Cowboys, Indians, boundless prairies and narrowed eyes to disturbing music. All this, and not only, is in the best westerns, which in childhood made our hearts beat faster and served as a source for creating fun games.
If you want to refresh the memories of your favorite movie or are not yet familiar with the masterpieces of the chorus opera, we present you the top 10 best Westerns of all time according to Kinopoisk.
10. Rio Bravo (1958)
Genre: thriller, western
Movie Search Rating: 7.5
IMDb Rating: 8
Country: USA
Producer: Howard Hawks
Music: Dmitry Tyomkin
This movie is worth your time if you are nostalgic for epic shootings and men on horseback.
Sheriff John Chance from the small town of Rio confronts a whole army of bad guys, and on his side is only a drunkard, a young shooter and a crippled old man. And, of course, the truth.
The film “Rio Bravo” is an ideal introduction to the Western genre, thanks to its interesting (albeit fairly standard for our days) story, recognizable cast and experienced director.
9. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Genre: adventure, western
Movie Search Rating: 7.7
IMDb Rating: 7.7
Country: USA
Producer: John Sturges
Music: Elmer Bernstein
One of the most famous and popular westerns is based on Akira Kurosawa’s classic film “Seven Samurai”.
The picture became a hit thanks to unforgettable music and such famous stars as Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen in the role of mercenaries, who were entrusted with saving the peasants from the local gang. However, John Sturges did not include in his movie the scene of the peasants killing a captive bandit, as was the case in The Seven Samurai.
It is interesting that the filmmakers did not think long about the line-up, which ultimately predetermined the popularity of The Magnificent Seven. They were in a hurry to complete the casting before the next acting strike.
In 2016, a remake of The Magnificent Seven was released, with the participation of actors of different races and nationalities. However, he did not achieve the success of the original, gaining 6.6 points on Kinopoisk and 6.9 points on IMDb.
8. Unforgiven (1992)
Genre: drama, western
Movie Search Rating: 7.8
IMDb Rating: 8.2
Country: USA
Producer: Clint Eastwood
Music: Lenny Niehaus
“We say“ Clint Eastwood, ”meaning Western. We say “western,” meaning Clint Eastwood. ” Thanks to this man and his “Unforgiven”, the Western genre in the late 90s of the last century received a new breath. Eastwood acted as the director and protagonist of the film, having received two Oscars for him - for directing and for the best film of the year.
In Unforgiven, Eastwood played a former villain, and now a respectable loser farmer who agrees to a dubious business for the sake of his hungry children. The greatest strength of the picture is the lack of Hollywood splendor, which makes the story darker, but also more human than any Hollywood predecessor.
7. Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid (1969)
Genre: crime, western
Movie Search Rating: 7.9
IMDb Rating: 8
Country: USA
Producer: George Roy Hill
Music: Bert Bakarak
One of the best Western films with four Oscars is known for showing the incredible chemistry between Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who played two bank robbers on the run.
Add to this the brilliant dialogue from the screenwriter William Goldman and the famous soundtrack of Bert Baharach, and we get one of the best Hollywood westerns of the late sixties
6. A man from the Boulevard of Capuchins (1987)
Genre: comedy, western
Movie Search Rating: 8
IMDb Rating: 7.8
Country: THE USSR
Producer: Alla Surikova
Music: Gennady Gladkov
A lot of westerns were shot in the USSR. Some of the most famous are Chingachgook the Big Serpent, Trail of the Falcon, and St. John's Wort.
But the audience received the highest rating from a light and cheerful western, in which the main characters were performed by such popularly beloved actors as Andrei Mironov, Oleg Tabakov, Mikhail Boyarsky, Nikolai Karachentsov, Alexandra Yakovleva and others.
Alla Surikova and the crew very carefully approached the atmosphere of real Westerns. A harness for horses was lent to a Czech film studio, hats were sewn specifically for the film, and even got stools from a very light Ecuadorian tree that could be effectively beaten on the head. As a result, one of the prizes awarded to “Man from the Capuchin Boulevard” was with the wording “For a reliable image of the Wild West in the wild conditions of Soviet film production”.
The story of the introduction of violent cowboys and severe Indians of the Wild West to the mystery of cinema was the last role of Andrei Mironov, who managed to see the picture in an unofficial show, but did not live to see the premiere.
5. Once upon a time in the Wild West (1968)
Genre: drama, western
Movie Search Rating: 8
IMDb Rating: 8.5
Country: USA, Italy
Producer: Sergio Leone
Music: Ennio Morricone
Sergio Leone has created many famous Westerns, and one of the gems in his collection is Once Upon a Time in the Wild West.
This masterpiece has everything that we like in Westerns: an insidious villain, heroes with a difficult fate, a damsel in distress and numerous shootings.
If you like westerns, there is no other film that would plunge you deeper into this wonderful genre.
4. Treasures of the Sierra Madre (1947)
Genre: adventure, western
Movie Search Rating: 8
IMDb Rating: 8.2
Country: USA
Producer: John Houston
Music: Max Steiner
Humphrey Bogart, the star of the best films in the noir genre, played the leading role in this western, included in the National Register of the Most Important Films in US History.
The film “Treasures of the Sierra Madre” is based on the novel of the same name in 1935, written by B. Traven. Its main characters are a trinity of poor people (Humphrey Bogart, Tim Holt and Walter Houston) who set off in search of gold.
The film explores the insidious influence of greed on a person, making several unexpectedly dark turns for the audience of that time. Undermining the traditional “good versus evil” confrontation, which at that time was one of the main elements of the Western genre, The Sierra Madre Treasure became one of John Houston’s best directorial works.
3. Dancing with the Wolves (1990)
Genre: military, western
Movie Search Rating: 8.1
IMDb Rating: 8
Country: USA, UK
Producer: Kevin Costner
Music: John Barry
This is not only one of the most popular westerns, but also a film, after which Kevin Costner was accepted into the Lakota tribe. And all because this movie could do the almost impossible - to get rid of all the cliches about the Indians and truly show the world of the indigenous inhabitants of America.
But if you are waiting for gambling chases, shootings and action throughout the film, then Dancing with the Wolves will disappoint you. This is a leisurely, sometimes even prolonged narration about a man who found himself in difficult conditions, and managed to penetrate respect for nature and those who are close to it. And stunning landscapes, excellent costumes, a detailed recreational life of the Indians and harmonious musical accompaniment will not let you get bored when watching.
2. Django Unchained (2012)
Genre: drama, western
Movie Search Rating: 8.1
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Country: USA
Producer: Quentin Tarantino
Music: Ennio Morricone et al
It may seem shocking that the film, released in 2012, took such a high place in the list of the best Westerns ever created. However, thanks to its non-standard plot, excellent acting and interesting dialogues, Django Unchained justifies its place in this rating.
1. The Good, the Bad, the Angry (1966)
Genre: drama, western
Movie Search Rating: 8.5
IMDb Rating: 8.8
Country: Italy, Spain, Germany (Germany)
Producer: Sergio Leone
Music: Ennio Morricone
If there was only one western that accurately represented the whole genre, it would undoubtedly be the classic Sergio Leone “Good, Bad, Evil”.
This spaghetti western became the final chord in the so-called “Dollar Trilogy”. Each new part was replenished with a new main character. That is, in the first part of “For a Fistful of Dollars” the hero Clint Eastwood was alone, in the second (“A Few Dollars More”) Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef) joined him, and in “Good, Bad, Evil” there are already three main a hero.
The silent wanderer played by Clint Eastwood reluctantly joins forces with two other adventurers (played by Eli Wallack and Lee Van Cleef). The Trinity sets off in search of buried gold, in the midst of the US Civil War. The film, which has become a legend in the Western genre, is also known for its unique musical theme, created by Ennio Morricone.
