's desperation and fatalistic attitude. Here are a couple of reviews that will give you a better flavor of what the movie is:

http://www.film.u-net.com/Movies/Review ... rrett.html

http://www.eufs.org.uk/films/pat_garret ... e_kid.html

Will O'Ban

[izzarina]

Tombstone.
Also, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ( think tha tone applies anyway).