With Red Dead Redemption 2’s October 26 release date rapidly approaching, now is the time to get excited.
Maybe that means binge-watching HBO’s Deadwood (because, Timothy Olyphant) or replaying the first two games in Rockstar’s wildly popular series: Red Dead Revolver and Red Dead Redemption.
The latter might require dusting off some old consoles, though. Maybe you’ve already done all of the above, in which case I suggest you saddle up for some—or all—of the following Red Dead Redemption-esque movies.
15. Hostiles
The latest great western, Hostiles follows a renowned Army captain who, tasked with escorting a dying Cheyenne war chief and his family back to tribal lands, reluctantly embarks on a relentless journey across a grueling landscape.
Between Fort Berringer, an Army outpost in New Mexico, and the Valley of the Bears in Montana, the group must confront not only their differences with each other, but also a savage band of Comanche, violent fur traders, and a no-nonsense get-off-my-property-you’re-trespassing landowner.
From the opening scene until the closing credits, this movie grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. A harrowing meditation on loss, Hostiles is the perfect blend of action, suspense, and pathos.
14. The Proposition
Another film to rattle your nerves, The Proposition is a change of pace from the familiar landscapes of the American West.
In 1880s Australia, a lawman apprehends notorious outlaw Charlie Burns and gives him nine days to kill his older brother, who’s wanted for rape and murder. If he refuses or fails, authorities will send his younger brother to the gallows.
With that brutal proposition, Burns sets out across one of the Outback’s most merciless regions in search of his older brother. As the climactic scene approaches, you realize that heart-wrenching violence and bloodshed are unavoidable
13. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
A compelling and unique take on the Jesse James mythos, this modern classic focuses on the relationship between the infamous bandit and Robert Ford, who has idolized James since childhood. Ford desperately tries to join the outlaw gang and earn the leader’s respect, but, the closer he gets to James, the more resentful he becomes.
It’s worth watching this movie for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s score alone. Oh, and the cinematography from Roger Deakins, which lends the film a dreamlike and melancholy touch. There’s a particular series of shots where a train rounds a bend at night, its headlight emerging from the darkness and sparkling between trees, that’s truly breathtaking.
12. Django Unchained
With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a violent Mississippi plantation owner.
Don’t be fooled by the straightforward premise because this movie’s entertaining as hell. It has it all: action, comedy, an absorbing plot, and colorful characters. If you want a stylistic take on the spaghetti western, look no further than Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. The 2-hour 45-minute runtime flies by.
11. High Noon
All the way back to 1952 for this one. A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of those around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he turned in years ago, arrives on the twelve o’clock train.
Often praised for taking place in “real-time,” this classic creates the illusion of continuous action, raising suspense in the process. Gary Cooper’s acting steals the show (he won an Oscar for his performance), although High Noon also features incredible editing; music; and a final, tension-filled showdown.
10. 3:10 to Yuma
Two for one! Check out the original 1957 version and the 2007 remake. (The above trailer is for the remake because, well, trailers have significantly improved over the years.)
The synopsis: A small-time rancher is hired by the stagecoach line to put a captured outlaw leader, Ben Wade, on the 3:10 train to Yuma (where court awaits him). Wade's gang has other plans, however, as they try to set him free.
Both versions are great, although the updated version’s modern filmmaking techniques crank the action up a notch.
9. True Grit
Another two for one! In True Grit, a stubborn teenager enlists the help of Rooster Cogburn—a drunk, wisecracking U.S. Marshal—and a Texas Ranger to track down her father's murderer.
No stranger of the Western genre, John Wayne stars as Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 original, with Jeff Bridges assuming the role in the Coen Brothers’ 2010 remake. Watch and compare versions, as both are worthy additions to the Western canon. Beware of rattlesnakes, though.
8. Tombstone
Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers, Morgan (Bill Paxton) and Virgil (Sam Elliott), have left their desperado ways behind them to settle down and start a business in the town of Tombstone, Arizona. But trouble soon finds them when they become targets of a ruthless Cowboy gang. Now, together with Wyatt's best friend, Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer), the brothers are forced to pick up their guns once more.
Kurt Russell, Bill Paxton, Sam Elliot, and Val Kilmer packing heat? Yes, and that’s all you need to know.
7. The Outlaw Josey Wales
Like so many great Westerns, this one’s fueled by revenge. And while Clint Eastwood has embodied some all-time characters, his performance as Josey Wales is undeniably one of his best. Between the action, Josey’s a man of few words, but his one-liners withstand time: “Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?”
6. The Wild Bunch
A gritty Western classic, The Wild Bunch follows Pike Bishop and an aging group of outlaws in search of one last score. The gang soon discovers, however, that their big heist is a setup orchestrated in part by Bishop’s old partner, Deke Thornton. Forced to take refuge in Mexican territory, with Thornton trailing them, the remaining gang must kill or be killed.
This movie has some great gunfights, and, like Red Dead Redemption, is set along the US-Mexican border. Likewise, both stories take place in the 1910s and explore the idea of a shifting landscape where the Old American West is beginning to fade, disappear.
5. The Searchers
Director John Ford and actor John Wayne bring us The Searchers, where an American Civil War veteran vows to embark on a dangerous mission to rescue his niece from Comanche natives. Enlisting the help of his niece’s adopted brother, they set out for hostile territory.
We’ve already witnessed some of the Comanche tribe in action in Hostiles, and here they’re portrayed as brutal adversaries once again. The Searchers is another excellent blend of adventure and drama. “Here is drama, great love, and aching loneliness,” proclaims the trailer’s narrator.
He’s not wrong.
4. Unforgiven
When a prostitute is disfigured by a pair of cowboys in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, her fellow brothel workers post a reward for their murder, much to the discontent of the town’s sheriff. Arriving to collect the reward are two groups of gunfighters, and the three parties—the reward-seeking gunfighters and the sheriff—inevitably clash.
Directed by (and starring) Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven has no shortage of drama, as multiple sides stand in opposition. Winner of the 1992 Academy Award for Best Picture, this reflective Western, from one of the genre’s finest performers and directors, is a home run.
3. Once Upon a Time in the West
Sergio Leone brings to life one of the greatest Westerns of all time. Once Upon a Time in the West features connected conflicts, one a land battle related to railroad construction near a water-rich source, the other a tale of vengeance against a ruthless assassin working for the very rail baron who seeks the aforementioned patch of land.
Pushing a three-hour runtime, Once Upon a Time in the West has everything a moviegoer could want out of a Western: an eerie score, gunslingers, one-road towns, violence, and vengeance. It’s both great fun and a masterpiece.
2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Featuring perhaps the greatest tandem in cinematic history, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, tells “the true story of fast-draws and wild rides, battles with posses, train and bank robberies, a torrid love affair and a new lease on outlaw life in far away Bolivia.”
It’s a blast to experience the action of this movie with these particular characters. They’re so likable that you’ll be on the edge of your seat during the entirety of the final scene.
1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Because of course The Good, the Bad and the Ugly had to make the list. Director Sergio Leone and star Clint Eastwood (heard those names before?) deliver another masterpiece in the genre—the masterpiece, really—a story where two men, forming a tense alliance against a third, race to find buried gold in a remote cemetery.
This is the quintessential Western. With another lengthy runtime (this is pretty much Leone’s M.O.), this one packs a punch and delivers on so many levels. It’s entertaining, yes, but it’s also worth watching The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to appreciate Leone’s visual style. This one’s got some incredibly iconic shots, and, even today, they’re still noteworthy.
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