AFI's 10 Best Westerns

[MikeBSG]

The AFI has recently come up with a list of ten best films in ten genres. The western is one such genre. Here is their Top 10.

1) The Searchers
2) High Noon
3) Shane
4) Unforgiven (Eastwood)
5) Red River
6) The Wild Bunch
7)Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8) McCabe & Mrs. Miller
9) Stagecoach
10) Cat Ballou

Pretty much a "usual suspects list, except for "Cat Ballou." How did that get in here?

[MissGoddess]

Hi Mike!

If I were making the list it would look like this in comparison to AFI's:

THEIR LIST and MINE

1) The Searchers.............1) same
2) High Noon....................2) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3) Shane..........................3) Man of the West
4) Unforgiven (Eastwood)...4) Shane
5) Red River.....................5) Stagecoach
6) The Wild Bunch.............6) High Noon
7)Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 7) The Big Country
8)McCabe & Mrs. Miller..... My Darling Clementine
9) Stagecoach.................... 9) Three Bad Men
10) Cat Balou......................10) Rio Bravo

[mrsl]

It's so nice to have you back Miss G!!! I've so missed your comments on this Western thread.

Since getting my DVR, finding 2 for 1 sales, TCM, and the Western Channel, lately I've been able to revisit a lot of my favorite westerns, and recall why I always liked, or appreciated them so much. Here are my choices against theirs:

. . . AFI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MINE . . . . . . . . . .

1. The Searchers . . . . . . . . . . The Searchers -Characters
2. High Noon . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liberty Valence - Characters
3. Shane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Two Rode Together - First 'Buddy' movie
4. Unforgiven (Eastwood) . . . Westward The Women - Oh, those ladies!
5. Red River . . . . . . . . . . . . Fort Apache - Story line
6. Wild Bunch . . . . . . . . . . . . El Dorado - Comic Relief
7. Butch Cassidy. . . . . . . . . . Support Your Local Sheriff - Comic Relief
8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller. . . . . Stagecoach - JW 1st Big One
9. Stagecoach . . . . . . . . . . . How the West Was Won - Pure widescreen vision
10. Cat Ballou . . . . . . . . . . . Cheyenne Autumn - Indians side for a change

Anne

[myrnaloyisdope]

1. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
2. Rio Bravo
3. Unforgiven (Eastwood)
4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
5. Shane
6. Lone Star (Sayles)
7. The Searchers
8. Red River
9. Ride The High Country
10. My Darling Clementine

[Mr. Arkadin]

Nice to see The Wild Bunch (1969) and McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) made that list. Those two films get little press around here.

[klondike]

And no mention anywhere of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, or The Magnificent Seven.
What a sad way to begin a workweek.
( s i g h )

[srowley75]

Were it not for the "American" qualifier, I could list Once Upon a Time in the West. Alas...

1. Winchester 73 (1950)
2. Stagecoach (1939)
3. Shane (1953)
4. Ride the High Country (1962)
5. Rio Bravo (1959)
6. The Searchers (1956)
7. High Noon (1952)
8. The Man from Laramie (1955)
9. Red River (1948)
10. Johnny Guitar (1954)

-Stephen

[cinemalover]

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid has no business on a top ten western list. The Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head bicycle segment alone is enough to get it banned from any respectable western list. As great as Newman and Redford are together this film is incredibly over-rated.

[stuart.uk]

here's my list

1-The Searchers
2-Red River
3-Bend Of The River
4-The Far Country
5-Stagecoach
6-The Shootist
7-Northwest Passage
8-Shane
9-High Noon
10-Rio Bravo

[mrsl]

Klondike:

Actually, Magnificent Seven would ordinarily take the place of either El Dorado or . . . Local Sheriff, but I wanted to add a couple of comedies to the pot because not all westerns are total shoot-em-ups, or beat the guys brains out. I can't in good conscience include Blazing Saddles because I simply detest bodily function 'jokes,' (I don't find them funny), and about 75% of the jokes in that movie are that type - - call me a pris and I'll shake your hand and agree.

Anne

[mrsl]

Thank you iCiao for taking me to task so succinctly, and in such a straight forward manner.

Having seen this movie in its original theatrical release, it was one of the first of many I sat through in the foyer after the first l/2 hour or so, then when my sons rented it one time I kept seeing bits and pieces as I came in and out of the family room, to remind me why I had left in the first place, but the theme of degradation seemed to remain throughout. So yes, you may be partly correct in saying I have never sat down and watched it from beginning to end, but never have I ever in all the time I've posted on this or the old board ever suggested that people NOT see a certain movie based on my experience. To each his own is a quote I use quite often. You and millions of other people find this film funny, but I do not, in fact I find very little of Mel Brooks stuff remotely humorus, but then I respect my opinions a little more than that.

Again, thank you for your opinion, we all have a right to what we think as well as what we say.

Anne

[ChiO]

Here are my 10 favorites, a list that is slightly amended from when we had the Bestafavorite Western poll.

1. Stars In My Crown (Jacques Tourneur, 1950)
2. Forty Guns (Samuel Fuller, 1957)
3. The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, 1953)
4. Day of the Outlaw (Andre de Toth, 1959)
5. Great Day In the Morning (Jacques Tourneur, 1956)
6. Silver Lode (Allan Dwan, 1954)
7. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1953)
8. Pursued (Raoul Walsh, 1947)
9. Canyon Passage (Jacques Tourneur, 1946)
10. 7 Men From Now (Budd Boetticher, 1956)

[srowley75]

Oh, goody, another safe "greatest hits" list....

Cat Ballou, really?...

Blazing Saddles is the best comedic Western ever made and nary a mention! Tragic.

For the simple reason that Cat Ballou was selected to represent a western comedy instead of Blazing Saddles, I tend to view this list as "unsafe," if the definition of "safe" is that both critics and the masses are appeased. I think most critics would rate Blazing Saddles over Cat Ballou. And speaking from personal experience, I think most people in general would prefer Blazing Saddles - having friends of all ages and tastes, I can't name that many who've even seen Cat Ballou, but almost all of them have seen (and to some extent, enjoy) Blazing Saddles.

All to say that if a western comedy must be chosen for the list, I can't name any better to fill the void than Blazing Saddles, and it is a crime that it was ignored in favor of such a mediocre pick. It parodies the conventions of the genre beautifully (even the building of the railroad, which is as old as The Iron Horse) as well as its shortcomings.

For second place, I might suggest My Little Chickadee, Way Out West, or Keaton's Go West - but Cat Ballou would certainly not make the cut.

-Stephen