🎥 25 best Western films of all time, according to critics

Jane Garfinkel, Stacker

Published: August 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM

For decades, the most popular movie genre in America was the Western. Audiences loved gun-slinging sheriffs, dashing outlaws, thundering cattle drives, horseback pursuits, and majestic landscapes. That love ran so deep that more Westerns were produced in the 1950s than all other genres combined. And while the Western has attracted substantially smaller crowds in the decades since, they still have a persistent appeal.

Early Westerns set the standard with cowboys played by the likes of Gary Cooper and John Wayne before spaghetti Westerns—products of the Italian film industry in the ‘60s and ‘70s—came along and demythologized the conventions and traditions canonized by those first iterations. More modern Westerns subvert the genre standards even more in that they tend to be more romantic and thoughtful, think “Hell or High Water” and “First Cow.”

#25. Meek's Cutoff (2010)

- Director: Kelly Reichardt
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes

This Western survival film follows a group of settlers traveling across an Oregon desert. It becomes apparent that their guide is lost. The ensemble cast includes Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson, and Neal Huff.

#24. Unforgiven (1992)

- Director: Clint Eastwood
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Clint Eastwood directed, produced, and starred in this highly lauded Western. Eastwood plays William Munny, a retired bandit who takes on one final job in hopes of putting the money toward his failing hog farm. It won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film Editing.

#23. Shane (1953)

- Director: George Stevens
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes

In his book "The Life and Times of the Western Movie," author Jay Hyams writes that "Shane" "marks the beginning of graphic violence in Westerns." There's definitely a good amount of gunfighting in the film, given that it tells the story of a wandering ex-gunslinger who joins a community of homesteaders intent on defending their land from a greedy cattle baron. But modern audiences shouldn't be too worried—compared to more recent Westerns like "The Power of the Dog," the violence is nothing to write home about.

#22. El Dorado (1966)

- Director: Howard Hawks
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes

John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan star in the story of a gunfighter and a sheriff caught up in a battle between rival ranchers over water. Hawks also directed such acclaimed films as "Scarface," "His Girl Friday," "To Have and Have Not," "The Big Sleep," and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." A racist scene of Caan impersonating a Chinese man is often edited out of television rebroadcasts.

#21. The Rider (2017)

- Director: Chloé Zhao
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes

Chloé Zhao directed this Western drama, which centers on Brady Blackburn, a young man struggling to find his purpose after a brain injury halts his rodeo career. "The Rider" won the Art Cinema Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

#20. Bisbee '17 (2018)

- Director: Robert Greene
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes

Robert Greene's documentary centers on a town bordering Arizona and Mexico. The community grapples with its past by holding a reenactment of a day that occurred 100 years earlier when 1,200 immigrant miners were deported.

#19. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

- Director: John Ford
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 1 hour, 44 minutes

"She Wore a Yellow Ribbon," the second installment in John Ford and John Wayne's "The Cavalry Trilogy," follows a mounted army captain (Wayne) who, on the eve of his retirement, attempts to stop a war with the Native Americans before it begins. Beautifully shot, the film won the Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography at the 1950 ceremony.

#18. Hell or High Water (2016)

- Director: David Mackenzie
- Metascore: 88
- Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Chris Pine and Ben Foster play two brothers who carry out a series of bank robberies to avoid losing their family ranch in "Hell or High Water." Dubbed "so good, it's criminal" by The Guardian's Adam Fleet, the movie isn't your typical cops and robbers story, electing to focus more on the morally grey areas in many of these tales.

#17. Sweet Country (2017)

- Director: Warwick Thornton
- Metascore: 88
- Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes

Set in the Australian outback, "Sweet Country" explores what happens when an Aboriginal farmer kills a white man in self-defense and is forced to flee for his life. Warwick Thornton directs this Western starring Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, and Hamilton Morris.

#16. High Noon (1952)

- Director: Fred Zinnemann
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Will Kane (Gary Cooper) faces a dilemma when outlaws threaten to kill him. His wife (Grace Kelly) wants him to leave town rather than defend himself. Several U.S. presidents have listed "High Noon" as one of their favorite films.

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#15. The Power of the Dog (2021)

- Director: Jane Campion
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes

Equal parts Western and psychological drama, "The Power of the Dog" follows a coarse, cruel cowboy who meets his match in the son of his brother's new wife. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, the movie was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, including one for Jane Campion as Best Director (which she won, becoming only the third woman to ever take home that particular honor).

#14. Western (2015)

- Directors: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes

This documentary by the Ross brothers focuses on the small border towns of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Piedras Negras, Mexico. It explores the lives of the residents in these communities with intimate storytelling capturing their daily experiences in the context of increasing drug-related violence and tensions along the border. The film is the third installment of the filmmakers' Americana trilogy.

#13. Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

- Director: Martin Scorsese
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 3 hours, 26 minutes

Based on the 2017 book of the same name by David Grann, "Killers of the Flower Moon" tells the true story of the Osage Nation murders after oil was discovered on their reservation. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, and Jesse Plemons, the film—which New York Times Chief Film Critic Manohla Dargis called an "unsettling masterpiece"—was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in 2024.

#12. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

- Director: Sergio Leone
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 2 hours, 58 minutes

The epic spaghetti Western stars Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach as rough characters seeking Confederate gold. Italian director Sergio Leone did not speak English, and he had to use an interpreter to communicate with his English-speaking actors. The film is part of a trilogy that includes "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More."

#11. First Cow (2019)

- Director: Kelly Reichardt
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes

In "First Cow," two outsiders on the western frontier form a friendship—and gamble on their future—when they begin an illicit business. Set in 1820s Oregon, the movie's deceptively simple premise has much to say about relationships and the tensions capitalism places on them.

#10. Ride the High Country (1962)

- Director: Sam Peckinpah
- Metascore: 92
- Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes

A classic tale of double-crossing, "Ride the High Country" tells the story of two friends tasked with transporting a load of gold from a mining community to the bank. While studio executives didn't have much faith in the project—MGM's chief executive reportedly fell asleep during a screening—critics loved it as did audiences in Europe.

#9. Stagecoach (1939)

- Director: John Ford
- Metascore: 93
- Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes

The story of passengers on a besieged stagecoach is John Wayne's first starring role in a John Ford film. Wayne had worked as an extra, a stuntman, and an actor in other low-budget productions. He wore his own cowboy hat, which he would continue to wear in six Westerns, that sold at auction in 2014.

#8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

- Director: Robert Altman
- Metascore: 93
- Runtime: 2 hours

Warren Beatty and Julie Christie play a gambler and a sex worker who are business partners in a remote Western town that comes under threat for its mining riches. Roger Ebert said the movie was a perfect film and "one of the saddest" he has ever seen.

#7. Rio Bravo (1959)

- Director: Howard Hawks
- Metascore: 93
- Runtime: 2 hours, 21 minutes

A sheriff played by John Wayne teams up with the town drunk (Dean Martin), an elderly deputy named Stumpy (Walter Brennan), and a young cowboy (Ricky Nelson) to help keep the murderous brother of a wealthy rancher in jail. Director Howard Hawks gave his daughter Barbara Hawks writing credit on the film (listed under the pseudonym B.H. McCampbell) for giving him the idea to throw dynamite.

#6. The Gunfighter (1950)

- Director: Henry King
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes

Gregory Peck plays Jimmy Ringo, a gunfighter who runs into his estranged wife. Even though trouble seems to follow him everywhere, he hopes to convince her he has reformed and win her back. The film focuses on themes of guilt and regret, setting it apart from the more action-oriented Westerns of the time.

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#5. The Searchers (1956)

- Director: John Ford
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes

John Wayne plays a Confederate Army veteran tracking down Comanche Indians who massacred his family, burned their ranch, and kidnapped his young niece. The film is based on the novel by Alan LeMay and inspired by the true-life story of Cynthia Ann Parker, who was kidnapped by Comanches in 1836.

#4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

- Director: John Ford
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 2 hours, 3 minutes

When U.S. Sen. Ranse Stoddard returns to the West to attend a funeral, he is forced to rehash his past, including the truth regarding the killing of an infamous outlaw. This black-and-white film was directed by John Ford and stars James Stewart, John Wayne, and Vera Miles. For the movie, Ford returned to filming on soundstages and in monochrome lending to the melancholic undertones of the film.

#3. Red River (1948)

- Directors: Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson
- Metascore: 96
- Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes

A dramatized retelling of the Chisholm Trail cattle drives, "Red River" examines the feud between the tyrannical ranch owner and his adopted son. Starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift (in his breakout role), the movie was a massive commercial hit, earning over $4 million in its first run.

#2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

- Director: John Huston
- Metascore: 98
- Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes

Penniless Americans Fred Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) and Bob Curtin (Tim Holt) go on a gold-prospecting trip, joined by an older prospector named Howard. Director John Huston won the Academy Award for Best Director, and his father, Walter Huston (who played Howard), won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Bogart was not nominated for playing Dobbs, which was considered a snub.

#1. The Wild Bunch (1969)

- Director: Sam Peckinpah
- Metascore: 98
- Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes

William Holden and Ernest Borgnine play gang members heading to Mexico to execute one final heist as the traditional American West dies around them in the early 20th century. The movie used more than 90,000 rounds of blank ammunition, and Warner Bros. said in publicity material for the film that it was more ammunition than had been used in the Mexican Revolution.

Additional writing by Madison Troyer. Story editing by Cynthia Rebolledo. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick.

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