| # | Film | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Searchers | 1956 |
| 2 | High Noon | 1952 |
| 3 | Shane | 1953 |
| 4 | Unforgiven | 1992 |
| 5 | Red River | 1948 |
| 6 | The Wild Bunch | 1969 |
| 7 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | 1969 |
| 8 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | 1971 |
| 9 | Stagecoach | 1939 |
| 10 | Cat Ballou | 1965 |
In the category of why should anyone on the planet care what I think, I have decided that if nothing else I'll feel better if set the AFI straight! I'm hoping that anyone who voted on this list will feel really bad about what I am going to say here. And immediately resign, opening up a spot for me.
Before I start, though, I want to add that if Lonesome Dove had been considered a "movie" instead of a TV show, then it would go in second place. As a western film it almost has no peer. McRae and Call, as played by Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, were two of best characters ever created in a western. They love and devotion to each other, as well as respect for each other, carried this fine film.
First, I will admit that the AFI got some things totally correct.
The first three, in order, are right on. The Searchers is the best Western ever made, and then there is a gap between it and High Noon and Shane.
But of the rest, only one should be on the top 10 list. For one thing, two of the films on the list aren't even westerns. They are comedies. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Cat Ballou were great films, but when the audience is spending most of its time in a film laughing, then it doesn't matter where the setting is--it is a comedy.
Also, I will note that if comedies set in the west were eligible, then where is Blazing Saddles? It's more of a classic than Cat Ballou and Butch Cassidy, et al. What could be a more classic western scene than Mongo and his buddies sitting around the campfire eating beans?
But for some reason that I can't find an explanation for, AFI's top 10 in top 10 categories didn't include a category for comedies. There was a category of Romantic Comedies, but that is only a subset of comedies. Young Frankenstein didn't even have a list where it could appear. Spinal Tap? Some like it Hot? Tootsie?
So here is a list by a true lover of westerns. The criteria for inclusion are (1) set in the old west, (2) a western "hero" who straddles the line between the civilized and uncivilized west, and (3) horses should figure prominently.
1. The Searchers. It is the most complex of all westerns ever made. Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) ostensibly is fighting the Comanches who killed his love and stole his niece, but in reality the fight is between his need to be a part of civilized life and the fact that he isn't cut out for that life and so, sadly, no one else really wants him there. He is too violent and too angry, so while he is useful on occasion, the rewards of being fully civilized are not his. The woman he loved, killed by the Comanches, loved him back but chose to marry his more civilized (and therefore stable) brother. He belongs alone, which is where the film both starts and ends. Full of rich cinematography, beautiful music, interesting characters, tragedy, and loss. The film has some goofy moments which 60 years later look out of date, but John Ford, the director, needed something to occasionally lighten the mood of the film. This was needed because the story is pretty intense in places. One place it was intense was that it was really the first western film that addressed the underlying racism of many settlers of the west. The racism in the film is blatant and harsh. The massacre is so ugly that it is not even filmed, and Wayne's character becomes almost insane in his hatred and need for revenge.
Alan Lemay who wrote the book The Searchers based it on the true story
of Cynthia Ann Parker, the famous Comanche chief Quannah Parker's
mother, who was kidnapped by the Comanches. LeMay tracked down Parker's
uncle, who actually spent years traveling the west looking for his
niece like Ethan Edwards (Wayne) did, to get information from the uncle
on what his search was like. It is one of those instances where the movie is as good as the book. The ending is different, but captures the same idea of the ending in the book. I like both endings. Too bad both weren't filmed.
As Ethan Edwards, this is John Wayne's best performance ever. He later named one of his sons Ethan.
2. High Noon. The ultimate story of a western hero who cannot shirk his duty regardless of the consequences. Gary Cooper is awesome, and Grace Kelly is as Grace Kelly always was. An interesting aside about this film--John Wayne disliked it. He stated the (very logical) fact that the west was settled primarily by Civil War veterans who had been used to killing, fighting, and not being afraid to do their duty. The fact that the whole town put its tail between its legs and ran was too out of character for who these people really were. But, who can resist the count-down to noon? Or Lee Van Cleef as one of the outlaws. (Another interesting side note, another of the outlaws was the guy who wrote the popular silly 50s song One Eyed One Horned Flying Purple People Eaters).
3. Shane: "Shane, come back!" The story of someone who wants to be a part of civilized society but who can't quite be a part of it because his ability to function in a non-civilized way is needed in order to protect the very people he can't really belong with. Alan Ladd was perfect for the role. And Jack Palance as the bad guy? Awesome. Interesting that the second male lead in this film was an actor who is probably never even thought about today--Van Heflin--and who will appear in another of my top 10 westerns.
Here is where we will diverge from the AFI. I wouldn't place Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven on the top 10 list anywhere. It's a great film, and a great western, but it isn't his best. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is better. But another of his would make my top 10 list, which you will read about below as I know you can't stand the suspense regarding which films make the rest of my list and so can't even force yourself to stop reading.
So, continuing on with my list....
4. The Magnificent Seven. This, for me, was the most puzzling aspect of the AFI's list, that it didn't even make the number 10 spot. I could almost move it above Shane, in fact, and put it as the third best western of all time. The Magnificent Seven not as good as McCabe and Mrs. Miller?
The Magnificent Seven is rousing, moving, beautiful, and wonderfully acted. I know it is taken from the Seven Samurai, but so what? I hope that wasn't responsible for downgrading it. Mag 7 is a better film than 7 Sams. I found 7 Sams to be little more than a bunch of screeching.
This film also introduced us to some very fine actors early in their careers. Steve McQueen became a top Hollywood draw instead of a TV actor, as did Charles Bronson and James Coburn. Robert Vaughn was in it, pre-Man from Uncle. And of course, the ever likeable villain Eli Wallach.
And then there is the theme song by Elmer Bernstein, which we heard for years in Marlboro commercials.
This movie is being remade. Sacrilegious! Only one western remake has been better than the original, and that was True Grit. Others (e.g., 3:10 to Yuma) failed to capture the essence of what a western is because current audiences expect too much gunfire, too many people being killed, and too much James Bondy stuff from its central characters.
OK. I'm done with my rant. Where was I?
The rest of my list is not in any particular order.
So I'll start with the best Eastwood western.
5-10. The Outlaw Josie Wales. Great story filled with great actors. Exciting, fun, and touching. It is one you don't get tired of watching over and over. Chief Dan George is a hoot. And I love how Eastwood always spits before he kills some bad guy. If you are ever around Eastwood, and he spits, watch out!
5-10. 3:10 to Yuma. The original one, 1957, not the silly remake with Russell Crowe. In this story written by Elmore Leonard, Van Heflin (See? He's on the list twice.) has to take an outlaw (Glenn Ford) to meet the 3:10 stage that will take Ford to the Yuma prison. As opposed to the remake which was just a lot of action and dozens and dozens of people getting killed, the original was taut and tense. Heflin isn't a gun-fighter or a marshal, and only shoots his gun once. He is just a rancher trying to provide for his family because his crops have failed due to a drought and so agrees to get Ford onto the train for money. Over the course of the film, Ford obtains a respect for him, and as a result prevents him from being killed by his gang.
The ending is superb, with both Ford and Heflin on the train leaving town. Out on a knoll in the distance is Heflin's wife....watching and seeing that her husband is safe. Then it rains. Sweet.
5-10. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Another John Ford/John Wayne collaboration. Stagecoach was on the original list, which was their first collaboration, but as good as it is, it doesn't compare with this second of Ford's Cavalry trilogy (Fort Apache being the first, and Rio Grande being the third). In Yellow Ribbon Wayne plays an old man, plays him very well, who is set to retire but then hostilities threaten to break out with the Apaches. It is touching, as he often visits the grave of his deceased wife. And, in contrast to many westerns involving Indians, there are no on-screen battles. We come upon the aftermath of one, but the idea that the film centers around is Wayne and the Apache chief trying to prevent fighting. They are actually friends. The music is great. This film, along with The Searchers, shows off Monument Valley, Ford's favorite place to film. The classic scene from the film is of the cavalry riding through Monument Valley with thunderclouds in the distance. Winton Hoch, the cinematographer for the film, wanted to halt shooting because of the storm, but Ford insisted he continue anyway. Hoch filed a protest with some organization over his treatment. Then, he won the Academy Award for Cinematography for this film. Ford got the last laugh there.
5-10. Red River. Another Wayne film, but this time with a different director (the great Howard Hawks). I don't apologize for putting Wayne in so many of these--he got the best scripts and the best directors of his time for his westerns.
5-10. The Shootist. Yes. Another Wayne film. This was his final film, a story about an aging gunfighter who is dying from cancer. Wayne had a lung removed because of cancer several years earlier, and died three years later of cancer. At one point, the director (Don Siegal of "Go ahead...make my day" fame) instructed Wayne to shoot one of the bad guys in the back. Wayne refused, stating that he had never shot anyone in the back in his films. Cool, huh?
5-10. This is my last Wayne film in my top 10, I promise. The Man who Shot Liberty Valence. This is the most heartbreaking of all of Wayne's roles. Once again, he plays the western hero who can't really fit in with the rest of society. At least once a year I will come across the line in a news article from this film: "Print the Legend." The legend was that James Stewart shot Liberty Valence in a two-men-walk-out-into-the-street-to-face-each-other way, but it was actually Wayne who shot Valence from an alley to save the "Pilgrim's" (i.e., Stewart's) life, even though Wayne's love, Vera Miles, had chosen Stewart over him.
5-10. This is number 11 on my top 10. I see no reason to be obsessive about it. True Grit. The REMAKE. Just to show that I'm not biased about John Wayne, I actually think the remake was better than the original, although the original made my Honorable Mention list. The remake is closer to the wonderful book by Charles Portis. The original did have the great character actor Strother Martin in the Col. Stonehill role (Col. Stonehill is the man who Mattie Ross completely confuses to the point where he will give her anything just to get her out of his office).
For both versions, the scene of Rooster Cogburn facing down the four outlaws across a meadow is just simply too classic. When Rooster gives them the opportunity to surrender, Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall in the original, Barry Pepper in the remake) laughs at him and says: "I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!"
Wayne's response of indignation is hilarious, as he says in return, a shocked look on his face: "Fill your hands you son of a bitch!" He puts the reins to his horse in his mouth, draws his pistol, cocks his rifle in the other, and heads across the meadow firing guns from both hands. Oh boy, cowboy.
Wayne's response in this scene is slightly better than Jeff Bridges' in the remake, but in all other ways Bridges is a slightly better Rooster. He's grosser, if that's a word.
Honorable mention, in no particular order:
Sergeant Rutledge (an unappreciated John Ford film that directly confronts the racism after the Civil War; also a terrific courtroom drama)
First, two awesome Sam Peckinpah westerns:
--Ride the High Country
--The Wild Bunch
All of the Anthony Mann/James Stewart collaborations
All of the Budd Boettcher/Randolf Scott collaborations (Best: Comanche Station)
The Big Country
Unforgiven (Audrey Hepburn, Burt Lancaster, Audie Murphy)
The Appaloosa (the 60s film with Marlon Brando)
Stagecoach
Rio Grande (another Ford/Wayne; great music by the Death Valley Park Ranger Stan Jones, of Ghost Riders in the Sky fame; the first Wayne/Maureen O'Hara collaboration)
Cowboy (the great character actor Strother Martin dies at a campfire when someone accidentally tosses a rattlesnake around his neck--I'm not making this up)
Dances with Wolves (Costner, an excellent athlete, dismissed his stunt double and did all of the riding himself in the buffalo hunt scene. How many current actors could do that?)
Open Range (another Kevin Costner Western---really good)
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ("Badges? We don't need no steenking badges!")
Hondo (another Wayne film)
How the West was Won (Wayne was in this one too)
The Professionals (maybe the most macho western ever made)
Hombre
Last Wagon (I played this one over and over as a "cowboy" as a kid)
True Grit (Wayne version)
Jeremiah Johnson
Ulzana's Raid
The Scalphunters (Telly Savalas is a terrific villain)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Eli Wallach again as the villain)
The Bravados
Bite the Bullet (best line: "The people some people marry")
Monte Walsh (it's totally cool that I get to include a western film with the great Jeanne Moreau in it)
Man in the Wilderness (remade...as the Revenant......and not nearly as good)
The Proud Rebel
Two great westerns that exist only in an alternate universe:
Chief Joseph
Cynthia Ann Parker
---I'm cheating here because these two films have yet to be made. But they should be. And they will immediately go onto my list, I promise. The story of Chief Joseph and his tribe of Nez Perce Indians fleeing from the entire US army to escape to Canada is the most amazing of all true stories involving the conflicts with Indians in the west. It is a tragedy of incredible proportions. And the movement of the tribe, over 3000 miles, using strategies that I have read are still taught at West Point, all the while having to protect their wounded, children, wives, and older people is staggering. A TV movie was made of this epic journey several years ago, but it deserves a real movie with a first-rate director. And then a story about Cynthia Ann Parker, whose search by her uncle was the basis of the film The Searchers is another tragedy. When she was finally "rescued" she didn't want to leave her people. She died shortly thereafter, lonely, displaced, mourning the loss of her life. Her uncle who spent years trying to find her never even went to visit her after he found she had been "rescued." SOMEBODY MAKE THESE FILMS!
There. That ought to keep you busy for awhile. I am down with a cold and we can't get out to ride our bikes, so I am sitting watching Vicky outside mowing the lawn. I am feeling guilty about not being able to help her, but rain is predicted tomorrow, so it has to be done today. If you get through this post, I'm assuming that, in desperation, you will send me vibes to get well so I can spend my time more productively and be a better husband.
p.s. As proof of how valid my list is, Lee Van Cleef, the ultimate western villain, appears in FIVE of the films I mention by name, and in some others of the Boettcher and Mann films.
Do you really want to criticize my list? And have to deal with HIM?
