The 40 greatest Westerns ever OFFICIAL LIST

For Steven, those movies were considered, except for Red River, and could be easily in a top 100. Bravo is good, but really pales next to El Dorado and Rio Lobo as a "guy film", partly because it didn't have the bevy of beautiful babes the other two had, and partly because it had some good cinematography, but still a bit less than the other two.

I would say many people like Red River, and many are like me, thinking that the Duke was nothing but evil in the movie, and while we still had a few good characters to be interested in, the Duke's character was just too much a self righteous bore in this one, with no redeeming qualities whatsoever; in fact, his character on spiritual terms was such a poor steward of gifts that I find it hard to believe anyone could be interested in this movie.

Others that didn't make the cut, coming close, were BEND OF THE RIVER, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, and a number of Audie Murphy Westerns. Black Rock didn't have a "Western" feel to it, and there it is like NIGHTFALL and THE HITCH HIKER, more of a drama. All of those could make a top 40 in either drama or noir.

The trouble with the spaghetti Westerns is they were too Hollywood, simply European taking Hollywood to Europe, with their hatred of inspiration and character. There just isn't any inspiration in these spaghetti Westerns, especially the Leone ones. And there is nothing to like. The characters are just homicidal maniac versions of demi-gods, simply remakes of traditional Homeric heroes meant to keep the masses in fear and in their place (don't mess with the big guy). Too Republican, and the opposite of "anti-hero" truthfully, so the claims of those who say they featured anti-heroes come across as pathetic bits of random babbling. The characters are too dull, the action too predictable, and the plots overly stupid. What three men go through to find some Gold is less than what they would go through to simply rob that much more from a bank, and it's obvious from the start.

Now, Leone could do some good work. COLOSSUS OF RHODES and ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, obviously his two best works, stand tall above the garbage he did in between, because they come across as inspired instead of simple Hollywood mechanics.


I don't really understand your logic about Red River.  You dislike the character because he was villainous?  That's the character, that's the story.  He was made bitter through defeat and loss, and what else before that we don't know.  He builds a cattle empire, and becomes an authoritarian, uncompromising hard case, and when things don't go his way and he tries to hang a couple of thieves he crosses the line of his authority and everyone around him turns against him, stranding him and moving in a different way without him, so it's not like he's a glorified villain, he gets his comeuppance in the film.  I don't see the logic in disliking a film because it has a villain in it.  

As for El Dorado, I've not seen it, and it's been years since I watched Rio Lobo, which, at the time I only liked for the photography and some great action sequences.  

As for Spaghetti westerns, I see what you're saying, but I see plenty of inspiration in Bullet for a General (technically zapato western), in the storytelling.  Agreed on ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, it is an amazing film.

Disliking a film because it has a villain in it, who is clearly not just a stereotype and logically shown to be villainous, just seems ludicrous.