Any fans of Westerns here?

Whats not to like right? Guns. Fights. Horses. Westerns have it all.

So last night I watched Once Upon A Time In The West. I should start by saying that The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is my favorite movie of all time. Not just my favorite western, but my favorite movie. Of course OUATITW was also directed by Sergio Leone.

While I though OUATITW was a good movie, I don't understand the reviews on IMDB about it being so brilliant. Loved the cast by the way: Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, and Jason Robards. And I do like the fact that while Fonda may be the worst of the three, much like TGTBATU, none of three principals were exactly a "good guy". Bronson's Harmonica being the closest.

The thing that bothered me most about the movie was the score. Ennio Morricone did a brilliant job with TGTBATU, but with Once I just didn't like it. The main piece of music used throughout the movie almost had a comedic sounding quality to it. It just didn't fit well. In fact, as Cheyenne is dying at the end of the film, that piece is playing and it really doesn't do the gravity of the situation justice.

All in all a good movie, just not a masterpiece like TGTBATU.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:Whats not to like right? Guns. Fights. Horses. Westerns have it all.

So last night I watched Once Upon A Time In The West. I should start by saying that The Good, The Bad and The Ugly is my favorite movie of all time. Not just my favorite western, but my favorite movie. Of course OUATITW was also directed by Sergio Leone.

While I though OUATITW was a good movie, I don't understand the reviews on IMDB about it being so brilliant. Loved the cast by the way: Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, and Jason Robards. And I do like the fact that while Fonda may be the worst of the three, much like TGTBATU, none of three principals were exactly a "good guy". Bronson's Harmonica being the closest.

The thing that bothered me most about the movie was the score. Ennio Morricone did a brilliant job with TGTBATU, but with Once I just didn't like it. The main piece of music used throughout the movie almost had a comedic sounding quality to it. It just didn't fit well. In fact, as Cheyenne is dying at the end of the film, that piece is playing and it really doesn't do the gravity of the situation justice.

All in all a good movie, just not a masterpiece like TGTBATU.

Westerns are great. I guess we have that in common

Turtleneck wrote:

Westerns are great. I guess we have that in common

And State of course.

That, too. But let's leave it at these two things. This is already awkward.

About the only thing I watch other than sports are westerns. The worst western is better fare than 99.78% of the crap produced today.

Now LooseGoose? I might have to start hating westerns.

Okay well both of you, what are some of your favorites? Watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance recently. I found it dull and overrated.

unforgiven is one of my favorite movies.

AMwood wrote:unforgiven is one of my favorite movies.

EXCELLENT MOVIE.

Referred to quite often as "the anti-western". What am I missing? I thought it was a great movie. And much like Leone's westerns, the good guys are bad guys too.

Eastwood: Unforgiven, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Non-Eastwood: True Grit (2010 and 1963), Appaloosa, Shane, High Noon

Loved the Coen's True Grit. Some of the acting in the original was just bad, especially the girl.

An underrated one is The Cowboys. Not often did John Wayne die in his westerns.

A lot of the older westerns have bad acting but still have satisfactory vengeance.

Turtleneck wrote:A lot of the older westerns have bad acting but still have satisfactory vengeance.

Well stated.

Too old though and the vengeance is bloody hole less. With guys faking getting shot. I like my vengeance realistic.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:An underrated one is The Cowboys. Not often did John Wayne die in his westerns.

Just ranking John Wayne westerns I'd have them like this: (and this list doesn't include some older ones)

Big Jake
The Shootist
The Cowboys
McLintock
North to Alaska
True Grit
The Searchers
Rooster Cogburn
Red River
Rio Bravo
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Fort Apache
Hondo
Rio Grande
Stagecoach
The Alamo
The Horse Soldiers
The Sons of Katie Elder
El Dorado
Rio Lobo
The War Wagon
Cahill, US Marshall
Chisum

For Clint Eastwood Westerns, I'd rank'em like this:

The Outlaw Josey Wales
Pale Rider
Unforgiven
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
High Plains Drifter
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars more
Hang'em High
Two Mules for Sister Sara
Joe Kidd

Blazing Saddles

The Pantry wrote:Blazing Saddles

Evil Roy Slade

Non Clint/Duke:

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
3:10 to Yuma (Old version)
High Noon
Shane
The magnificent seven
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
The Naked Spur
Hombre
The Long Riders
Winchester '73
Bad Day at Black Rock
Tombstone
The Wild Bunch
The New Land
Once upon a time in the west
The Man from Laramie
Broken Arrow
Nevada Smith
The Great Northfield Raid
The Mountain men

LooseGoose wrote:For Clint Eastwood Westerns, I'd rank'em like this:

The Outlaw Josey Wales
Pale Rider
Unforgiven
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
High Plains Drifter
A Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars more
Hang'em High
Two Mules for Sister Sara
Joe Kidd

Hated 2 mules. And thanks for not including Paint Your Wagon.

And my ranking of television westerns:

Gunsmoke
The Virginian
Death Valley Days
Bat Masterson
The Big Valley
Bonanza
The Life and times of Wyatt Earp
Have Gun, Will travel
Rawhide
The High Chaparral
Cheyenne
Maverick
The Wild, Wild, West
The Rifleman
The Lone Ranger

Top 15 of about 100 that have been on.

Wild Wild West with Will Smith is an excellent movie.

LooseGoose wrote:Non Clint/Duke:

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
3:10 to Yuma (Old version)
High Noon
Shane
The magnificent seven
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
The Naked Spur
Hombre
The Long Riders
Winchester '73
Bad Day at Black Rock
Tombstone
The Wild Bunch
The New Land
Once upon a time in the west
The Man from Laramie
Broken Arrow
Nevada Smith
The Great Northfield Raid
The Mountain men

Is Broken Arrow good?

Also what about mini-series?

Loved:

Lonesome Dove
Into The West
Broken Trail

Most of the Lonesome Dove miniseries are worth watching. In fact, the follow-up Return To Lonesome Dove with Jon Voight was Captain Call was excellent. I thought Voight played the Call character better than Tommy Lee Jones in the original.

LooseGoose wrote:And my ranking of television westerns:

Gunsmoke
The Virginian
Death Valley Days
Bat Masterson
The Big Valley
Bonanza
The Life and times of Wyatt Earp
Have Gun, Will travel
Rawhide
The High Chaparral
Cheyenne
Maverick
The Wild, Wild, West
The Rifleman
The Lone Ranger

Top 15 of about 100 that have been on.

Ever see Deadman's Gun? It was kind of a Twilight Zone meets Western, I think Showtime produced and showed it. Pretty good.

Cowboys v. Aliens

Westworld

Turtleneck wrote:Cowboys v. Aliens

Actually not a bad movie.

What's everyone's feelings about Silverado. I've always found it overrated.

Also, Quigley Down Under?

LoneWolfSparty wrote:

Actually not a bad movie.

I wasn't joking. I dig it.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:

Is Broken Arrow good?

Also what about mini-series?

Loved:

Lonesome Dove
Into The West
Broken Trail

Most of the Lonesome Dove miniseries are worth watching. In fact, the follow-up Return To Lonesome Dove with Jon Voight was Captain Call was excellent. I thought Voight played the Call character better than Tommy Lee Jones in the original.

I like Broken Arrow, I've seen it a few times. I don't think I've ever watched a western miniseries. I don't recall any.

LoneWolfSparty wrote:

Ever see Deadman's Gun? It was kind of a Twilight Zone meets Western, I think Showtime produced and showed it. Pretty good.

Never seen it, I don't have HBO or Showtime.   Just the Dish250 which includes the Encore channels.   Gotta have Encore Westerns for old B&W Gunsmokes, Bat Masterson and Death Valley Days. INSP runs the High Chaparral, Big Valley, The Virginian and Daniel Boone - so between those two and TVLand with color Gunsmokes and Bonanza the western genre is pretty well covered.

The Long Riders, if nobody mentioned it.

LooseGoose wrote:And my ranking of television westerns:

Gunsmoke
The Virginian
Death Valley Days
Bat Masterson
The Big Valley
Bonanza
The Life and times of Wyatt Earp
Have Gun, Will travel
Rawhide
The High Chaparral
Cheyenne
Maverick
The Wild, Wild, West
The Rifleman
The Lone Ranger

Top 15 of about 100 that have been on.

No Deadwood?

Edit: I see, no HBO... look into it if you ever get the chance.

xsanguine wrote:

No Deadwood?

Edit: I see, no HBO... look into it if you ever get the chance.

I've heard it was really good, I can't rank it since I've not seen it. I once paid for HBO/Showtime for 6 months and watched exactly 1 movie on them. Pretty hard to justify the cost at that rate.

Young Guns is one of my favorites. The second one is decent as well for a sequel.

I read the Lonesome Dove novel a few years back. A great book. It was one that I was kind of bummed when it ended because it you're into it fot so long I missed it when it was done.

Both The Long Riders and numerous Deadwood episodes were directed by Spartan Walter Hill

LooseGoose wrote:

I've heard it was really good, I can't rank it since I've not seen it. I once paid for HBO/Showtime for 6 months and watched exactly 1 movie on them. Pretty hard to justify the cost at that rate.

Check if out if you ever get a chance.

It became one of my top 3 shows of all time.

The dialogue stands as a literary masterpiece, in and of itself... I typically have to watch with captions on because I'm not used to the vernacular. It's a shame it only went 3 seasons.

Stop telling people what to do!

xsanguine wrote:

Check if out if you ever get a chance.

It became one of my top 3 shows of all time.

The dialogue stands as a literary masterpiece, in and of itself... I typically have to watch with captions on because I'm not used to the vernacular. It's a shame it only went 3 seasons.

When I joined Netflix I made it a point to check out Deadwood because I'd heard so many good things about it. I made it though 5-6 episodes and gave up. The story looked pretty good, and I'm a pretty darned good cusser, but it seemed like every third word out of Al Swearingen's mouth was cocksucker. I thought the language was way over the top.

Floyd Robertson wrote:

When I joined Netflix I made it a point to check out Deadwood because I'd heard so many good things about it. I made it though 5-6 episodes and gave up. The story looked pretty good, and I'm a pretty darned good cusser, but it seemed like every third word out of Al Swearingen's mouth was cocksucker. I thought the language was way over the top.

He's a potty mouth... but that's the way the violent town baron pimps spoke, especially cowboy types. He's quite a dynamic character once you get into it.