Cinema Rewind

   For the next several posts in this column I thought I might give a “Top 10″ list of the best movies in various genres or starring certain actors. This list is of course is entirely subjective and your own “Top 10″ list may be entirely different. In coming up with this first list of the Top 10 Western films of all time, I had to create my own criteria as I considered each film. For instance, Jeremiah Johnson is one of my favorite films, but since it is more about mountain men I decided to make my list narrower in scope and focus more on westerns that featured a more stereotypical cowboy setting. I also tried to pick films that have above average cinematography, excellent character analysis and high quality storylines and performances. When those criteria were met the films chosen had to meet one final do-or-die qualifier - it had to have superior entertainment value.
    So with those thoughts out of the way - here is my list of the Top 10 Westerns of all time beginning with number 10:

10. Silverado - This was Kevin Costner’s first major starring role, albeit as part of an ensemble cast. Silverado was Hollywoods attempt, in 1985, to bring the western genre back. While it failed to create enough interest to revive westerns on a large scale, it did win favor with audiences and is a delight to watch.

9. Stagecoach - The movie that put John Wayne on the map even though it was his 79th movie. This Oscar winning black and white western has an engaging story and strong characters that draw you in.

8. Outlaw Jose Wales - Directed by and starring Clint Eastwood as the title character, this film is a complex discourse on everything from racism, love and war to friendship, betrayal and redemption. With a strong supporting cast of veteran actors regularly featured in Eastwood films of the time, The Outlaw Jose Wales is a classic in the western genre.

7. Will Penny - Charlton Heston called this film his “favorite piece of work on screen” and it is easy to see why. An unusual western in that it painted a more truthful portrait of life on the range, capturing the loneliness and solitude of both the job and the hard times of winter for a cowboy.

6. The Searchers - Easily one of the Duke’s best acting performances. Often criticized for not being much of an actor, John Wayne was absolutely brilliant as a cowboy who searched relentlessly for his niece who had been kidnapped by Indians. Director John Ford beautifully captured the pain and anguish in Wayne’s character with closeups and dramatic lighting.

5. Unforgiven - Eastwood won Best Director and Best Picture Oscars for this unforgettable tale that examines the dark side of the American western genre. For me, Unforgiven can be summed up in this line uttered by Eastwood’s character Bill Munny: “It’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he’s got and all he’s ever gonna have.”

4. Angel & The Badman - Of all the westerns dealing with Quakers, Ahmish, Mormons, or similar type religious sects on the frontier, this one is by far the best. Wayne plays the feared gunfighter Quirt Evans and Gail Russell is the demure Quaker girl who nurses him back to health while falling in love with him. A good Saturday afternoon movie.

3. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - The Ennio Morricone score is probably the most recognizable western theme of all time. Eastwood along with Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach comprise the deadly threesome of the title. With Morricone’s haunting score and the masterful guidance of director Sergio Leone this spaghetti western is undeniably one of the best.

2. Open Range - Very likely one of the most beautifully filmed westerns of all time. When I first saw this in the theater I was awed by the scenery. A much more mature Kevin Costner teams up with one of America’s greatest actors, Robert Duvall for this cinematic masterpiece. Open Range, directed by Costner, honestly shows the brutallity of gun battles in the west. Guns run out of bullets, people really do bleed and the battleground isn’t always a dry hard street.

1. Once Upon A Time In The West - The epic masterpiece of director Sergio Leone and the greatest western movie of all time. Leone masterfully weaves three storylines together, each with their own musical theme that continually builds in complexity until the films climactic ending. The music in fact becomes a character itself, as does the cinematography. This film also has one of the most captivating opening sequences that is highlighted by no music - only the creak of the windmill and the blowing of the wind. Jack Elam gives the finest performance of this career even though he is only in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Easily the best western movie ever made.

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