What's the best Western movie or series of all time?

Honestly there should be a hard line in the sand - Before Unforgiven, and After Unforgiven, when copious diplays of brutality for the sake of brutality became an integral and required part of the genre.

 

A few months I watched the 1800 something Yellowstone show. Was mostly excellent.

 

Sergio Leone and the clint Eastwood movies come to mind. The good the bad and the ugly is still goated

 

In no particular order, I could list 50, that haven't been mentioned:

Deadwood (can't think of another series, sadly)
The Wild Bunch
...
Pale Rider
Outlaw Josey Wales
Hell or High Water
High Noon
Once Upon a Time in the West
Lonesome Dove (ok, I thought of another 'series')
The Searchers
True Grit

 

I know its a video game, but Red Dead Redemption 1 and 2 were absolutely incredible.

 

Tombstone
Unforgiven
Posse
The Harder They Fall
Magnificent 7
The Rifleman
Bananza
Big Valley
Deadwood
GunSmoke


I googled Westers and Justified came up . . . didn't think of it as a wester
https://m.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=tv_series,tv_miniseries&genres=western
They have Kung Fu WHICH I LOVED

Rocket r

 

Deadwood is the best Western series ever.

Ian McShane as Al is probably the best television acting I have ever seen.... he is also probably the best television "bad guy" I have ever seen.

As for Westerns --- Eastwood's movies are extremely good obviously. I know it is cheesy, but some John Wayne movies are still entertaining to me, maybe because I grew up watching them.

Other really good ones you didn't mention are Stage Coach (hard to find but really good), The Magnificent Seven, Rio Bravo, 3:10 to Yuma, HUD (Paul Newman is an under-rated cowboy), Old Yeller.

 

my favorite western of the 21st century is open range with kevin costner and robert duval. id say its the best western since unforgiven.

the man who shot liberty valance
true grit (john wayne and coen bros versions are both excellent)
the searchers
the five westerns jimmy stewart did with anthony mann in the early 50's are all worth watching, but winchester 73 is my favorite and a top 5 western for me.

 

Series : Gunsmoke
Lonesome Dove
Rifleman
Rawhide
Kung-Fu
Quick Draw (was very funny)
Deadwood (added via edit)

Movies: Unforgiven
Open Range (most overlooked)
both True Grits
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Tombstone
The Arizonian
Shane
The Man with No Name series
Django Unchained
Blazing Saddles

 

Silverado

 

...

 

The Best Western in Hong Kong is very good and rated as a 4 star hotel. Way better than the ones in the US.

On subject I would say:
The Good the Bad the Ugly
Blazing Saddles
Shane
Unforgiven
Dances with Wolves
The Revenant
The Magnificent Seven (The Yul Brenner one and not the recent remake) - Should also include this one for best music and visual.

 

There are other popular ones, but watching Western reruns as a kid, High Plains Drifter was my favorite.

I liked how Clint Eastwood could have zero dialogue in scenes and dominate a movie with body language. Got to meet him at a movie premier years ago which was cool as well.





A Road Paved with Bloodshed: High Plains Drifter Turns 50
...
But identity politics have never been the thematic engine of Eastwood’s work. What drives “High Plains Drifter” is key because it will become the auteurist throughline of Eastwood’s directorial body of work, which is now entering its sixth decade: An Old Testament preoccupation with sin, guilt, retribution, and (as he has aged) the possibility for atonement.

 

Unforgiven

 

The Harder They Fall
Joshua
Posse