Favorite western movie.

Lucas · June 19, 1999, 03:32 AM

Which movies are the most realistic, whilst still being a good movie?

I'm kinda thinin' Unforgiven, with Clint.

Bulldog · June 19, 1999, 04:12 AM

Unforgiven was good. Personally, I liked Lonesome Dove. Of course, I can't help but to like Tombstone.

But on the not-so-realistic side, I still enjoy all the John Wayne flicks: Stagecoach, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, Hondo, McClintock, Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo, Rio Grande, El Dorado, Big Jake, Cahill: U.S. Marshal, True Grit, The Shootist. You just can't beat a good John Wayne western. I especially enjoy seeing him with the same rig throughout most of his movies. The only thing I can't stand is seeing all those Buscadero rigs on the other actors.

Prichard · June 19, 1999, 09:34 AM

n

[This message has been edited by Prichard (edited February 07, 2000).]

Lucas · June 19, 1999, 12:15 PM

Bulldog, at this time I'm re-reading Lonsome Dove and will re-watch it again when completed. As for the Duke, any movie he was in --I'll watch. My favorite John Wayne western would be 1) True Grit, 2) The Shootist, 3) The Cowboys--that one choked me up.

Prichard, how about The Magnificent 7?

The reason for this post was to help remind me of good Westerns that I need to watch again. It's helping. Thanks.

Gunslinger · June 19, 1999, 09:16 PM

Wild Rovers, with Wm. Holden, Ryan O'Neil & Carl Malden.

Any of the Loius Lamour, TNT made movies with Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, etc. are good for realism.

------------------
Gunslinger

We live in a time in which attitudes and deeds once respected as courageous and honorable are now scorned as being antiquated and subversive.

Bill Mitchell · June 20, 1999, 10:06 AM

"Lonesome Dove" is fantastic! I can sit and watch it all the way through and still be sorry that it's over.

John Wayne movies I really enjoy are "The Searchers","She Wore a Yellow Ribbon","The Man Who shot Liberty Valance","Stagecoach",and "Red River".

Other worthwhile Westerns are "Shane","The Gunfighter","The Big Sky",and "The Westerner".

Any John Ford/John Wayne movie and any Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann Movie.

More modern westerns I like are "Unforgiven","Pale Rider",and the TNT offerings "Last Stand at Saber River" and "Conagher",a movie that proves that Sam Elliott is the best cowboy star we have today.

"Tombstone" is like a '34 Coupe hotrod-not entirely historically correct,but it gives a hell of a fun ride

Bellicose Bill

El Chimango Pete · June 20, 1999, 01:21 PM

All the above - the more recent seem to strive for a little more realism. Also "High Noon" among the classics, but as has been pointed out many times - that a town could be such a bunch of wimps in those frontier days stretches things a bit (today, mind you...).
Just by chance been seeing two videos I ordered together (amazon.com): "Quigley Down Under" (ok ok Aussie friends - agree you wouldn't need an imported 'yank' to sort things out) and "Valdez is Coming" - Burt Lancaster... both very good and both have some long range Sharps rifle shooting --- thing they are telling me something...

Hasta pronto pilgrims!

El Chimango Pete

TENFAN · June 20, 1999, 05:08 PM

I vote for "Quigley Down Under". The best "gun" movie since "Winchester 73".

**4V50 Gary** · June 21, 1999, 12:34 AM

Mark me down for Quigley too.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt

CapeFear · June 21, 1999, 10:27 AM

I like all the movies listed above but
"The Outlaw Josey Wales" will always be near the top of my list.

David Schmidbauer · June 21, 1999, 12:17 PM

I, also, am a fan of Shiloh Sharps Long Range Express... Tom wasn't too in "Quigley" either.

Who saw "The Last Outlaw" with Micky Rorke (sp?). It was a HBO Movie. It was good. HEY... it also had a Sharps... coincidence? I think not!

------------------
Schmit, GySgt, USMC(Ret)
NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS
"Si vis Pacem Para Bellum"

[This message has been edited by David Schmidbauer (edited June 21, 1999).]

fal308 · June 22, 1999, 11:44 AM

I've seen all of the above and agree they are all good. A few I would add would be The Professionals, The Good the Bad & the Ugly, Ulzana's Raid, McKenna's Gold, Tom Horn and for the offbeat - the Trinity movies, Waterhole No. 3, Paint Your Wagon, North to Alaska; to name a few.
Luckily I have a generous video collection and Starz Western channel on my satellite dish

BigG · June 22, 1999, 11:56 AM

Check "Vera Cruz" with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster.

"Son of the Morning Star", about Gen. Custer and his last stand was compelling, especially in the comparisons between the General and Crazy Horse, his counterpart on the opposing team.

Who can forget, "They Died with Their Boots On", with Errol Flynn?

Black Robe and Last of the Mohicans, while not strictly westerns, have plenty of blood curdling action, in MHO.

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Son of Liberty

Lucas · June 23, 1999, 12:16 AM

Ya know, I was just reviewing everyones favorites when I noticed a shocking lack of mention. I think this might be because of the political views of the "stars". What is your opinion of ........ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

Paul B. · June 24, 1999, 01:39 PM

I particularly liked Kevin Costners WYATT EARP. DANCES WITH WOLVES is another favorite of mine. The WILD BUNCH, a true classic. QUIGLEY, another top movie. I liked all Clint's spagheti westerns too, even if they were a bit unrealistic. You left out Steve McQueens TOM HORN. History has shown that Horn used a 30-30 Winchester during his Wyoming days. Not the 45-60 that was used in the movie although he did use one in earlier times. Still a good movie.
When I was a youngster, John Wayne's early westerns didn't thrill me. They didn't have cars in cowboy times. (Shows how dumb I was.) It wasn't until I read Elmer Keith's autobiography that I realized that some cars were in use. I believe Keith called them "skunk wagons". Makes some of those early Wayne movies more interesting.
Some of the westerns I have not seen are by William S. Hart. I once read an article about him, and it was said that he not only lived the life, but insisted on authenticity in his movies. (I have been watching the silent movies on TMC lately. They're kind of fun.) WILD BILL is not too bad. There is some great gunplay in that one. One of the western actors I miss is Lee Van Cleef. He played a great bad guy.
Why am I sitting here writing this? I'm gonna go plug in a western and enjoy myself.
Paul B.

Robert Foote · June 24, 1999, 07:32 PM

'The Professionals', with Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster, Woody Strode. Excellent atmosphere and the actors look like they know what they're doing. Details are excellent except for one millisecond where Marvin is holding a Browning High Power (circa 1916) and the use of a M1903A3. To offset that they use 1897 Winchesters and a Lewis gun very effectively. Good sound track, and the closing lines are unbeatable!

Paul B. · June 26, 1999, 04:52 PM

Gotta add one I left off. SOLDIER BLUE. Starred Candy Bergan as a woman captured by Indians. Ends up with the Sand Creek Massacre, if I remember correctly. It is a movie that will totally tick you off at the end.
Paul B.

Art Eatman · June 27, 1999, 12:02 PM

Lucas: "Rules? In a knife fight?"

Paul B: "Soldier Blue" was a great movie.

I sorta judge movies by whether I can watch when I'm alone and nobody is there to share the emotions. So, I sorta vote for "best" as being "The Professionals". Then, the first half of "The Magnificent Seven", as the characters are developed.

The only western which turns me off is "Shane", and only because of that damned little kid's whiny voice, "Shane! Come back, Shane!" (Old Farts get that way.)

El Chimango Pete · June 27, 1999, 04:49 PM

Art: It must be the aging memory cells getting clogged again but would swear Shane turned around and plugged the danged kid just before riding off into the Sunset.

Re Butch and Sundance: They're just back from Bolivia and say they got two movie guys - Newman and Redford I think they said their names were - to stand in for them as the Bolivian Army was getting close...

It was a good and well made picture - Hollywood Correct. If actors want to shame themselves off stage its sad, but their own affair... not all can be endowed with intellects proportional to their acting ability.

El Chimango Pete (aka Peter Knight)

Hal · June 29, 1999, 04:38 AM

All of them. IMHO, there is no such thing as a bad western. Even the poorest of them still have great guns and gear.

Robert Foote: The closing lines in the Professionals, ah yes, greatest line in the history of Cinema.

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(!)

Art Eatman · June 29, 1999, 06:45 PM

Hal: Ever notice how many "self-made men" there are in our Administration? HCI? Congress?

Hal · June 30, 1999, 03:22 AM

Art,
Quite a few

A lot of self made women too.
I think most of the women are related somehow, they all seem to share a common sister. The sister being the one some brat and her dog dropped a house on

------------------
(!)

bill boyd · July 6, 1999, 09:20 PM

For realism, I can't believe that noone mentoned Will Penny.

Paul B. · July 7, 1999, 12:04 PM

Bill. Only because I forgot it. Yes. It was great. I just added BARBAROSSA to my collection. I've got most of Clint Eastwoods pasta westerns, but I can't seem to find THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES. I kept bypassing it, and now that I want it, it's not around. Oh well, such is life inthe far west. I guess the only westerns I don't like are the ones where the hero (?) sings to his horse. You know, the horse opera?
While not a movie, I really liked the LONESOME DOVE TV series, especially the "outlaw years".
Paul B.

Andrewh · July 9, 1999, 09:54 AM

Angel and the Badman. My favorite John Wayne movie by far. I will always love the scene that he bluffs out the bad guys with an empty gun.

June 19, 1999, 03:32 AM	#1
Lucas Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 1999 Posts: 211	Which movies are the most realistic, whilst still being a good movie? I'm kinda thinin' Unforgiven, with Clint.

June 19, 1999, 04:12 AM	#2
Bulldog Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 1999 Location: Texas Posts: 564	Unforgiven was good. Personally, I liked Lonesome Dove. Of course, I can't help but to like Tombstone. But on the not-so-realistic side, I still enjoy all the John Wayne flicks: Stagecoach, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance, Hondo, McClintock, Rio Bravo, Rio Lobo, Rio Grande, El Dorado, Big Jake, Cahill: U.S. Marshal, True Grit, The Shootist. You just can't beat a good John Wayne western. I especially enjoy seeing him with the same rig throughout most of his movies. The only thing I can't stand is seeing all those Buscadero rigs on the other actors.

June 19, 1999, 09:34 AM	#3
Prichard Senior Member Join Date: February 7, 1999 Posts: 263	n [This message has been edited by Prichard (edited February 07, 2000).]

June 19, 1999, 12:15 PM	#4
Lucas Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 1999 Posts: 211	Bulldog, at this time I'm re-reading Lonsome Dove and will re-watch it again when completed. As for the Duke, any movie he was in --I'll watch. My favorite John Wayne western would be 1) True Grit, 2) The Shootist, 3) The Cowboys--that one choked me up. Prichard, how about The Magnificent 7? The reason for this post was to help remind me of good Westerns that I need to watch again. It's helping. Thanks.

June 19, 1999, 09:16 PM	#5
Gunslinger Junior member Join Date: January 5, 1999 Location: Springfield, Missouri Posts: 2,105	Wild Rovers, with Wm. Holden, Ryan O'Neil & Carl Malden. Any of the Loius Lamour, TNT made movies with Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck, etc. are good for realism. ------------------ Gunslinger We live in a time in which attitudes and deeds once respected as courageous and honorable are now scorned as being antiquated and subversive.

June 20, 1999, 10:06 AM	#6
Bill Mitchell Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 15, 1998 Location: Roswell,GA Posts: 433	"Lonesome Dove" is fantastic! I can sit and watch it all the way through and still be sorry that it's over. John Wayne movies I really enjoy are "The Searchers","She Wore a Yellow Ribbon","The Man Who shot Liberty Valance","Stagecoach",and "Red River". Other worthwhile Westerns are "Shane","The Gunfighter","The Big Sky",and "The Westerner". Any John Ford/John Wayne movie and any Jimmy Stewart/Anthony Mann Movie. More modern westerns I like are "Unforgiven","Pale Rider",and the TNT offerings "Last Stand at Saber River" and "Conagher",a movie that proves that Sam Elliott is the best cowboy star we have today. "Tombstone" is like a '34 Coupe hotrod-not entirely historically correct,but it gives a hell of a fun ride Bellicose Bill

June 20, 1999, 01:21 PM	#7
El Chimango Pete Senior Member Join Date: January 11, 1999 Location: Sierras de Cordoba - Argentina Posts: 352	All the above - the more recent seem to strive for a little more realism. Also "High Noon" among the classics, but as has been pointed out many times - that a town could be such a bunch of wimps in those frontier days stretches things a bit (today, mind you...). Just by chance been seeing two videos I ordered together (amazon.com): "Quigley Down Under" (ok ok Aussie friends - agree you wouldn't need an imported 'yank' to sort things out) and "Valdez is Coming" - Burt Lancaster... both very good and both have some long range Sharps rifle shooting --- thing they are telling me something... Hasta pronto pilgrims! El Chimango Pete

June 20, 1999, 05:08 PM	#8
TENFAN Member Join Date: February 13, 1999 Location: Tallahassee,FL USA Posts: 27	I vote for "Quigley Down Under". The best "gun" movie since "Winchester 73".

June 21, 1999, 12:34 AM	#9
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,841	Mark me down for Quigley too. ------------------ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt

June 21, 1999, 10:27 AM	#10
CapeFear Member Join Date: April 8, 1999 Posts: 92	I like all the movies listed above but "The Outlaw Josey Wales" will always be near the top of my list.

June 21, 1999, 12:17 PM	#11
David Schmidbauer Retired Screen Name Join Date: November 17, 2000 Posts: 396	I, also, am a fan of Shiloh Sharps Long Range Express... Tom wasn't too in "Quigley" either. Who saw "The Last Outlaw" with Micky Rorke (sp?). It was a HBO Movie. It was good. HEY... it also had a Sharps... coincidence? I think not! ------------------ Schmit, GySgt, USMC(Ret) NRA Life, Lodge 1201-UOSSS "Si vis Pacem Para Bellum" [This message has been edited by David Schmidbauer (edited June 21, 1999).]

June 22, 1999, 11:44 AM	#12
fal308 Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Missouri Posts: 1,992	I've seen all of the above and agree they are all good. A few I would add would be The Professionals, The Good the Bad & the Ugly, Ulzana's Raid, McKenna's Gold, Tom Horn and for the offbeat - the Trinity movies, Waterhole No. 3, Paint Your Wagon, North to Alaska; to name a few. Luckily I have a generous video collection and Starz Western channel on my satellite dish

June 22, 1999, 11:56 AM	#13
BigG Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 1999 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 4,334	Check "Vera Cruz" with Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster. "Son of the Morning Star", about Gen. Custer and his last stand was compelling, especially in the comparisons between the General and Crazy Horse, his counterpart on the opposing team. Who can forget, "They Died with Their Boots On", with Errol Flynn? Black Robe and Last of the Mohicans, while not strictly westerns, have plenty of blood curdling action, in MHO. ------------------ Son of Liberty

June 23, 1999, 12:16 AM	#14
Lucas Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 1999 Posts: 211	Ya know, I was just reviewing everyones favorites when I noticed a shocking lack of mention. I think this might be because of the political views of the "stars". What is your opinion of ........ Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

June 24, 1999, 01:39 PM	#15
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,802	I particularly liked Kevin Costners WYATT EARP. DANCES WITH WOLVES is another favorite of mine. The WILD BUNCH, a true classic. QUIGLEY, another top movie. I liked all Clint's spagheti westerns too, even if they were a bit unrealistic. You left out Steve McQueens TOM HORN. History has shown that Horn used a 30-30 Winchester during his Wyoming days. Not the 45-60 that was used in the movie although he did use one in earlier times. Still a good movie. When I was a youngster, John Wayne's early westerns didn't thrill me. They didn't have cars in cowboy times. (Shows how dumb I was.) It wasn't until I read Elmer Keith's autobiography that I realized that some cars were in use. I believe Keith called them "skunk wagons". Makes some of those early Wayne movies more interesting. Some of the westerns I have not seen are by William S. Hart. I once read an article about him, and it was said that he not only lived the life, but insisted on authenticity in his movies. (I have been watching the silent movies on TMC lately. They're kind of fun.) WILD BILL is not too bad. There is some great gunplay in that one. One of the western actors I miss is Lee Van Cleef. He played a great bad guy. Why am I sitting here writing this? I'm gonna go plug in a western and enjoy myself. Paul B.

June 24, 1999, 07:32 PM	#16
Robert Foote Senior Member Join Date: December 31, 1998 Posts: 623	'The Professionals', with Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster, Woody Strode. Excellent atmosphere and the actors look like they know what they're doing. Details are excellent except for one millisecond where Marvin is holding a Browning High Power (circa 1916) and the use of a M1903A3. To offset that they use 1897 Winchesters and a Lewis gun very effectively. Good sound track, and the closing lines are unbeatable!

June 26, 1999, 04:52 PM	#17
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,802	Gotta add one I left off. SOLDIER BLUE. Starred Candy Bergan as a woman captured by Indians. Ends up with the Sand Creek Massacre, if I remember correctly. It is a movie that will totally tick you off at the end. Paul B.

June 27, 1999, 12:02 PM	#18
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Lucas: "Rules? In a knife fight?" Paul B: "Soldier Blue" was a great movie. I sorta judge movies by whether I can watch when I'm alone and nobody is there to share the emotions. So, I sorta vote for "best" as being "The Professionals". Then, the first half of "The Magnificent Seven", as the characters are developed. The only western which turns me off is "Shane", and only because of that damned little kid's whiny voice, "Shane! Come back, Shane!" (Old Farts get that way.)

June 27, 1999, 04:49 PM	#19
El Chimango Pete Senior Member Join Date: January 11, 1999 Location: Sierras de Cordoba - Argentina Posts: 352	Art: It must be the aging memory cells getting clogged again but would swear Shane turned around and plugged the danged kid just before riding off into the Sunset. Re Butch and Sundance: They're just back from Bolivia and say they got two movie guys - Newman and Redford I think they said their names were - to stand in for them as the Bolivian Army was getting close... It was a good and well made picture - Hollywood Correct. If actors want to shame themselves off stage its sad, but their own affair... not all can be endowed with intellects proportional to their acting ability. El Chimango Pete (aka Peter Knight)

June 29, 1999, 04:38 AM	#20
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	All of them. IMHO, there is no such thing as a bad western. Even the poorest of them still have great guns and gear. Robert Foote: The closing lines in the Professionals, ah yes, greatest line in the history of Cinema. ------------------ (!)

June 29, 1999, 06:45 PM	#21
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	Hal: Ever notice how many "self-made men" there are in our Administration? HCI? Congress?

June 30, 1999, 03:22 AM	#22
Hal Senior Member Join Date: October 9, 1998 Location: Ohio USA Posts: 8,563	Art, Quite a few A lot of self made women too. I think most of the women are related somehow, they all seem to share a common sister. The sister being the one some brat and her dog dropped a house on ------------------ (!)

July 6, 1999, 09:20 PM	#23
bill boyd Junior Member Join Date: March 19, 1999 Posts: 13	For realism, I can't believe that noone mentoned Will Penny.

July 7, 1999, 12:04 PM	#24
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,802	Bill. Only because I forgot it. Yes. It was great. I just added BARBAROSSA to my collection. I've got most of Clint Eastwoods pasta westerns, but I can't seem to find THE OUTLAW JOSIE WALES. I kept bypassing it, and now that I want it, it's not around. Oh well, such is life inthe far west. I guess the only westerns I don't like are the ones where the hero (?) sings to his horse. You know, the horse opera? While not a movie, I really liked the LONESOME DOVE TV series, especially the "outlaw years". Paul B.

July 9, 1999, 09:54 AM	#25
Andrewh Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 1999 Posts: 966	Angel and the Badman. My favorite John Wayne movie by far. I will always love the scene that he bluffs out the bad guys with an empty gun.