"The English have Shakespeare, the French have Moliere, the Russians have Chekhov. The Western is ours.” ~Robert DuvalA few weeks ago I volunteered to come up with a list of good cowboy/Western films for someone who enjoys the serialized Westerns like Gunsmoke and Have Gun—Will Travel. So far, I’ve come up with the list below—let me know what I've missed or should add.
~Open RangeBelow are films I personally appreciate, but would recommend with reservations due to the violence and adult content.
~The Searchers
~True Grit and Rooster Cogburn
~Lonesome Dove
~High Noon
~Shane
~Magnificent Seven
~Classic John Wayne films like The Sons of Katie Elder, Big Jake, El Dorado, Rio Bravo, and McLintok!
~TombstoneAs I’ve said before, I think Westerns are a wonderful genre, with themes and motifs that make for fertile ground when it comes to exploring what makes us human, why we do what we do, and how the world works around us—all the makings of a good story. And that’s brought God-talk into these open spaces, both in terms of some of the films above as well as other places.
~Unforgiven
~The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
~Fist Full of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
~Pale Rider
(Image: Touchstone, from Open Range)