Sorry, didn't mean to leave that last blog up all week. But I felt I had to say it, just wish I could've gotten more San Angelo people to read it.
We celebrated the boy's 2nd birthday yesterday (today is his birthday) ... but I'm too tired to go into all the birthday stuff right now. I need a quick and non-thought-intensive blog.
So ... here is the top 50 Westerns according to the voters on the Internet Movie Database (or imdb.com). The ones I've seen are in bold. And! With bonus commentary!
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
2. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) ... Sergio Leone takes the top 2 spots?
3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) ... It's a real good movie, but is it a Western? I guess so.
4. The Wind (1928) ... Sorry, I'm not going to go back as far as 1928.
5. High Noon (1952) ... This is the "classic" that lives up to the hype.
6. No Country for Old Men (2007) ... OK, I liked this movie, but I don't think it's a Western.
7. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
8. Unforgiven (1992) ... So, Clint Eastwood has 3 movies in the Top 10 and John Wayne zero?
9. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
10. The Gold Rush (1925)
11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) ... I've seen it, but not since I was a wee child. And that doesn't count.
12. The Wild Bunch (1969) ... How could this one fall so low?
13. Beloe solntse pustyni (1970) .. A Russian Western?
14. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) ... Lee Marvin and Lee van Cleef as villains! Too bad the movie wasn't about them.
15. The Searchers (1956) ... The cinematography at some points was incredible.
16. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
17. Rio Bravo (1959)
18. Hud (1963)
19. 3:10 to Yuma (2007) ... This was a decent action movie.
20. Dances with Wolves (1990)
21. The Great Silence (1968)
22. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
23. My Darling Clementine (1946)
24. The Magnificent Seven (1960) ... Yul Brynner vs. Eli Wallach. You can't go wrong.
25. Stagecoach (1939) ... Yes, I know I need to see it.
26. Red River (1948)
27. Way Out West (1937)
28. The Gunfighter (1950)
29. Winchester '73 (1950)
30. Destry Rides Again (1939)
31. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
32. The Big Country (1958)
33. Blazing Saddles (1974) ... If this were a Western, really, instead of a comedy, it would make my Top 10.
34. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
35. Shane (1953) ... This is the classic that does not live up to the hype.
36. 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
37. Lonely Are the Brave (1962) ... Based on an Edward Abbey book with Kirk Douglas. Can't go wrong here, either.
38. Giant (1956)
39. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) ... Really?
40. The Mark of Zorro (1940)
41. Little Big Man (1970)
42. Dead Man (1995)
43. Duck, You Sucker (1971) ... OK, I will try this one again.
44. The Westerner (1940) ... This is as far back into cinema history as I'll likely go.
45. Fort Apache (1948)
46. The Shootist (1976)
47. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
48. Tombstone (1993) ... At least it's not in the Top 10.
49. Ride the High Country (1962) ... One of Peckinpah's first.
50. Viva Zapata! (1952)
Looks like I've got some watching to do.
If I had to name my Top 10 favorite (not necessarily what I would rank as the "best," but my personal favorites) Westerns, it would go like this.
10. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
9. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
8. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
7. High Noon (1952)
6. For a Few Dollars More (1965) and A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
The top 5 can really be put in any order, but here's how they are right now:
5. Unforgiven (1992) — The last 20 minutes are among the best in Western history.
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) — Why can't Eli Wallach and Clint Eastwood make another movie together? It wouldn't have to be a Western, it could be anything. I'd watch them in a chick flick.
3. Lonesome Dove (1989) — Guess it didn't make imdb.com's list because it was a miniseries. Watch any scene without Duvall or Jones in it, and it might be just another made-for-TV movie. But put either one of them on screen and it's a good movie. Put 'em on screen together, and it's magic.
2. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) — This Western was made for people like me. A Bob Dylan soundtrack, Kristofferson tries like hell to not let Coburn act him off the screen, and the characters all get drunk and shoot each other. That, and, oh yeah, it's got the one of the greatest collection of Western character actors since ... well, it was the last hurrah.
1. The Wild Bunch (1969) — If you watch Peckinpah's "Ride the High Country" and then watch "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" you might wonder how he got from Point A to Point B. This is it. This movie is the PERFECT mix of old-school Western and new-era Western. It is half "white hat" and half "Man With no Name."
Let's see:
I apologize, but I thought "Once Upon A Time in The West" was overrated and doesn't make the top 25.
I liked Shane. You just have to deal with the little boy's whining and wonder why Shane's so hot for the not-so-attractive wife. This is opposed to The Searchers, which is great, but you have to deal with everyone who is not John Wayne. (His sidekick was especially annoying.)
The "Oxbow Incident" was excellent, Fonda at his best, but not a typical western.
And "My Darling Clementine" should have been in the top five. It defines what a Western should be and is a damn fine movie.
Posted by: Sandy | April 06, 2009 at 02:24 PM
Be careful what you wish for, or somebody will put Clint and Eli in a chick flick, and then your head will essplode.
Posted by: Katherine | April 06, 2009 at 02:55 PM
OK, I will definitely see the Oxbow Incident. But I got to say that "My Darling Clementine" only went as far for me as to keep me watching. I think our tastes in Westerns diverge a bit, but that's groovy. I just couldn't dig "Shane." Not at all. Most disturbing (after the whiny kid) was a young Jack Palance. I just kind of assumed that he showed up one day as a fully-formed old man.
Posted by: Dave T | April 07, 2009 at 12:28 PM
I admit I tend to like the sentimental westerns. The ones in black and white with a staticky soundtrack and featuring a campfire and someone playing a harmonica.
And I got a kick out of Palance. He had maybe five lines of dialogue and still managed to over-act.
Posted by: Sandy | April 08, 2009 at 01:43 PM