The Western genre has been a defining hallmark of cinema ever since it first rose to prominence as far back as the 1930s. Reaching its pinnacle in the 50s and 60s, it became emblematic of American film, with screen icons like John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper being prolific stars of the genre. However, with the advent of Italy's spaghetti Westerns, which surged in popularity through the 60s, the Western has become a cherished pillar of cinema's identity on the global stage.

One of the strengths of the Western, and the reason for its evergreen timelessness, has been its willingness to constantly evolve, with each new generation of filmmakers able to re-align the genre to contemporary sensitivities. As such, the Westerns' greatest films span across the better part of a century. From pioneering classics of the 30s and 40s to modern-day iterations of the genre, and everything in between, the 25 best Westerns of all time make up some of cinema's most iconic and enduring achievements.

35 'Winchester '73' (1950)

Directed by Anthony Mann

One of Jimmy Stewart’s finest efforts in his Western filmography, Winchester ’73 sees the iconic leading man portray Lin McAdam, a cowboy on the hunt for a notorious outlaw, Dutch Henry Brown (Millard Mitchell). When Dutch ambushes McAdam, and steals a prized Winchester rifle he won in a shooting contest, the cowboy sets out to reclaim his gun and kill Dutch once and for all, putting the two men on an inevitable collision course sure to end in an epic gunfight.

With a runtime of just 92 minutes, Winchester ’73 is a brisk and high-tempo film, offering plenty of thrills and action along the way. Furthermore, it’s immense cast – including the likes of Rock Hudson, Shelley Winters, Tony Curtis, and Dan Duryea – imbues it with a vibrancy and energy that feeds into its engaging spectacle. It is undeniably Stewart’s film though, with the bold foray into Western cinema re-branding the actor as a hero of the frontier for years to come.

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34 'My Darling Clementine' (1946)

Directed by John Ford

John Ford’s take on the legend of Wyatt Earp (played in this case by Henry Fonda), My Darling Clementine might just be the acclaimed filmmaker’s most underrated movie. Fleshing out the story behind the famous O.K. Corral shootout, it follows Earp as he arrives in Tombstone with his brothers, only to awaken the next morning to find one of them dead and their cattle stolen. While the Earp brothers seek revenge, Wyatt sparks a romantic interest in Clementine Carter (Cathy Downs), the former lover of Doc Holliday (Victor Mature).

Fonda turned in a truly iconic cowboy performance while Mature had a career-best outing as the ailing Doc Holliday. With the film displayed in the brand of epic, cinematic grandiosity that defined many of John Ford’s greatest pictures, it remains a true Western classic and one of the best depictions of Wyatt Earp ever put to screen.

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33 'Dances with Wolves' (1990)

Directed by Kevin Costner

Kevin Costner’s directorial debut, Dances with Wolves is an overawing visual spectacle that encompasses the sheer vastness of the frontier and the emotional might that can be found in American history. With Costner also starring, it follows a Civil War veteran who is assigned to a remote western outpost and forms a tight bond with the local Sioux tribe. His new relationships with the tribe members are tested when Union soldiers arrive to take their land.

While it is easy to criticize the movie for the simplicity with which it addresses its cultural focuses, Dances with Wolves maintains an arresting and rousing grandiosity that has seen it, as a whole, age admirably even if some of its parts haven’t. In addition to having a significant impact upon release, it also won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for Costner.

32 'Red River' (1948)

Directed by Howard Hawks

An underrated John Wayne film compared to some of the Western icon’s other acclaimed pictures in the genre, Red River excels as a character-driven drama with a neat, focused story. It follows Texas rancher Thomas Dunson (Wayne) and his adopted son Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift) as they embark on a cattle drive to Missouri as the Civil War rages on. The further they trek, the more hostile their relationship grows.

With esteemed director Howard Hawks at the helm, the film is an exemplary Western rich with awe-inspiring, sweeping visuals and an arresting emotional journey of desperation and tragedy. It maybe sacrifices some of the exhilarating thrills associated with Western stories in pits pursuit of a more grounded depiction of a bleak chapter in American history, but it is a stronger, more powerful film for it. Wayne’s portrayal of Dunson also remains one of the best and most nuanced performances of his career.

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31 'Tombstone' (1993)

Directed by George P. Cosmatos and Kevin Jarre

A sleek and stylish Western that was strikingly modern upon release and has endured admirably with its immaculate cast, Tombstone has to be the huckleberry of every 90s Western fan. A dramatized retelling of Wyatt Earp’s (Kurt Russell) exploits, it follows the famous gunman as he and his brothers settle in the Arizona town of Tombstone where they find themselves opposed to a band of outlaws known as “the Cowboys.”

The ensemble cast features A-listers like Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, and Michael Biehn alongside Kurt Russell, but it was Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Doc Holliday that was the true scene stealer. His chemistry with Russell is sensational, with the bond between Holliday and Earp a defining element of the film’s brilliance. Triumphant, rousing, and imbued with gritty fun, Tombstone is a hallmark of Western entertainment in the 1990s.

30 'Compañeros' (1970)

Directed by Sergio Corbucci

While Sergio Corbucci was typically known for the confronting sense of violence he brought to spaghetti Western cinema, his 1970 film, Compañeros, was a masterful blending of comedy and Western. Essentially a buddy movie, it follows a Swedish arms dealer and a Mexican peon as they are dispatched to reclaim an intellectual leader of the revolution from an American prison. Hilarious misadventures aplenty ensue, while the duo are also tracked by a one-handed gunslinger harboring a vengeful fury.

With genre icons Franco Nero and Tomas Milian occupying the starring roles, Compańeros boasted a vibrant energy that saw it go from Western to comedy to all-out action on a whim. There is a degree of ridiculous excess to Compańeros which is perfectly balanced against its narrative progression to be an exuberantly fun viewing experience for Western lovers.

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29 'Hell or High Water' (2016)

Directed by David Mackenzie

Hell or High Water has become an underrated cult classic as a well-acted neo-Western that also functions as a lean and gritty heist thriller. It follows Toby (exceptionally portrayed by Chris Pine), a divorced father, and his ill-tempered brother Tanner (Ben Foster), an ex-con, as they are told the bank is readying to foreclose on their family ranch. As they conduct a series of armed robberies on the bank, they find themselves on a collision course with Sheriff Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges), a veteran lawman on the cusp of retirement.

While it replaces the horses and rifles with pick-up trucks and pump-action shotguns, it cuts to the core of the genre with its complex exploration of morality, violence, and justice. David Mackenzie succeeds in walking a tightrope in that audiences are permitted to be roused by the poetic justice of the brothers robbing the bank they are indebted to, while also forcing viewers to grapple with its evocative story of desperation.

28 'Brokeback Mountain' (2004)

Directed by Ang Lee

A renowned Western romance from director Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain was famously snubbed for Best Picture at the Oscars. That being said, it has endured as a true gem of 21st century cinema that is an essential viewing experience for all movie lovers. It follows the romance that develops between sheep herders Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger), one that grows complicated when they both return to their girlfriends and get married.

Its concentration on the emotional turmoil of both men gave the film a pointed focus that was poignant and painstakingly specific while still touching on a universal sense of heartache and despair. Impressively, this character-centric approach takes away none of the enormity associated with the genre, with Brokeback Mountain still utilizing an epic scale and spellbinding visuals to enhance the story. The end result is one of the greatest revisionist Westerns of all time.

27 'The Hateful Eight' (2015)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

A spaghetti Western thriller that also runs as a twisted whodunit, The Hateful Eight is a somewhat underappreciated gem within Quentin Tarantino’s career and of the Western genre at large. It tracks eight strangers stuck in a cabin in 1870 Wyoming when a blizzard strikes, forcing a bounty hunter escorting a violent captive to the hangman to grow suspicious of those in his company.

The close confines and the ever-mounting tensions in The Hateful Eight presented Tarantino with plenty of opportunity to flaunt his signature intensity, seeing the movie border on a level of suspense synonymous with horror films. With an epic scale that allows the story to unfold over its three-hour runtime, The Hateful Eight also holds up incredibly well on multiple rewatches, with all the sly twists and eruptions of violence only becoming more engrossing. Additionally, the wintery Western setting made for a relatively unique aesthetic within the genre.

26 'Shane' (1953)

Directed by George Stevens

A Western classic that was catapulted back into mainstream consciousness with its appearance in, and influence on, 2017's superhero hit Logan, Shane is a brilliant and contemplative example of the genre. Set in 1880s Wyoming, it follows the titular bounty hunter as he arrives in a small town and begins working as a farmhand. As Shane (Alan Ladd) befriends the family who employ him, he begins dreaming of a quieter life on the homestead, before the arrival of a ruthless cattle baron forces the gunslinger to take up arms once more.

One of the most influential films in Western cinema, its tale of a violent man hoping to settle into some normality and peace only to return to his brutal ways for the greater good is one which has been replicated countless times. Few films, however, have done it with as much pathos as Shane. Rich with gorgeous views that embody the Old West, Shane won Best Cinematography at the Oscars while also earning a further five nominations.

25 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' (2007)

Directed by Andrew Dominik

Despite becoming a complete flop at the box office, one that famously cost star Brad Pitt a sum of money, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has come to be viewed as a modern classic of Western drama. The biopic focuses on the last days of Jesse James’ (Pitt) gang through the lens of Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), a young crook whose idolization of the notorious outlaw gradually turns to envy and spite.

Coasting off two exceptional lead performances, the film is a measured, crawling dive into obsession and morality, one that uses the mythic allure of the American train robbers to stunning effect. A brilliant example of revisionism in the genre, The Assassination contains all the grandiosity, grit, and thematic might associated with classic Western cinema, while also featuring a poignant crime story and arresting, poetic narration.

24 'True Grit' (2010)

Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen