It seems like there are a lot of western fans around here. What are some of your favorite western movies? TV shows? Books? Songs? Radio programs? Video games?
Movies:
While I actually prefer what was known as the "psychological" westerns of the 1950s my top two favorite western movies are Lonesome Dove (1989) and Unforgiven (1992). Warlock (1959) is probably my favorite 50s western.
TV Shows:
Gunsmoke (fav. episode "Thirty a Month and Found" - Season 20)
The Wild, Wild West
Maverick
The Rebel (fav. episode "The Waiting" from season 2)
The Westerner (fav. episode 'Hand on the Gun")
Favorite western books:
The Searchers by Alan Le May
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Ramrod by Luke Short
The Unforgiven by Alan Le May (not related to the 1992 movie)
Death Ground by Ed Gorman
Songs:
El Paso by Marty Robbins
Big Iron by Marty Robbins or Johnny Cash
Cool Water by Hank Williams
Ghost Riders in the Sky by Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash
Cowboy's Lament by Burl Ives
Radio programs:
Gunsmoke
You may or may not know that the Gunsmoke tv series started out as a radio show. It starred William Conrad and ran for several years. It was excellent.
My Top 25:
02/14/1953 THE ROUNDUP
04/02/1955 BLOODY HANDS
04/30/1955 REWARD FOR MATT
10/02/1954 MATT GETS IT
09/27/1952 THE RAILROAD
07/19/1959 SECOND ARREST
09/19/1953 THERE WAS NEVER A HORSE
10/21/1956 TILL DEATH DO US PART
12/27/1952 THE CABIN
06/06/1953 SUNDOWN
11/10/1956 CROWBAIT BOB
03/20/1954 OLD FRIEND
08/08/1953 SKY
09/23/1956 BOX O' ROCKS
07/22/1956 LYNCHING MAN
02/21/1953 MESHOUGAH
02/26/1955 CRACKUP
03/06/1960 BLOOD MONEY
09/20/1954 THE F.U.
12/06/1959 BIG CHUGG WILSON
01/01/1955 THE BOTTLE MAN
07/02/1955 GENERAL PARSLEY SMITH
11/03/1957 BULL
05/06/1956 THE PHOTOGRAPHER
All those can be listened to for free at the Internet archive.
Video Games:
I'm old so I've never actually played any western games. I've heard good things about the Red Dead games though. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Easy 6:
Oh shit! Just realized I left out a top 3 western in my book… Dances With Wolves
Feel horrible now, because THAT is a great western
It is a great movie, but much like the third Lord of the Rings, it came to a perfect ending point and then languished on for another half an hour. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Frazod:
It is a great movie, but much like the third Lord of the Rings, it came to a perfect ending point and then languished on for another half an hour.
Wouldn’t argue much with that, it probably could’ve been trimmed down a bit
But yeah there was a lot to love about that movie, it was just so authentic and had a fresh perspective on the Natives side of things… definitely 5/5 for me [Reply]
I also like Once Upon A Time In The West. Leone had a real problem with letting his movies get bloated later on, imo. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly could have been trimmed down some too, honestly.
....
A lot of spaghetti westerns had intrusive score. Very annoying.
The Good could have been trimmed. I think movie goers back then were used to longer films.
The Good had an intrusive score but I thought it worked. Especially for the Mexican standoff. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan:
Don't know if they've been mentioned yet, but two westerns I enjoy catching on TV are McKenna's Gold and Cat Ballou.
Neither are what I'd call my most favorite or "the best" (Still lean hard on The Searchers/Stagecoach/Magnificent 7), but Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou is worth the price of admission right there.
