A pretty interesting and diverse list. Cat Ballou is an interesting choice. I probably would have put Liberty Valance in there but Kid Shelleen just cracks me up whenever I see that movie.
"Cat Ballou" is not a top 10 Western. An educated alternative list ranked best first: "The Searchers", "Rio Bravo", "Once Upon a Time In the West", "The Wild Bunch", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "My Darling Clementine" (Western Film-Noir), "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "Stagecoach", "Johnny Guitar" (Western Film-Noir), "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "Red River", "The Treasure Of Sierra Madre" (Western Film-Noir), "Unforgiven" (Western Neo-Noir), "Heaven's Gate" (directed by the unfairly maligned Michael Cimino, the picture now recognized as a masterpiece), "Wagon Master", "High Noon" (Western Film-Noir), "Shane".
@@MarkRoberts-bj2meRio Bravo a top 10 western OF ALL TIME??? It’s a good movie but it’s not even in the same galaxy as The Searchers, Unforgiven, Stagecoach, etc.
yes, definitely MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, my second favorite, behind ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and just ahead of HIGH NOON. Interesting that both Dwight Eisenhower and Ronad Reagan liked HIGH NOON. as John Wayne criticized the film, though he accepted the academy award for Gary Cooper.
The last film co-starring Western icon Randolph Scott. While Peckinpah directed much better Westerns (The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), Scott was better served in the pictures directed by fellow auteur Bud Boetticher known as The Ranown Westerns. No studio was involved in the filming of these classics, the artists themselves controlled all aspects of these pictures.
Pretty good list .A few of my favourites not mentioned by anyone are Hour of The Gun ,The Long Riders ,Sergeant Rutledge and The Professionals . Great movies.
@@brutus4013 BTW....One of my favorite scenes in the Long Riders is where Cole is about to knife fight Sam Starr and he says to him, " Glad I caught you in a good mood "...............
@@TS-wh4ey Great and unique movie all round because of its casting of actual brothers for the James's ,Younger's ,Millers and Fords . No other movie like it before or since.
to myself The Outlaw Josey Wales is far Better than the Unforgiven it`s Clint`s best work as a Director but they both knock McCabe & Mrs Miller off the list in my own Opinion...
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly, and The Outlaw Josey Wales should be up there over Cat Ballou and M & M. Also gotta give props to Kevin Costner's two great westerns, Dances with Wolves and Open Range.
I agree 💯 percent, Josey Wales was and still is a classic in my book. Imo I would of thrown Silverado in there too. I believe that was one of Kevin Costner's first westerns but I could be wrong .
Brian Jones, I could not agree with you more!! The Outlaw Josey Wales far outranks Unforgiven as a western. It's a "Back Shootin Crime" that this classic is off the list. As is the western that revolutionized the genre. The immortal "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Sergio Leone introduced tight camera shots and real life portrayals of old western figures as they really were. And how they really looked!! Not the packaged, Hollywood, perfectly groomed gunfighter. Both High Noon and the fabulous Shane outrank The Searchers in my opinion. John Wayne and John Fords tainted collaboration demonizes the American Indian in a fashion only the true racist could glorify or enjoy. Wayne's attempt to storm the stage when Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather appeared at the 1973 Academy Awards is typical of this backwoods Bigot. Unable to disassociate his cardboard cutout image from real life America and its problems. Josey Wales was groundbreaking in that it was the first western to identify with the plight of Native Americans. Not exploit and dehumanize them. Here is my top five. Shane, High Noon, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. If you want to find The Searchers, keep searching. Probably the most unapologetically racist film since Birth of a Nation.
In my opinion, Butch Cassidy would have been a better western if the climax of the film had shown the two protagonists being shot to pieces and left lying dead in the dust. By not showing such an ending, the film refused to face the consequences of all the previous actions in the story. @@warrenbates2949
I agree an interesting list but give honorable mentions to a newer western, Open Range with Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, and Annette Benning also The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. One last thought, Jeremiah Johnson
Interesting pick from AFI. I'd love to see a top ten list of best westerns according to public popularity. Still Shane is my favorite western movie, glad it made the list. Good job my friend. 👍
Ask and ye shall receive: 10 Best Westerns ranked according to IMDB: 1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 2. Django Unchained 3. Once Upon a Time in the West 4. Unforgiven 5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance 6. High Noon 7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 8. The Wild Bunch 9. Tombstone 10. The Outlaw Josey Wales
@@bravehome4276 Pretty bad list there IMHO. Looks like they are pretty much just picking Westerns made after 1960. Any list without Stagecoach, Shane or The Searchers is just a joke. IMDB has always been a joke.
@@MrRondonmonThis list is not a critics list, it is a list of those films voted for by viewers on IMDB. And I agree, the most common voters on IMDB are too young to appreciate the 30s/40s films. However, it is (as per OP) a publicly popular list, since us old fogeys who enjoy the 30s/40s movies are scarce these days....
I couldn't agree more. The Magnificent Seven was and still remains my favourite western of all time. With a great story line, superb cast and legendary theme music it is a true classic.
Personally, I've never much liked McCabe & Mrs. Miller and would substitute The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales deserved to be on this list instead of his Unforgiven, which isn't nearly as good at all. Stagecoach, Shane, Butch Cassidy, The Wild Bunch, High Noon, The Searchers, all deserve to be on this list, yep. I like Cat Ballou but I wouldn't include it here; instead, Ride the High Country.
It may belong here, but you're right. It was in fact an anti-hero version of the Western genre. I've seen it only once when it was in first release as a double feature with MASH. Not as strange a combination as you might first think.
Totally disagree. McCabe does a better job of depicting the harsh conditions of the West-the snowstorms and mud and horseshit in the streets-than any other Western I can think of. Also, the entrepreneurship of constructing entirely new towns and societies out of nothing. It IS unlike most of the other Westerns on this list, but to my mind, that’s a good thing and what makes it so distinctive. The only other film that is like it is Unforgiven, and that’s great as well.
Although not a movie, I would say Lonesome Dove is the best Western I have ever seen. Also, in the rating of films, I say the “best” are my “favorites,” and my favorites are the ones I watch again most every year. There are some highly acclaimed movies I agree are very good, but not always ones I’d care to view again.
@@denroy3 McCabe and Mrs Miller was indeed a Western, a very good one at that. Some call it revisionist because the hero isn’t impeccable and doesn’t get the girl, or even survive in the end. It was beautifully shot and Robert Altman captured the zeitgeist of the times.
Once Upon A Time In The West was a Paramount Picture so it was actually an American film. But if you want to drop it, you can add Ride The High Country or The Man Who Shot Liberty valance instead
Best sports films? I like Caddyshack, and My personal favorite is Rocky IV but I know it does not qualify. So here goes; Rocky, Champion, 8 Men Out, Pride of The Yankees, Hoosiers, One On One, Rudy, City of Conquest, Raging Bull and Knute Rockne All American. For a superior comedy film to Caddyshack: Slap Shot.
Stagecoach (1939) created the western genre, which had been two reeler B movie fare. The Wild Bunch (1969) reinterpreted the western. Both are masterpieces
Y does everyone forget the Sergio Leone film A Fistfull of Dynamite it comes a very close 2nd or 3rd behind Once upon a time in the west&The good the bad the ugly
Great list. Cat Ballou could easily be replaced by Once Upon a Time in the West or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Were they left off because they weren't 'American" productions?
The Westerner Shane The Searchers Red River Man who Shot Libert Valance The Wild Bunch The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Stagecoach Outlaw Josie Wales Ride the High Country (In no particular order)
Let's be fair, virtually all the spaghetti westerns fail this list with the horrible over dupes they employed. They may have had other great values, but that alone skips them down the list of great movies enough to miss this list.
Well, unfortunately. The Good The Bad And The Ugly wouldn't have qualified for the AFI list due to the fact it is an foreign film from Italy that was distributed in the United States three years after its first initial release in Europe. However, you'll be happy to know that in 2005, Time Magazine released a list known as the All-Time 100 Movies, which is basically a compilation of motion pictures considered the best and was selected by the magazine's own longtime film critics Richard Schickel and Richard Corliss. Four Westerns made the list. They were= • The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly • Once Upon A Time In The West • The Searchers • Unforgiven
Thought the Magnificent Seven might have got a run. I can remember when it finally got shown on TV after decades. It was a huge deal everyone watched it. So many stars. Did you leave it out because it wasn’t an original story?
Nope, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Jeremiah Johnson, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Last of the Mohicans, Once upon a time in the west, Good Bad and the Ugly all must be on the list
1. Lonesome Dove. 2. Stagecoach. (1939) 3. Shane. 4. The Magnificent Seven. 5. Will Penny. 6. The Outlaw Josey Wales. 7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 8. Jeremiah Johnson. 9. Tombstone. 10. High Noon.
I consider somewhere around 1965 as a dividing line for westerns, and really, cinema in general changed, going for more a realistic feel. After 1965 there were the Clint Eastwood westerns. I consider The _Outlaw Josey Wales_ to be a very good western. _Tombstone_ could be on that list. Pre-1965 I would put on the list _My Darling Clementine_ . I would have to include _The Magnificent Seven_ , too. Those two movies would replace _Cat Ballou_ and _McCabe and Mrs. Miller_ .
In no order The Searchers The Wild Bunch Shane Once Upon A Time In The West High Noon Stage Coach Liberty Vallance The Good The Bad &The Ugly How The West Was Won Unforgiven
The two masterpieces that stand apart from the rest are Stagecoach and The Wild Bunch. Stagecoach elevated the western genre from two reel B movies. Thirty years later, in The Wild Bunch, Sam Pekinpah reinvented the genre.
I love ‘The Wild Bunch’, a great movie, but the person who really reinvented the genre is Sergio Leone and his Dollar Trilogy (even if for obvious reasons it can't be in this ranking).
Not many of my personal favourites there. I’d go for … X) Tom Horn 9) High Noon 8) High Plains Drifter 7) Unforgiven 6) The Good the Bad & the Ugly 5) Once Upon a Time in the West 4) Two Mules for Sister Sara 3) Jeremiah Johnson 2) The Big Country 1) The Outlaw Josey Wales
As a favorite I got Glenn Ford in 'The Fastest Gun Alive'. Iconic western movie and Ford was truly recognized as Hollywoods real life gunfighter. He possessed the quick draw skill that earned him that recognition.
Limited to American-made westerns, the AFI list is still puzzling to me: Cat Ballou? McCabe and Mrs. Miller? High Noon? No. The Outlaw Josie Wales, The Big Country, Ride the High Country, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance . . . There are so many! Going beyond American-only westerns, I'd put Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good the Bad and the Ugly at or near the #1 position.
Add The Ox-Bow Incident, My Darling Clementine, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, No Country For Old Men, The Outlaw Josey Wales Substitute for Shane (just me - never understood its popularity), Cat Ballou, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, High Noon and Red River. Sooooo many honorable mentions, including Hombre, The Gunfighter, Ulzana's Raid, Little Big Man, Dances With Wolves, Yellow Sky, Duel In The Sun, The Long Riders, Westward The Women, The Professionals, Hondo, The Revenant, The Furies, 3:10 To Yuma (both versions), Jeremiah Johnson, Winchester '73, Heartland, Tombstone, The Magnificent Severn (original), Dead Man, Days Of Heaven, Last Of The Mohicans, Ride The High Country, Hell's Heroes, True Grit (remake) and Miracle In The Sand (aka, The Three Godfathers - 1936) . . . to name just a few!
Very good collection n selection AFI.No Spaghetti movies are included!Some great westerns are omitted such My Darling Clementine,Oxbow Incident,Man who shot Liberty Vallance,Big Country,Yellow Sky,Vera Cruz n Megnificent Seven.
Ride the High Country (1962) is one of the best in my view. Sam Peckinpah’s direction is less mannered than in the Wild Bunch. My Darling Clementine (1946), The Gunfighter (1950), Winchester ‘73 (1950), and Lonely Are the Brave (1962) are excellent too.
Only two are great Westerns in my view, Shane and High Noon. My list includes Hombre, Westward the Woman, Wagon Master, Magnificent Seven, The Devil’s Doorway, Rawhide ( Tyrone Power), Ride the Highway Country, The Appaloosa-Brando) The B Westerns are excellent especially Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, George O’Brien and Tim Holt.
Flame of the Barbary Coast Open Range The Magnificent Seven The Quick and the Dead Hallelujah Trail Silverado Red River Rio Grande The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Stagecoach Red River Shane High Noon The Searchers Ride the High County The Big Country Once Upon a Time in the West Outlaw Josey Wales And wait for it Open Range Just my two cents. Close Unforgiven Rio Lobo The Big Trail Tombstone Wyatt Earp Death of a Gun Fighter Duel in the Sun (aka Lust in the Dust) The Naked Spur Blood on the Moon Butch Cassidy is a buddy movie that just happens to take place in the west.
Observing your list and quite familiar with them all, I noticed 'Death Of A Gunfighter' you listed. That's a great Richard Widmark film. He was headliner in several great westerns, including 'Backlash', which I also thought was a very entertaining western.
As a lifetime lover of cinema, & the Western in particular, I'll say straight out , THE #1, best western ever made, was Sam Peckinpah's, " The Wild Bunch " . Period ! 6 Classic actors : William Holden-----Ernest Borgnine------Robert Ryan in his final role-------Edmund O'Brien-------Warren Oates & Ben Johnson. This film is a masterpiece from opening to end. The theme of loyalty among man, & the closing of the old west are classic. ----------MJL, 77 y/o
Why was John Wayne mentioned whenever his movies came up but none of the other leading actors except one were mentioned... thanks for including clips...
The ones Im a little surprised that didnt make the list were The Magnificent Seven, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Dances With Wolves, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Rio Bravo
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 2. High Noon 3. Once upon a time in the West 4. The Great Silence 5. There will be blood 6. For a few dollars more 7. Unforgiven 8. The Searchers 9. The Hateful 8 10. The Magnificent Seven HM: Wild Bunch, Fistful of Dollars and Bone Tomahawk
At least they didn't have a bunch of spaghetti westerns but they forgot The Unforgiven with Burt Lancaster, Tombstone, Ride the High Country and probably a half a dozen better westerns than Cat Ballou and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. At least that got number one right.
AFI skipped spaghetti western movies.May be selection of Hollywood western movies only otherwise they might consider n include Once upon a time in the West n The good The bad n The ugly.Still some classic Hollywood western should have considered such My Darling Clementine,Oxbow Incident,The Big Country,Man who Shot Liberty Valance,Jasey James n Treasurer of Sierre Madre!
I would put John Wayne's "The Shootist" on my list. Wayne's last movie (about a gunman dying of cancer). Great opening sequence showing Wayne from some of his earlier Westerns and a great cast.
I agree 100 percent with the AFI list. One other list did not even have Shane or High Noon in the top 10 which instantly made it not serious. I would only add honorable mentions with Silverado, Cowboy, The Cowboys, 310 to Yuma, True Grit, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and Blazing Saddles.
I will not argue with this list. I like every movie on it. My very personal lists has four of these movies in my top 50: 1. McCabe and Mrs Miller, 5. The Wild Bunch, 7. High Noon, 16. Shane.
Magnificent Seven oddly missing. 3:10 to Yuma, both are excellent. Open Range is becoming a favorite in the details, Never liked Unforgiven, prefer Josey Wells. Windwalker of 1980 Indigenous friendly western of sorts. Like Dance with Wolves.
I feel The Good The Bad and The Ugly is a fantastic film bit it does not deserve to be on the list because it's Italian. THe AFI stands for The American Film Institute
Rio Bravo (1959) The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) I think these should have been on AFI's 10 Best Westerns list.
Hard to argue with anyone's list. One assumes, however, that "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and "Once upon a Time in the West" were left off by the AFI because the director was Italian and filmed elsewhere.
The Good, the bad and the ugly, The Searchers, Dances with the wolves, Once upon time in the west, The little big man, For a few dollars more, Josey Wales, Jeremiah Johnson, The last of the mohawks, Shane, Unforgiven, High noon, Magnificent seven, Man called horse, ...
I can't believe there's no Once Upon a time in the West, Sergio Leone's Masterpiece would be my No1. Ennio Morricone's Soundtrack alone puts it in the top 5. I like the way you've gone way back to the 40s and 50s but you probably need a Top 20 with Ford's Cavalry Trilogy and what about the Directors Cut of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Plus Dances with Wolves and Soldier Blue are Western's...
AFI, means only US westerns, which is understandable. Nevertheless this is a very poor list. No Josey Wales, no Ride the High Country....Including Cat Ballou and McCabe and Mrs Miller makes the list laughable.
I'm extremely disappointed with your no 1 choice, I think 1958s The Big Country is the best Western Motion picture of all time, just don't understand this !
1- Red River 1948; 2- Cheyenne Autumn 1964; 3- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962; 4- 3:10 To Yuma 1957; 5- Little Big Man 1970; 6- The Gunfighter 1950; 7- Hombre 1967; 8- McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971; 9- Jubal 1956; 10- Stagecoach 1939. BTW, the still greatest American film of all-time, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is NOT A WESTERN.
As a huge fan of westerns This is at Best an inadequate list. I agree with 6 movies on this list regarding the 10 best Westerns ever. However, AFI needs to do a better job. There should be at least a top 20 or top 25 best westerns list. The list neglected 3 classics from the great Sergio Leone, Fist full of dollars 1964, The Good, the bad, the Ugly 1967 and Once upon of the time in the west 1968. Two fantastic Kirk Douglas movies Last train from Gunhill 1957 and Gun fight at OK Corral 1958. The best western made in the 1960s, The professionals 1965. Of course Blazing Saddles 1973 and Pat Garrett and Billy the kid 1973. John Wayne’s best performance ever in The Shootist 1976 along with Who shot Liberty Valance 1962. Silverado 1986 and Dances with Wolves 1990. Outlaw Josey Wales 1976. The most important omission on the AFI list is ‘The Magnificent Seven’ 1960. How can you have any list about westerns and this movie not be included in it???!!!!!
Peckinpahs pat garrett and Billy the kid,leones the good the bad and the ugly and clints the outlaw josey Wales should definitely be in there ,also the professionals ,the 1966 burt lancaster western...
With a great disappointment i can understand as to why Once upon a time in the west is not considered which is obviously because its an Italian western, but only AFI can answer as to why it chose Cat balou and not Rio Bravo which to me is by far,far greater western and i rate Rio bravo along with The searchers,Shane,High noon etc,etc,the test of time proves Rio bravo gets better and better.
I agree. Rio Bravo is a fantastic movie that never gets old. When it pops up on TCM, I know what I’m doing for the rest of the afternoon. Same deal with Liberty Valence and Ft Apache
I don’t know if they are any better than anything on this list but my (very) personal list would include the magnificent seven (the og of course) man who shot liberty valance and good, bad and ugly. Well, they are better than cat ballou even though it is pretty good
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in West, Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, Dances with the Wolves, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid are in my top 10.
Agree with Snane, Stagecoach, High noon on this list. I suppose THE AFI limited it to Amercan films, I accually prefer RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY to WILD BUNCH.
I watched "High Noon". Was it worth watching? Yes, once, just once. It's not an American film but, "Once Upon A Time in the West"; great movie; beats all of these westerns by a wide margin; music score, cinematography, writing, plots; it has it all.
This list does pick up some older Westerns not viewed as much by younger audiences today. For that I'm grateful.
A pretty interesting and diverse list. Cat Ballou is an interesting choice. I probably would have put Liberty Valance in there but Kid Shelleen just cracks me up whenever I see that movie.
I was just coming to the comments to say the same thing. Cat Ballou was good, but Liberty Valance was better.
"Cat Ballou" is not a top 10 Western. An educated alternative list ranked best first: "The Searchers", "Rio Bravo", "Once Upon a Time In the West", "The Wild Bunch", "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance", "My Darling Clementine" (Western Film-Noir), "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly", "Stagecoach", "Johnny Guitar" (Western Film-Noir), "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", "Red River", "The Treasure Of Sierra Madre" (Western Film-Noir), "Unforgiven" (Western Neo-Noir), "Heaven's Gate" (directed by the unfairly maligned Michael Cimino, the picture now recognized as a masterpiece), "Wagon Master", "High Noon" (Western Film-Noir), "Shane".
@@MarkRoberts-bj2meRio Bravo a top 10 western OF ALL TIME??? It’s a good movie but it’s not even in the same galaxy as The Searchers, Unforgiven, Stagecoach, etc.
yes, definitely MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, my second favorite, behind ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and just ahead of HIGH NOON. Interesting that both Dwight Eisenhower and Ronad Reagan liked HIGH NOON. as John Wayne criticized the film, though he accepted the academy award for Gary Cooper.
Liberty Valance is my fave western of all time. "That's my steak Valance." "The Professionals" and "Shane" right behind.
“Blazing Saddles” runs rings around “Cat Ballou.”
Imagine if they swapped directors?
Nope !!…
I think Ride the High Country should have made the list!
Thats a great movie very poignant ending.
I guess I like it so much because of Joel McCrea who is a personal favorite of mine. He and Randolph Scott were excellent together.@@wobblertv8083
The last film co-starring Western icon Randolph Scott. While Peckinpah directed much better Westerns (The Wild Bunch and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid), Scott was better served in the pictures directed by fellow auteur Bud Boetticher known as The Ranown Westerns. No studio was involved in the filming of these classics, the artists themselves controlled all aspects of these pictures.
@@MarkRoberts-bj2me Yes I remember him in the Big T very good film .
It could have replaced "The Wild Bunch".
I would put My Darling Clementine and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on the list.
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance should be in there somewhere.
😊 thanks for your video of the westerns movies it's so hard to make a list of just 10 movies, maybe you could make one with 50 of your favorites 😊
Pretty good list .A few of my favourites not mentioned by anyone are Hour of The Gun ,The Long Riders ,Sergeant Rutledge and The Professionals . Great movies.
Ditto on "The Professionals."
'Hour Of The Gun' is certainly a favorite of mine. Garner and Robarbs have great chemistry together in this film. Dialogue is outstanding 👌
@@TS-wh4ey Agree completely .The music is also excellent and really adds to the mood of the movie .
@@brutus4013
BTW....One of my favorite scenes in the Long Riders is where Cole is about to knife fight Sam Starr and he says to him, " Glad I caught you in a good mood "...............
@@TS-wh4ey Great and unique movie all round because of its casting of actual brothers for the James's ,Younger's ,Millers and Fords . No other movie like it before or since.
to myself The Outlaw Josey Wales is far Better than the Unforgiven it`s Clint`s best work as a Director but they both knock McCabe & Mrs Miller off the list in my own Opinion...
Agree with you.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly, and The Outlaw Josey Wales should be up there over Cat Ballou and M & M. Also gotta give props to Kevin Costner's two great westerns, Dances with Wolves and Open Range.
I agree 💯 percent, Josey Wales was and still is a classic in my book. Imo I would of thrown Silverado in there too. I believe that was one of Kevin Costner's first westerns but I could be wrong .
Absolutely
CB & M&M are not even memorable next to The Outlaw Josey Wales
Also agree with Open Range as being outstanding
Brian Jones, I could not agree with you more!! The Outlaw Josey Wales far outranks Unforgiven as a western. It's a "Back Shootin Crime" that this classic is off the list. As is the western that revolutionized the genre. The immortal "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Sergio Leone introduced tight camera shots and real life portrayals of old western figures as they really were. And how they really looked!! Not the packaged, Hollywood, perfectly groomed gunfighter. Both High Noon and the fabulous Shane outrank The Searchers in my opinion. John Wayne and John Fords tainted collaboration demonizes the American Indian in a fashion only the true racist could glorify or enjoy. Wayne's attempt to storm the stage when Native American activist Sacheen Littlefeather appeared at the 1973 Academy Awards is typical of this backwoods Bigot. Unable to disassociate his cardboard cutout image from real life America and its problems. Josey Wales was groundbreaking in that it was the first western to identify with the plight of Native Americans. Not exploit and dehumanize them. Here is my top five. Shane, High Noon, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, The Outlaw Josey Wales and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. If you want to find The Searchers, keep searching. Probably the most unapologetically racist film since Birth of a Nation.
Although the genre was losing popularity, 1969 was some year for westerns.
Butch Cassidy
The Wiid Bunch
True Grit
When your right, your right!
Butch Cassidy is the best Western ever filmed in my opinion.
thanks, dude. I'd also add ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
In my opinion, Butch Cassidy would have been a better western if the climax of the film had shown the two protagonists being shot to pieces and left lying dead in the dust. By not showing such an ending, the film refused to face the consequences of all the previous actions in the story. @@warrenbates2949
I agree an interesting list but give honorable mentions to a newer western, Open Range with Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, and Annette Benning also The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence. One last thought, Jeremiah Johnson
I was wondering if a "Mountain. Man" fits the genera. Same time period. got my vote.
Three excellent honourable mentions.
Open Range was outstanding.
Interesting pick from AFI. I'd love to see a top ten list of best westerns according to public popularity. Still Shane is my favorite western movie, glad it made the list. Good job my friend. 👍
Ask and ye shall receive:
10 Best Westerns ranked according to IMDB:
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
2. Django Unchained
3. Once Upon a Time in the West
4. Unforgiven
5. The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance
6. High Noon
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8. The Wild Bunch
9. Tombstone
10. The Outlaw Josey Wales
@@bravehome4276 Pretty bad list there IMHO. Looks like they are pretty much just picking Westerns made after 1960. Any list without Stagecoach, Shane or The Searchers is just a joke. IMDB has always been a joke.
@@MrRondonmonThis list is not a critics list, it is a list of those films voted for by viewers on IMDB. And I agree, the most common voters on IMDB are too young to appreciate the 30s/40s films. However, it is (as per OP) a publicly popular list, since us old fogeys who enjoy the 30s/40s movies are scarce these days....
You actually left out The Magnificent Seven. There are others, but leaving TMS out taints this list.
Agree!
I couldn't agree more. The Magnificent Seven was and still remains my favourite western of all time. With a great story line, superb cast and legendary theme music it is a true classic.
The video clearly states that this is AFI's list. Talk to them if you have a problem with it.
Who cares whose list it is? And what do you care?@@ContrarianCorner
I could have replaced "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". It was better.
Top 2 are by Sergio Leone with music by Ennio Morricone:
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1969)
They are Italian westerns. This is a list of American westerns.
McCabe & Mrs Miller is possibly my favourite movie of all time. Its a haunting classic
Personally, I've never much liked McCabe & Mrs. Miller and would substitute The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And Eastwood's The Outlaw Josey Wales deserved to be on this list instead of his Unforgiven, which isn't nearly as good at all. Stagecoach, Shane, Butch Cassidy, The Wild Bunch, High Noon, The Searchers, all deserve to be on this list, yep. I like Cat Ballou but I wouldn't include it here; instead, Ride the High Country.
Just about my thoughts exactly! How on Earth can Liberty Valance not be there? Some shenanigans going on maybe!
@@colinbrown7310 As compared to McCabe, Liberty Valance is far far superior. One of my favorite Westerns. When it's on, I'm watching it.
McCabe and Mrs Miller never did anything for me ( good or bad). I just saw the movie years ago, and it left no impression on me.
Don't ever forget "The Big Country"! The theme song alone say CLASSIC WESTERN!
Let alone the performances of several great stars
100% agree about Josey Wales, one of the greatest westerns ever made, that is criminally overlooked.
For now and for ever in my opinion Shane is the greatest western ever made
You keep adding McCabe and Mrs Miller. That’s a western like I love Lucy if a war movie
Well put
It may belong here, but you're right. It was in fact an anti-hero version of the Western genre. I've seen it only once when it was in first release as a double feature with MASH. Not as strange a combination as you might first think.
Totally disagree. McCabe does a better job of depicting the harsh conditions of the West-the snowstorms and mud and horseshit in the streets-than any other Western I can think of. Also, the entrepreneurship of constructing entirely new towns and societies out of nothing. It IS unlike most of the other Westerns on this list, but to my mind, that’s a good thing and what makes it so distinctive. The only other film that is like it is Unforgiven, and that’s great as well.
you say HE, but he did not make the list this is the AFI's 10 Best List
You definitely saved the best for last , thanks.
Although not a movie, I would say Lonesome Dove is the best Western I have ever seen. Also, in the rating of films, I say the “best” are my “favorites,” and my favorites are the ones I watch again most every year. There are some highly acclaimed movies I agree are very good, but not always ones I’d care to view again.
Hombre should have been included. Newman was great in this movie!!!
Yes he was, along with the rest of an outstanding cast. The movie is a gem for sure.
The comments seem to show the AFI isn't correct in so many cases. I agree.
Silverado and Outlaw Josey Wales are definitely on my list, so is Big Jake.
Can’t argue with any of these being in a Top 10 list. My own ‘Top 10’ would include these and about 10 others, LOL!
All brilliant movies. True Grit (1969) was also a great western imo which saw Wayne finally get (his long overdue) Best Actor Oscar.
Lol McCabe was far from brilliant and not a western
@@denroy3 McCabe and Mrs Miller was indeed a Western, a very good one at that. Some call it revisionist because the hero isn’t impeccable and doesn’t get the girl, or even survive in the end. It was beautifully shot and Robert Altman captured the zeitgeist of the times.
I wish my dad was still here as he probably saw all of these.Unforgiven was one of his favorites!
Any list that omits The Big Country, and Once Upon A Time In The West for Cat Bellou and McCabe and Mrs Miller cannot be taken seriously
AMERICAN Film Institute - and these are all American films. The AFI lists Caddyshack as one of the top 10 sports films when it is a comedy.
Once Upon A Time In The West was a Paramount Picture so it was actually an American film. But if you want to drop it, you can add Ride The High Country or The Man Who Shot Liberty valance instead
Best sports films? I like Caddyshack, and My personal favorite is Rocky IV but I know it does not qualify. So here goes; Rocky, Champion, 8 Men Out, Pride of The Yankees, Hoosiers, One On One, Rudy, City of Conquest, Raging Bull and Knute Rockne All American. For a superior comedy film to Caddyshack: Slap Shot.
Honestly, sports movies are rarely about the actual sport they play. @@davidbrown386
Stagecoach (1939) created the western genre, which had been two reeler B movie fare. The Wild Bunch (1969) reinterpreted the western. Both are masterpieces
Well, they got #1 right. The Searchers.👍
The Searchers is the G.O.A.T.
The musical theme of the film, 'Shane', is from the song, 'The Call of the Faraway Hills', composed by Victor Young.
It sound like a waltz. A very beautifull theme.
A couple of these I wouldn't put anywhere near top ten.....but I haven't agreed with anyone's top list. Red River being included was great tho'
Y does everyone forget the Sergio Leone film A Fistfull of Dynamite it comes a very close 2nd or 3rd behind Once upon a time in the west&The good the bad the ugly
Great list. Cat Ballou could easily be replaced by Once Upon a Time in the West or The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Were they left off because they weren't 'American" productions?
Yes, this is American Films Institute list.
Liberty Valence was a wonderful film by John ford
See my videos on Lee Marvin, James Stewart, Woody Strode and John Wayne westerns in my channel
The Westerner
Shane
The Searchers
Red River
Man who Shot Libert Valance
The Wild Bunch
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Stagecoach
Outlaw Josie Wales
Ride the High Country
(In no particular order)
The Searchers is the greatest Western ever
The G.O.A.T.
Who on earth would put Cat Ballou above The Good, The Bad and the Ugly? Or any Anthony Mann or John Sturges? Josey Wales is Clint's best western
We're one of a kind when it comes to Westerns my friend. ❤ from South Africa!
Shane , Magnificent 7, Josey Wales, Spaghetti Trilogy, John Ford/John Wayne Cavalry trilogy, Red River, The Searchers, They Died With Their Boots On,
I'd imagine, since the list is from the American Film Institute, it's limited to American-made westerns. But I'm in total agreement with you.
Let's be fair, virtually all the spaghetti westerns fail this list with the horrible over dupes they employed. They may have had other great values, but that alone skips them down the list of great movies enough to miss this list.
Well, unfortunately.
The Good The Bad And The Ugly wouldn't have qualified for the AFI list due to the fact it is an foreign film from Italy that was distributed in the United States three years after its first initial release in Europe.
However, you'll be happy to know that in 2005, Time Magazine released a list known as the All-Time 100 Movies, which is basically a compilation of motion pictures considered the best and was selected by the magazine's own longtime film critics Richard Schickel and Richard Corliss.
Four Westerns made the list. They were=
• The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
• Once Upon A Time In The West
• The Searchers
• Unforgiven
McCabe & Mrs. Miller is an antiwestern! Still this is a great list! I definitely couldn’t limit my best westerns to 10! TY for the video!
Thought the Magnificent Seven might have got a run. I can remember when it finally got shown on TV after decades. It was a huge deal everyone watched it. So many stars. Did you leave it out because it wasn’t an original story?
Winchester 73 gets a vote from me.
Nope, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence, Jeremiah Johnson, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Last of the Mohicans, Once upon a time in the west, Good Bad and the Ugly all must be on the list
1. Lonesome Dove.
2. Stagecoach. (1939)
3. Shane.
4. The Magnificent Seven.
5. Will Penny.
6. The Outlaw Josey Wales.
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
8. Jeremiah Johnson.
9. Tombstone.
10. High Noon.
I consider somewhere around 1965 as a dividing line for westerns, and really, cinema in general changed, going for more a realistic feel. After 1965 there were the Clint Eastwood westerns. I consider The _Outlaw Josey Wales_ to be a very good western. _Tombstone_ could be on that list. Pre-1965 I would put on the list _My Darling Clementine_ . I would have to include _The Magnificent Seven_ , too. Those two movies would replace _Cat Ballou_ and _McCabe and Mrs. Miller_ .
In no order
The Searchers
The Wild Bunch
Shane
Once Upon A Time In The West
High Noon
Stage Coach
Liberty Vallance
The Good The Bad &The Ugly
How The West Was Won
Unforgiven
I don't know who sets on the AFI, but they need a lesson on what makes a good movie.
They use their online contributions to come to their choices I think
The two masterpieces that stand apart from the rest are Stagecoach and The Wild Bunch. Stagecoach elevated the western genre from two reel B movies. Thirty years later, in The Wild Bunch, Sam Pekinpah reinvented the genre.
I love ‘The Wild Bunch’, a great movie, but the person who really reinvented the genre is Sergio Leone and his Dollar Trilogy (even if for obvious reasons it can't be in this ranking).
Five that should be here:
Open Range
Rio Bravo
The Outlaw Josey Wales
True Grit
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Where was "The Magnificent Seven?"
Not many of my personal favourites there.
I’d go for …
X) Tom Horn
9) High Noon
8) High Plains Drifter
7) Unforgiven
6) The Good the Bad & the Ugly
5) Once Upon a Time in the West
4) Two Mules for Sister Sara
3) Jeremiah Johnson
2) The Big Country
1) The Outlaw Josey Wales
As a favorite I got Glenn Ford in 'The Fastest Gun Alive'. Iconic western movie and Ford was truly recognized as Hollywoods real life gunfighter. He possessed the quick draw skill that earned him that recognition.
What about The Magnificent Seven and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?
McCabe and Mrs Miller sucks to say the least.
Limited to American-made westerns, the AFI list is still puzzling to me: Cat Ballou? McCabe and Mrs. Miller? High Noon? No.
The Outlaw Josie Wales, The Big Country, Ride the High Country, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance . . . There are so many!
Going beyond American-only westerns, I'd put Once Upon a Time in the West and The Good the Bad and the Ugly at or near the #1 position.
Once Upon a Time in the West gets my vote.
How can any ten best list not include TMWSLV?
Add The Ox-Bow Incident, My Darling Clementine, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, No Country For Old Men, The Outlaw Josey Wales
Substitute for Shane (just me - never understood its popularity), Cat Ballou, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, High Noon and Red River.
Sooooo many honorable mentions, including Hombre, The Gunfighter, Ulzana's Raid, Little Big Man, Dances With Wolves, Yellow Sky, Duel In The Sun, The Long Riders, Westward The Women, The Professionals, Hondo, The Revenant, The Furies, 3:10 To Yuma (both versions), Jeremiah Johnson, Winchester '73, Heartland, Tombstone, The Magnificent Severn (original), Dead Man, Days Of Heaven, Last Of The Mohicans, Ride The High Country, Hell's Heroes, True Grit (remake) and Miracle In The Sand (aka, The Three Godfathers - 1936) . . . to name just a few!
Very good collection n selection AFI.No Spaghetti movies are included!Some great westerns are omitted such My Darling Clementine,Oxbow Incident,Man who shot Liberty Vallance,Big Country,Yellow Sky,Vera Cruz n Megnificent Seven.
Sorry, but any list that misses Magnificent Seven is deficient. The original version, that is. The scene at Boot Hill is an absolute classic
I suspect Magnificent Seven was not highly rated was because of The Seven Samurai.
Ride the High Country (1962) is one of the best in my view. Sam Peckinpah’s direction is less mannered than in the Wild Bunch. My Darling Clementine (1946), The Gunfighter (1950), Winchester ‘73 (1950), and Lonely Are the Brave (1962) are excellent too.
"All I want is to enter my house justified", my favorite line in a picture with great dialogue.
@@KERSTEN27 Agreed. Terrific writing. The screenplay and production design are really excellent too.
What about Gunfight at the O.K. Corral?
Only two are great Westerns in my view, Shane and High Noon. My list includes Hombre, Westward the Woman, Wagon Master, Magnificent Seven, The Devil’s Doorway, Rawhide ( Tyrone Power), Ride the Highway Country, The Appaloosa-Brando) The B Westerns are excellent especially Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, George O’Brien and Tim Holt.
AFI's top ten is spot on..Thanks Famous people.. The Searchers is the G.O.A.T.
Thanks
Flame of the Barbary Coast
Open Range
The Magnificent Seven
The Quick and the Dead
Hallelujah Trail
Silverado
Red River
Rio Grande
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
Stagecoach
Red River
Shane
High Noon
The Searchers
Ride the High County
The Big Country
Once Upon a Time in the West
Outlaw Josey Wales
And wait for it
Open Range
Just my two cents.
Close
Unforgiven
Rio Lobo
The Big Trail
Tombstone
Wyatt Earp
Death of a Gun Fighter
Duel in the Sun (aka Lust in the Dust)
The Naked Spur
Blood on the Moon
Butch Cassidy is a buddy movie that just happens to take place in the west.
Observing your list and quite familiar with them all, I noticed 'Death Of A Gunfighter' you listed. That's a great Richard Widmark film. He was headliner in several great westerns, including 'Backlash', which I also thought was a very entertaining western.
@@TS-wh4ey
I was actually thinking of The Gunfighter with Gregory Peck. I get the two confused.
@@mpetersen6
Oh yeah 'The Gunfighter' with Peck and Malden is a western movie gem for sure. 👌
The searchers is a Fantastic film and is the greatest western ever
Best Western ever: 'The Oxbow Incident'.
As a lifetime lover of cinema, & the Western in particular, I'll say straight out , THE #1, best western ever made, was Sam Peckinpah's, " The Wild Bunch " . Period ! 6 Classic actors : William Holden-----Ernest Borgnine------Robert Ryan in his final role-------Edmund O'Brien-------Warren Oates & Ben Johnson. This film is a masterpiece from opening to end. The theme of loyalty among man, & the closing of the old west are classic. ----------MJL, 77 y/o
Why was John Wayne mentioned whenever his movies came up but none of the other leading actors except one were mentioned... thanks for including clips...
The ones Im a little surprised that didnt make the list were The Magnificent Seven, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Dances With Wolves, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Rio Bravo
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
2. High Noon
3. Once upon a time in the West
4. The Great Silence
5. There will be blood
6. For a few dollars more
7. Unforgiven
8. The Searchers
9. The Hateful 8
10. The Magnificent Seven
HM: Wild Bunch, Fistful of Dollars and Bone Tomahawk
Winchester 73, Magnificent 7, Dances w Wolves n Tombstone over Cat Ballou, McCabe. Searchers is #1
At least one of Jimmy Stewart’s westerns should’ve been included. Another would have been Canyon Passage.
At least they didn't have a bunch of spaghetti westerns but they forgot The Unforgiven with Burt Lancaster, Tombstone, Ride the High Country and probably a half a dozen better westerns than Cat Ballou and McCabe and Mrs. Miller. At least that got number one right.
Where's Tombstone?
AFI skipped spaghetti western movies.May be selection of Hollywood western movies only otherwise they might consider n include Once upon a time in the West n The good The bad n The ugly.Still some classic Hollywood western should have considered such My Darling Clementine,Oxbow Incident,The Big Country,Man who Shot Liberty Valance,Jasey James n Treasurer of Sierre Madre!
I would put John Wayne's "The Shootist" on my list. Wayne's last movie (about a gunman dying of cancer). Great opening sequence showing Wayne from some of his earlier Westerns and a great cast.
I agree 100 percent with the AFI list. One other list did not even have Shane or High Noon in the top 10 which instantly made it not serious. I would only add honorable mentions with Silverado, Cowboy, The Cowboys, 310 to Yuma, True Grit, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, and Blazing Saddles.
I will not argue with this list. I like every movie on it. My very personal lists has four of these movies in my top 50: 1. McCabe and Mrs Miller, 5. The Wild Bunch, 7. High Noon, 16. Shane.
The original The Magnificent Seven.
Mostly trash list. Josey Wales, High Plains Drifter, any of the Leone westerns - all genre-changing films, instead of overrated John Wayne nonsense.
Magnificent Seven oddly missing. 3:10 to Yuma, both are excellent. Open Range is becoming a favorite in the details, Never liked Unforgiven, prefer Josey Wells. Windwalker of 1980 Indigenous friendly western of sorts. Like Dance with Wolves.
I feel The Good The Bad and The Ugly is a fantastic film bit it does not deserve to be on the list because it's Italian. THe AFI stands for The American Film Institute
Rio Bravo (1959)
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
I think these should have been on AFI's 10 Best Westerns list.
Hard to argue with anyone's list. One assumes, however, that "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" and "Once upon a Time in the West" were left off by the AFI because the director was Italian and filmed elsewhere.
The Good, the bad and the ugly, The Searchers, Dances with the wolves, Once upon time in the west, The little big man, For a few dollars more, Josey Wales, Jeremiah Johnson, The last of the mohawks, Shane, Unforgiven, High noon, Magnificent seven, Man called horse, ...
I can't believe there's no Once Upon a time in the West, Sergio Leone's Masterpiece would be my No1. Ennio Morricone's Soundtrack alone puts it in the top 5. I like the way you've gone way back to the 40s and 50s but you probably need a Top 20 with Ford's Cavalry Trilogy and what about the Directors Cut of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Plus Dances with Wolves and Soldier Blue are Western's...
AFI, means only US westerns, which is understandable. Nevertheless this is a very poor list. No Josey Wales, no Ride the High Country....Including Cat Ballou and McCabe and Mrs Miller makes the list laughable.
Very good choices old boy! I agree.
I'm extremely disappointed with your no 1 choice, I think 1958s The Big Country is the best Western Motion picture of all time, just don't understand this !
To clarify these are not MY choices, they are from the American Film Institute, thanks
1- Red River 1948; 2- Cheyenne Autumn 1964; 3- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 1962; 4- 3:10 To Yuma 1957; 5- Little Big Man 1970; 6- The Gunfighter 1950; 7- Hombre 1967; 8- McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971; 9- Jubal 1956; 10- Stagecoach 1939. BTW, the still greatest American film of all-time, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, is NOT A WESTERN.
M.I.A:
1.The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
2. Dances With Wolves
3. The Ox Bow Incident
4.Tombstone
SHANE is not a movie
It's mystical experience
Recency effect.
As a huge fan of westerns This is at Best an inadequate list. I agree with 6 movies on this list regarding the 10 best Westerns ever. However, AFI needs to do a better job.
There should be at least a top 20 or top 25 best westerns list.
The list neglected 3 classics from the great Sergio Leone,
Fist full of dollars 1964, The Good, the bad, the Ugly 1967 and Once upon of the time in the west 1968.
Two fantastic Kirk Douglas movies Last train from Gunhill 1957 and Gun fight at OK Corral 1958. The best western made in the 1960s, The professionals 1965. Of course Blazing Saddles 1973 and Pat Garrett and Billy the kid 1973. John Wayne’s best performance ever in The Shootist 1976 along with Who shot Liberty Valance 1962. Silverado 1986 and Dances with Wolves 1990. Outlaw Josey Wales 1976.
The most important omission on the AFI list is ‘The Magnificent Seven’ 1960. How can you have any list about westerns and this movie not be included in it???!!!!!
Peckinpahs pat garrett and Billy the kid,leones the good the bad and the ugly and clints the outlaw josey Wales should definitely be in there ,also the professionals ,the 1966 burt lancaster western...
With a great disappointment i can understand as to why Once upon a time in the west is not considered which is obviously because its an Italian western, but only AFI can answer as to why it chose Cat balou and not Rio Bravo which to me is by far,far greater western and i rate Rio bravo along with The searchers,Shane,High noon etc,etc,the test of time proves Rio bravo gets better and better.
I agree. Rio Bravo is a fantastic movie that never gets old. When it pops up on TCM, I know what I’m doing for the rest of the afternoon. Same deal with Liberty Valence and Ft Apache
I'm shocked that My Darling Clementine & The Outlaw Josie Wales didn't make the AFI list.
I wish I liked The Searchers but don't. I think Ford is probably the greatest director of all time but I am not a fan of this flick.
I don’t know if they are any better than anything on this list but my (very) personal list would include the magnificent seven (the og of course) man who shot liberty valance and good, bad and ugly. Well, they are better than cat ballou even though it is pretty good
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in West, Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, Dances with the Wolves, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid are in my top 10.
Is Jeremiah Johnson not considered a western movie?
Agree with Snane, Stagecoach, High noon on this list. I suppose THE AFI limited it to Amercan films, I accually prefer RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY to WILD BUNCH.
OH, AND yes, Have UNFORGIVEN in my top ten.
I watched "High Noon". Was it worth watching? Yes, once, just once. It's not an American film but, "Once Upon A Time in the West"; great movie; beats all of these westerns by a wide margin; music score, cinematography, writing, plots; it has it all.