BS: Your favourite western film

Subject: BS: Your favourite western film
From: alanabit
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:04 AM

I have just been listening to Seamus Kennedy's "Sidekicks and Sagebrush" and I particularly like "Big Iron", which is an account of a classic western gunfight. From the recent "Saturday Morning Matinee" thread (among others) I know that I am not the only fan of westerns here. What is your favourite western - and why?

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: kendall
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:21 AM

A tossup between High Noon and Lonesome Dove.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Ed T
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:32 AM

One Eyed Jacks
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055257/

The Mercenary
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062863/

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050468/

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: bankley
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:37 AM

'Unforgiven'
'Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid'
'The Last Rites of Ransom Pride' a new one

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: GUEST, hi lo
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:08 AM

once Upon A Time In The West

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Stu
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:35 AM

I know it's not a film, but Deadwood was brilliant.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Midchuck
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:45 AM

The Outlaw Josey Wales

As to second place, I'd go with Kendall's suggestions - a tossup.

Also agree with Sugarfoot Jack, 'tho I think they kind of ran out of ideas in the third season.

Peter

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Ed T
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:53 AM

Oops, wrong link meant The Mercenary - (1968) by Sergio Corbucci, not the Mercernaries...which was also a good movie.

Also, the Good the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: GUEST,number 6
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:54 AM

the Searchers.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:56 AM

It's hard to pick an absolute favorite, but if I did....

"The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" would be the one.

Some others that I'd rate very high:

Hang 'Em High
Red River
The Big Country
The Magnificent Seven
Son of the Morning Star (was a 2 part TV movie)
For a Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
Unforgiven
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Dances With Wolves (Slightly different category? But I love it.)
Geronimo
The Alamo (the recent one)
Lonesome Dove

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Beer
Date: 09 May 10 - 11:16 AM

Cat Ballou (sp.)
Beer (adrien)

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 09 May 10 - 11:47 AM

Still love it when the Magnificent Seven occasionally looms into view. Butch cassidy and the Sundance kid was prety good as well.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 May 10 - 11:50 AM

Oh yeah! I'd forgotten about that one.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: greg stephens
Date: 09 May 10 - 12:55 PM

The Magnificent Seven has stood the test of time pretty well. Also Stagecoach.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: mousethief
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:16 PM

Serenity. Or does that count? :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:20 PM

Cat Ballou (for Lee Marvin's acting)
McClintock
All of John Wayne's "Rooster Cogburn" flicks
I understand "The Shootist" is excellent.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: GUEST,Doc John
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:24 PM

Unforgiven
Once Upon A Time In The West
High Noon
The Good, The Bad & the Ugly
Lonesome Dove
The Great Silence
The best portral of Doc Holliday imho is by Dennis Quaid in 'Wyat Earp'
Is there such a thing as an 'Eastern'? Then it must be The Proposition

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: open mike
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:26 PM

The U.S.Post Office has issued a commemorative stamp of singing cowboys of the silver screen....it came out last month (April 2010) and there are still stamps available....you might ask your local P.O. or delivery person or you can get them online for a $1 charge. See:
http://www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/pr09_118.htm#cowboys

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: alanabit
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:28 PM

There are loads of my favourites here. I am surprised that "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" has not been mentioned. That is one of the most complex and subtle westerns - but still very distinctively a western - that I have ever seen. I don't know "Lonesome Dove" Kendall. Can you tell me a bit about it?

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: open mike
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:34 PM

many of us re-live those cowboy days
and keep the cowboy tradition alive
thru music and poetry of today's
cowboys....at festivals.

some of the best ones i know of are:

www.montereycowboy.org/ (in Calif. in Dec.)
http://www.westernfolklife.org/ (in Elko, Nev. in Jan.)

there is a list of these events & festivals here www.cowboypoetry.com

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 May 10 - 01:37 PM

There are so many-

Stagecoach
The spaghetti and other westerns, which influenced the Japanese samurai films.

And not strictly a western but similar themes- Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Little Hawk
Date: 09 May 10 - 02:00 PM

Lonesome Dove was orginally a superb western adventure/tragedy novel written by Larry McMurtry. Like some of his other books, it was eventually made into a film. It was released as a lengthy TV movie in 2 or more parts, and was quite faithful to the book.

The book is great, although it ultimately becomes quite depressing, like most of McMurtry's tales seem to. His protagonists always come to a miserable end of some kind after you've invested several hundred pages in getting to know them very well.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Wesley S
Date: 09 May 10 - 02:20 PM

Yes - "Lonesome Dove" is a favorite of mine too. It shouldn't be missed. Possibly the best western ever filmed.Luckly it's been rereleased in a widescreen version about a year ago.

I also loved The Magnificent Seven { aka The Seven Samuri } and Gunfight at OK Corral.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: GUEST,Doc John
Date: 09 May 10 - 02:34 PM

There are two prequels to Lonesome Dove: Deadman's Walk and Comache Moon. And two sequels: Return to Lonesome Dove - although as that was not written by Larry McMurtry some say it doesn't count - and Streets of Laredo. Different actors play Gus and Woodrow in this series. Also they were not written in sequential order.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: bobad
Date: 09 May 10 - 02:49 PM

Dead Man, El Topo

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: frogprince
Date: 09 May 10 - 02:49 PM

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Lonesome Dove

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 May 10 - 03:13 PM

One not yet made
Billy the Kid and Governor Lew Wallace. A great story, neither man so far presented accurately.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 May 10 - 03:15 PM

Carry on Cowboy ?

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 May 10 - 03:19 PM

Sorry, McGrath, not the western brand of humor.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: GUEST,David E.
Date: 09 May 10 - 04:15 PM

Lonesome Dove
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Rio Lobo

(And a special thank you to everyone for not saying Little Big Man.)

David E.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Midchuck
Date: 09 May 10 - 04:18 PM

Serenity. Or does that count? :-)

Of course it (along with the preceding tv series, Firefly) counts!

When did a few spaceships and zap guns keep a good western from being a western?

Reminds me of my intro when we sing "Brisbane Ladies:"

"Here's a cowboy song. All the best cowboy songs come from the soutwest, and this is a good one, because it comes from about as far southwest as you can get..."

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: HuwG
Date: 09 May 10 - 04:22 PM

The Long Riders; has to have the best soundtrack.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: jacqui.c
Date: 09 May 10 - 04:39 PM

High Noon

Lonesome Dove

How The West Was Won

Magnificent Seven

The Alamo - latest version, although the original had good theme music

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Alice
Date: 09 May 10 - 06:11 PM

I don't really care for western movies,
but I do enjoy

Blazing Saddles
and
Ruggles of Red Gap.




Alice in Montana

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: GUEST,999
Date: 09 May 10 - 06:20 PM

Hombre

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 09 May 10 - 06:24 PM

Texas Across the River

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Fergie
Date: 09 May 10 - 07:06 PM

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. For me it had everything BLONDDIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEE......................

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Don Firth
Date: 09 May 10 - 07:31 PM

The Big Country.

It has everything. Every cliché that was ever in any Western movie is in this movie. Two ranchers in an on-and-off dispute over water rights. A fist fight between the misfit newcomer, a former sea captain (Gregory Peck) and the ranch foreman (Charleton Heston) over the rich rancher's lovely, spoiled daughter (Carol Bakker). A pretty schoolmarm (Jean Simmons), who just happens to own a piece of land that both the rich rancher and the poor rancher (Burl Ives) want. The disputed water source runs through her property. A face to face shoot-out between Peck and Ives's lecherous, ne'er-do-well son (Chuck Connors), but not like any "fast-draw" shoot-out that you've ever seen in any Western. The range war between the two ranchers soon turns into a real shooting war—and it, too, ends in an unpredictable way.

Stock Western characters. But each one is a bit skewed, and play beautifully by very good actors. And it was this role (not "Big Daddy" in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," as everyone seems to think) that earned the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Burl Ives. He was absolutely brilliant in this role.

Gotta see it!!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 May 10 - 08:57 PM

You got it, Alice. Blazing Saddles. I was just going to add that one.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Beer
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:04 PM

Especially the camp fire scene. Great movie Alice/Rapaire
Ad.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Ed T
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:18 PM

Well, if it's comedy movies, how about the life and times of Judge Roy Bean?
Whorehouse Lucky Jim: You call that justice?
Judge Roy Bean: Justice is the handmaiden of law.
Nick the Grub: You said law was the handmaiden of justice.
Judge Roy Bean: Works both ways.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: ichMael
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:20 PM

The Westerner, Wm. Wyler. With Gary Cooper and Walter Brennan.

The Wild Bunch, Sam Peckinpah.

The Ox-Bow Incident, Wm. Wellman. Henry Fonda was hard to top in westerns.

Rio Grande, John Ford. Sons of the Pioneers do a lot of singing in that one.

A Bruce Willis movie called Last Man Standing is kind of a western. Takeoff on A Fistful of Dollars, which was a takeoff on Yojimbo.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Beer
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:35 PM

Maybe it was taken off the song by Bruce Murdoch "Last Man Standing".
Just kiddin of course.
Ad.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: katlaughing
Date: 09 May 10 - 09:55 PM

I was wondering when someone would mention The Oxbow Incident. It is way up there on my list.

Also, though not as high, no one has said Shane, yet, have they?

Legends of the Fall and Dances With Wolves....I know, I know, maybe not strictly Westerns, but still damn good, imo, esp. Legends AND the music!

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Riginslinger
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:03 PM

I thought I'd nominated "SHANE" a while back, but I don't see it now.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 May 10 - 10:56 PM

The Cheyenne Social Club.

Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, and funny as heck.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Beer
Date: 09 May 10 - 11:19 PM

Now there is one I completely forgot about. Great great movie thanks Rap.
By the way if anyone wants to view any of these great flicks or any other you have been thinking about, here is a site that you can have an enjoyable evening with. Type in the title in the search bar then figure it out from then on. I have been watching some great past memories and new ones as well.
Ad.

http://www.movies-links.tv/

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 May 10 - 11:28 PM

Electric Horseman

Cat Ballou

Heartland

and one that I haven't seen in years, but always loved, was

Westward the Women

And, along with Cat Ballou, on a politically incorrect note, there is always the rather funny Hallelujah Trail.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: Beer
Date: 09 May 10 - 11:37 PM

Was there ever a movie made about "Sacajawea"?
ad.

Subject: RE: BS: Your favourite western film
From: mrdux
Date: 10 May 10 - 02:33 AM

John Ford's cavalry trilogy -- Fort Apache, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon and Rio Grande -- and My Darling Clementine should be mentioned.

Red River, Ride the High Country (an early Peckinpah film with Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea), Destry Rides Again (James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich) and Winchester 73 are other favorites.

michael