Letterboxd Top Westerns, a list by keith

8.8

/881268/

85

/13572/

84

/9335/

4.5

/660478/

97

/76/

97

/11687/

90

/7/

3.0

age 15+

While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

83

8.5

/380779/

82

/5931/

82

/4723/

4.4

/252296/

96

/67/

94

/4737/

82

/9/

2.5

age 14+

As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.

89

8.2

/140239/

79

/2005/

79

/1294/

4.3

/82178/

100

/54/

93

/1450/

98

/10/

4.0

age 13+

Two jobless Americans convince a prospector to travel to the mountains of Mexico with them in search of gold. But the hostile wilderness, local bandits, and greed all get in the way of their journey.

88

8.1

/87702/

78

/1614/

78

/1240/

4.3

/83458/

95

/56/

92

/1200/

94

/10/

4.0

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.

87

8.2

/1168553/

79

/25828/

79

/12900/

4.3

/1921536/

93

/291/

86

/60250/

92

/39/

4.0

age 17+

Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.

85

8.5

/1854353/

84

/52964/

81

/27409/

4.3

/2853703/

87

/295/

92

/16024/

81

/42/

age 18+

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

82

8.2

/296631/

80

/5871/

80

/4281/

4.2

/232136/

92

/38/

94

/2663/

74

/8/

3.0

age 12+

Two bounty hunters both pursue the brutal and sadistic bandit, El Indio, who has a large bounty on his head.

87

8.0

/72734/

78

/1599/

78

/1220/

4.2

/68930/

96

/50/

90

/1203/

93

/18/

4.0

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

78

8.0

/237771/

77

/3679/

76

/2378/

4.2

/170067/

89

/63/

92

/3895/

66

/13/

2.5

age 13+

As the west rapidly becomes civilized, a pair of outlaws in 1890s Wyoming find themselves pursued by a posse and decide to flee to South America in hopes of evading the law.

83

67

8.0

/5781/

76

/97/

75

/102/

4.2

/5026/

100

/9/

86

/17/

A Swedish immigrant family struggles to adapt to their new life on the American frontier during the second half of the 19th century amidst civil war, native uprising and the lure of gold in California.

85

8.0

/8163/

77

/141/

74

/121/

4.2

/7336/

94

/17/

87

/40/

4.0

Karl and Kristina Nilsson work on a farm in a cold and desolate area of 19th century rural Sweden. Growing privations, combined with increasing social and religious persecution, motivate the Nilssons and many of their neighbors to strike out for the United States. Following a treacherous ocean crossing and an equally grueling land passage, the emigrants find themselves in seemingly idyllic Minnesota.

87

8.2

/464259/

80

/8860/

79

/4779/

4.2

/285639/

96

/108/

93

/6478/

85

/34/

4.0

age 18+

William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.

83

82

8.0

/26884/

76

/483/

77

/417/

4.1

/21376/

92

/24/

91

/298/

A posse discovers a trio of men they suspect of murder and cow theft and are split between handing them over to the law or lynching them on the spot.

83

7.6

/21308/

75

/501/

74

/456/

4.1

/43580/

94

/52/

85

/259/

83

/4/

4.0

On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.

82

7.7

/20019/

74

/481/

75

/442/

4.1

/36613/

100

/13/

89

/282/

A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a group of ruthless bounty hunters.

84

7.7

/28045/

74

/551/

74

/465/

4.1

/38649/

100

/34/

85

/362/

4.0

age 10+

Three brothers stop off for a night in the town of Tombstone. The next morning they find one of their brothers dead and their cattle stolen. They decide to take revenge on the culprits.

86

7.9

/94617/

75

/1714/

75

/1285/

4.1

/71973/

91

/67/

90

/1765/

98

/20/

4.0

age 16+

An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.

83

7.6

/30023/

73

/578/

71

/432/

4.1

/56707/

85

/62/

86

/564/

93

/17/

4.0

A gambler and a prostitute become thriving business partners in a remote Old West mining town until a large corporation arrives on the scene.

76

41

7.6

/871/

73

/21/

75

/29/

4.0

/4807/

A group of armed soldiers is sent to the Northeast of Brazil in an attempt to stop a famine-struck population from invading and stealing a food deposit in the dry backlands. While the alienation and insanity of people driven to hallucination by their latent hunger is conducted by the predictions of a religious figure, a truck driver observes the situation and remains torn between his friendship with the soldiers and his revolt against the lack of government action in fighting the misery that lingers over the region.

86

7.7

/37402/

76

/670/

73

/568/

4.0

/33887/

100

/32/

87

/474/

96

/15/

4.0

Following the Civil War, headstrong rancher Thomas Dunson decides to lead a perilous cattle drive from Texas to Missouri. During the exhausting journey, his persistence becomes tyrannical in the eyes of Matthew Garth, his adopted son and protégé.

84

8.0

/11491/

72

/204/

73

/194/

4.0

/11798/

96

/27/

90

/150/

4.0

A lottery win of $5,000 forever changes the lives of a miner turned dentist and his wife.

80

7.9

/23825/

78

/506/

76

/395/

4.0

/14465/

100

/12/

91

/290/

61

/12/

Retired wealthy sea captain Jim McKay arrives in the Old West, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between his future father-in-law, Major Terrill, and the rough and lawless Hannasseys over a valuable patch of land.

82

7.4

/21747/

72

/937/

72

/527/

4.0

/44083/

97

/189/

82

/182/

85

/43/

4.0

Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of the United States.

82

73

8.0

/7728/

74

/104/

73

/127/

4.0

/9306/

100

/9/

88

/845/

When Letty Mason relocates to West Texas, she finds herself unsettled by the ever-present wind and sand. Arriving at her new home at the ranch of her cousin, Beverly, she receives a surprisingly cold welcome from his wife, Cora. Soon tensions in the family and unwanted attention from a trio of suitors leave Letty increasingly disturbed.

83

80

7.7

/14099/

74

/270/

73

/197/

4.0

/13358/

94

/16/

89

/118/

94

/8/

age 10+

The fastest gun in the West tries to escape his reputation.

77

76

7.8

/25612/

74

/381/

72

/337/

4.0

/21089/

86

/35/

89

/461/

62

/8/

age 12+

Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."

86

7.8

/58038/

75

/1229/

76

/1194/

4.0

/87974/

100

/48/

86

/803/

93

/15/

4.0

age 11+

A group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo, and learn something about each other in the process.

83

7.9

/115507/

75

/1983/

76

/1531/

4.0

/84298/

94

/90/

89

/1533/

89

/7/

age 11+

Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.

81

7.9

/250541/

78

/6518/

78

/4555/

4.0

/318789/

98

/56/

91

/3308/

65

/7/

age 11+

The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit.

79

78

7.7

/13555/

75

/379/

78

/739/

4.0

/34217/

86

/68/

After being deported back to Mexico, a man has no choice but to join the vicious drug cartel that has corrupted his hometown in order to survive.

75

7.5

/202386/

71

/4652/

71

/2678/

4.0

/181647/

76

/174/

75

/13936/

68

/32/

3.5

age 16+

Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.

72

7.8

/713538/

77

/31971/

77

/14904/

4.0

/1153379/

74

/332/

77

/4685/

68

/51/

2.0

age 18+

Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and deception.

67

7.2

/22942/

73

/443/

72

/444/

3.9

/26976/

60

/65/

82

/463/

53

/7/

2.0

Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.

69

7.5

/108147/

72

/2072/

73

/1672/

3.9

/113369/

69

/51/

88

/3162/

62

/20/

1.5

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

80

7.6

/44742/

74

/758/

76

/729/

3.9

/34378/

86

/50/

87

/1064/

84

/15/

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

82

8.0

/306941/

78

/7065/

78

/4543/

3.9

/148249/

87

/132/

87

/7016/

72

/20/

4.0

age 15+

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

79

7.5

/40785/

74

/797/

77

/1145/

3.9

/36702/

92

/26/

83

/726/

77

/5/

At the beginning of the 1913 Mexican Revolution, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners -- who are freed by the blast -- Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will.

81

7.6

/23947/

74

/541/

73

/383/

3.9

/20868/

100

/33/

86

/244/

83

/15/

Lin McAdam rides into town on the trail of Dutch Henry Brown, only to find himself in a shooting competition against him. McAdam wins the prize, a one-in-a-thousand Winchester rifle, but Dutch steals it and leaves town. McAdam follows, intent on settling his old quarrel, while the rifle keeps changing hands and touching a number of lives.

78

7.6

/23523/

72

/540/

72

/397/

3.9

/22432/

94

/31/

79

/516/

80

/12/

Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.

82

7.3

/33753/

77

/2133/

76

/1104/

3.9

/163796/

93

/170/

84

/114/

82

/27/

4.0

Bacurau, a small town in the Brazilian sertão, mourns the loss of its matriarch, Carmelita, who lived to be 94. Days later, its inhabitants notice that their community has vanished from most maps.

80

7.1

/24006/

70

/1201/

71

/509/

3.9

/99246/

96

/224/

65

/161/

90

/44/

4.0

age 13+

In the 1820s, a taciturn loner and skilled cook travels west to Oregon Territory, where he meets a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two team up on a dangerous scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner’s prized Jersey cow – the first, and only, in the territory.

76

60

7.4

/2750/

75

/41/

69

/47/

3.9

/3616/

88

/472/

An orphaned man recalls his upbringing with his aunt and her husband, the parson, in a small Western town during the Reconstruction.

75

67

7.1

/6121/

70

/133/

66

/149/

3.9

/8324/

100

/8/

67

/43/

Two young horse traders guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter rugged terrain, the cutthroat Clegg gang, hospitable Navajo, and moral challenges on the journey.

76

70

7.4

/7792/

72

/199/

72

/176/

3.9

/9567/

85

/758/

Unofficial lawman John Corbett hunts down Cuchillo Sanchez, a Mexican peasant accused of raping and killing a 12-year-old girl.

79

74

7.6

/10796/

73

/209/

74

/164/

3.9

/6568/

93

/14/

85

/108/

A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary.

81

7.7

/26163/

75

/582/

72

/398/

3.9

/27821/

97

/34/

87

/337/

age 10+

One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.

84

7.8

/102672/

75

/2049/

76

/1530/

3.9

/125881/

87

/102/

88

/2475/

94

/15/

4.0

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

81

7.3

/28114/

71

/1066/

73

/618/

3.9

/43709/

97

/150/

82

/136/

80

/34/