Your Favorite Westerns?

[Mennonite]

It seems like there are a lot of western fans around here. What are some of your favorite western movies? TV shows? Books? Songs? Radio programs? Video games?



Movies:

While I actually prefer what was known as the "psychological" westerns of the 1950s my top two favorite western movies are Lonesome Dove (1989) and Unforgiven (1992). Warlock (1959) is probably my favorite 50s western.


TV Shows:

Gunsmoke (fav. episode "Thirty a Month and Found" - Season 20)
The Wild, Wild West
Maverick
The Rebel (fav. episode "The Waiting" from season 2)
The Westerner (fav. episode 'Hand on the Gun")



Favorite western books:

The Searchers by Alan Le May
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Ramrod by Luke Short
The Unforgiven by Alan Le May (not related to the 1992 movie)
Death Ground by Ed Gorman


Songs:

El Paso by Marty Robbins
Big Iron by Marty Robbins or Johnny Cash
Cool Water by Hank Williams
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash
Cowboy's Lament by Burl Ives


Radio programs:

Gunsmoke

You may or may not know that the Gunsmoke tv series started out as a radio show. It starred William Conrad and ran for several years. It was excellent.


My Top 25:

02/14/1953 THE ROUNDUP
04/02/1955 BLOODY HANDS
04/30/1955 REWARD FOR MATT
10/02/1954 MATT GETS IT
09/27/1952 THE RAILROAD
07/19/1959 SECOND ARREST
09/19/1953 THERE WAS NEVER A HORSE
10/21/1956 TILL DEATH DO US PART
12/27/1952 THE CABIN
06/06/1953 SUNDOWN
11/10/1956 CROWBAIT BOB
03/20/1954 OLD FRIEND
08/08/1953 SKY
09/23/1956 BOX O' ROCKS
07/22/1956 LYNCHING MAN
02/21/1953 MESHOUGAH
02/26/1955 CRACKUP
03/06/1960 BLOOD MONEY
09/20/1954 THE F.U.
12/06/1959 BIG CHUGG WILSON
01/01/1955 THE BOTTLE MAN
07/02/1955 GENERAL PARSLEY SMITH
11/03/1957 BULL
05/06/1956 THE PHOTOGRAPHER

All those can be listened to for free at the Internet archive.


Video Games:

I'm old so I've never actually played any western games. I've heard good things about the Red Dead games though.

[Easy 6]

Good call on Long Riders, Fraz… very believable and very underrated

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by Frazod

And while it never made it to DVD or bluray, Son of the Morning Star was excellent - it was a two part miniseries about Custer, starring Gary Cole (Nordberg from Office Space).

I think I may have watched this. Did the Indians jab something into Custer's eardrums after he died at the end of the movie?

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'd say they're spiritual successors, to be sure, but there's definitely grounds to distinguish them.

I think Rio Bravo is easily the best of the 3. El Dorado is decent in its own way, but nowhere near the quality of film as Rio Bravo. It's a little more goofy, IMO. Rio Lobo is pretty much an also ran.

And while I do enjoy me some Josephine MacDonald, the latter two movies do not have Angie Dickinson. Apart from being a genuinely good actress, she's just awfully enjoyable to look at.

Feathers is probably the best female character in a John Wayne western. Maureen O'Hara in The Quiet Man is the best female character in any John Wayne movie, but she wasn't as good in the westerns (good in Big Jake, but her part was too small).

Oh, sure, there are obviously differences between the three but, the over all plot and structure are the same. And I agree that Rio Lobo is an also ran. Definitely the weakest of the three. One has to wonder how much better it might have been if Duke got his way and played the old drunken coot role.

Hmmm, I can’t really disagree with your take on Feathers as the best female character but, I can think of a couple of competitors that we could certainly have a discussion about: Vera Miles in Liberty Valance, and Lauren Bacall in The Shootist.

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I could see that.

She's a pretty shitty character, for sure. Stupid and inexplicable motivation (not surprising for female characters of the era), grating persona at times and faaaaar too important down the homestretch.

Here's my biggest gripe about Red River -

Spoiler!

what the hell happened to Cherry Valance? He's a super-important character, suddenly Matty's best friend and certified badass.

Dunson shoots him, he rolls off-screen and that's it! That's all we know.
Does he die? Matt watching his buddy get blown away seems to have exactly no impact on him at all. WTF? Feels like something got cut that could've resolved it a bit.

Spoiler!

Yeah, he does just kind of disappear but, that is some what believable to me with the obvious affection that Dunson and Garth are [hamfistedly] shown to ultimate have for one another.

I guess the whole ending would be another aspect that keeps it from perfection for me. Still, I should qualify that on a singular level, it is easily one of Duke’s best performances. It was this role that helped convince Ford he could cast him as Ethan Edwards. “I didn’t know the big son of a bitch could act.”

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Mennonite

I think I may have watched this. Did the Indians jab something into Custer's eardrums after he died at the end of the movie?

Yes, a sewing awl. The punctured his ears so he would hear them better in the next life.

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Yes, a sewing awl. The punctured his ears so he would hear them better in the next life.

I haven't seen that since it aired but that part stuck with me.

[Frazod]

Forgot Silverado. Admittedly it's corny and cliched as hell, but it has one of the greatest casts ever assembled and is awesome and fun.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Mennonite

I think I may have watched this. Did the Indians jab something into Custer's eardrums after he died at the end of the movie?

I don’t remember much about that movie, like so many movies adapted from books it was kind of a disappointment with me

But yes they did jab out his eardrums, because “he didn’t hear what they had been telling him” about wanting to be left alone

[Frazod]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

I don’t remember much about that movie, like so many movies adapted from books it was kind of a disappointment with me

But yes they did jab out his eardrums, because “he didn’t hear what they had been telling him” about wanting to be left alone

It's probably the best and most accurate portrayal of the events leading up to and the battle of Little Big Horn.

It was actually better than the book it was based on, which while informative, was a disjointed mess. He wrote about stuff in no particular order and just left it that way.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frazod

Forgot Silverado. Admittedly it's corny and cliched as hell, but it has one of the greatest casts ever assembled and is awesome and fun.

Is that the one with Costner and Danny Glover? Couple other really good actors as well, Maybe Scott Glenn?

Great cast, but pretty forgettable movie - as evidenced by the fact that I can't really remember anything about it.

[Raiderhater]

I was just getting ready to lament that I had forgotten Young Guns and that no one else had thought to mention it either. But, I thought that some times things get missed and I should recheck before saying that we all suck. Glad I did. Easy6 with the save!

[Raiderhater]

Originally Posted by Frazod

The Proposition is really cool. It is a touch on the arty side, but in a good way, as opposed to a Christopher Nolan mind**** way.

Another really good Australian western that I love is Quigley Down Under. Tom Selleck as the quintessential American hero and Alan Rickman in another wonderful role as sneering villain.

As previously mentioned, Unforgiven tops my list of favorite westerns. I also really, really, really liked the Cohen Brothers remake of True Grit, which is far superior to the original. Loved High Plains Drifter and The Shootist. Big fan of both (somewhat) recent Wyatt Earp movies, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp. Dennis Quaid was a much Doc Holliday than Val Kilmer.

Another favorite is the mostly forgotten Long Riders, about the James/Younger gang. All the brothers in the movie are played by actual brothers. The Keaches play the Jameses, the Carradines play the Youngers, the Quaids play the Millers, and the Guests play the Fords. Also features my favorite knife fight ever between David Carradine and James Remar.

And while it never made it to DVD or bluray, Son of the Morning Star was excellent - it was a two part miniseries about Custer, starring Gary Cole (Nordberg from Office Space).

Good call on Quigley! Another dvd I like to throw in the player from time to time that I forgot about.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Raiderhader

Oh, sure, there are obviously differences between the three but, the over all plot and structure are the same. And I agree that Rio Lobo is an also ran. Definitely the weakest of the three. One has to wonder how much better it might have been if Duke got his way and played the old drunken coot role.

Hmmm, I can’t really disagree with your take on Feathers as the best female character but, I can think of a couple of competitors that we could certainly have a discussion about: Vera Miles in Liberty Valance, and Lauren Bacall in The Shootist.

Vera Miles would get the lifetime achievement award for also being pretty good in The Searchers.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Frazod

It's probably the best and most accurate portrayal of the events leading up to and the battle of Little Big Horn.

It was actually better than the book it was based on, which while informative, was a disjointed mess. He wrote about stuff in no particular order and just left it that way.

Honestly haven’t watched it since it aired, but remember being pretty amped for it because I’d already read the book several times… just remember being disappointed with several things

Struck me as what it was, a made for tv series with a limited budget

You’re more than welcome to your take, glad you enjoyed the movie… but dude the book is considered possibly the definitive story, look up some ratings and reviews

It’s a wealth of insight into all sides of that story

[EPodolak]

Originally Posted by Mennonite

Years ago there was a fanedit combining a couple of different cuts of my favorite part of Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. It began with James Coburn recruiting Slim Pickens and Katy Jurado and ended with the "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" scene. Those two scenes are so good and tell such a complete story they can stand alone as its own movie, imo.

The scene she tearfully watches her husband leaves this life as he looks back at her is heartbreaking...Dylan's song playing, one of those indelible moments. Peckinpah was brilliant sometimes.