A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do: westerns worth your while (10 titles)

Everyone knows about Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch and Dances with Wolves. Here are few great, but not quite as well known, westerns

by: A customer

Roberts Redford's finest moment

Jeremiah Johnson on DVD (1972)
Starring: Richard Angarola, Stefan Gierasch, Tim McIntire
Director: Sydney Pollack
Certificate:
Years before Kevin Costner danced with wolves, Robert Redford headed to the mountains to escape civilization in Sydney Pollack's wilderness western. Around 1850, ex-soldier Johnson (Redford) decides that he would rather live alone as a mountain man in Colorado than deal with society's constraints. ..read more »
- Rate this
- 70
- from 1567 members

Underated but classic Clint, with one of the best opening shots ever

Pale Rider on DVD (1985)
Starring: Marvin J. Mc Intyre, Elisha Cook, Chris Penn
Director: Clint Eastwood
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
A mysterious and possibly otherworldly stranger comes to the rescue of a frontier town in this Western, which was strongly influenced by the George Stevens classic, Shane. The peace of a small mining community is shattered when Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart), the ruthless proprietor of a powerful ..read more »
- Rate this
- 70
- from 8281 members

A modern revisiting of The Searchers

The Missing (2003)
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett, Evan Rachel Wood
Director: Ron Howard
Certificate:
The Missing is the story of Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), a young woman raising her two daughters in an isolated and lawless wilderness. When her oldest daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) is kidnapped by a psychopathic killer with mystical powers (Eric Schweig), Maggie is forced to re-unite with her ..read more »
- Rate this
- 60
- from 21,183 members
Currently unavailable

Before the Wild Bunch there was this crew

The Professionals on DVD (1966)
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Claudia Cardinale
Director: Richard Brooks
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Grant (Ralph Bellamy) is a wealthy rancher who hires four mercenaries to retrieve his wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale), from the clutches of the desperado Raza (Jack Palance) in this Western adventure set in 1917. Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is a munitions expert who joins gunslinger Fardan (Lee ..read more »
- Rate this
- 70
- from 1422 members

Don't let Kevin Costners invovement put you off, Robert Duval steals the show

Open Range (2004)
Starring: Abraham Benrubi, James Russo, Michael Jeter
Director: Kevin Costner
Certificate:
Western set in the 1880s, directed by Kevin Costner. Robert Duvall heads the cast as Boss Spearman, who, along with his partner Charley Waite (Costner) and their two helpers, Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and Buttons (Diego Luna), has been leading a quiet nomadic life driving cattle across the plains for ..read more »
- Rate this
- 70
- from 16,195 members
Currently unavailable

Big moustaches and Val Kilmer's Doc Hollday

Tombstone on DVD (1993)
Starring: Step, Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell
Director: George Pan Cosmatos
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
George P. Cosmatos directs this Western starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. Hoping for a more prosperous lifestyle, retired lawman Wyatt Earp (Russell) moves to Tombstone, Arizona, where he meets up with his friend Doc Holliday (Kilmer). The duo, along with Earp's brothers, soon incur the wrath ..read more »
- Rate this
- 70
- from 8006 members

A 'modern day' western, short on action, strong on dialogue, but absolutely rivetting

Bad Day At Black Rock (1955)
Starring: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan
Director: John Sturges
Certificate:
Story of a one-armed stranger who gets off a train at a sleepy desert town and is greeted by the hostile locals with something to hide.
- Rate this
- 80
- from 309 members
Currently unavailable

Brothers in arms....

The Long Riders (1980)
Starring: Robert Carradine, Nicholas Guest, Randy Quaid
Director: Walter Hill
Certificate:
The hook in Walter Hill's mythic retelling of the James-Younger outlaw legend is in the casting; the James, Younger, Miller, and Ford Brothers are played by a string of acting brothers, the Keachs, the Carradines, the Quaids and the Guests. The film begins as outlaws are robbing a bank. After the ..read more »
- Rate this
- 60
- from 1553 members
Currently unavailable

It may be nearly 70 years old but its still a classic, ripping along with never a dull moment

Stagecoach on DVD (1939)
Starring: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Claire Trevor/ John Wayne
Director: John Ford
Certificate:
Watch now: Included in all packages with LOVEFiLM Instant
A simple stagecoach trip is complicated by the fact that Geronimo is on the warpath in the area.
- Rate this
- 70
- from 1999 members

I love this film from beginning to end. They gave Clint an Oscar for Unforgiven, they should have given him the keys to the White House for this

The Outlaw Josey Wales on DVD (1976)
Starring: Chief Dan George, John Vernon, Clint Eastwood
Director: Clint Eastwood
Certificate:
Watch now: Unavailable
Clint Eastwood's fifth film as a director and eighth Western as a star (ninth if you count Paint Your Wagon), The Outlaw Josey Wales chronicles the hero's violent journey westward after the Civil War. With fresh memoris of his family's slaughter by Red Leg soldier Terrill (Bill McKinney), ..read more »
- Rate this
- 80
- from 10,660 members