7 Amazing Western Films

In the mood for a great movie to watch but nothing is coming to mind? Check out any of these seven amazing western movies, they surely won't disappoint.

1. High Plains Drifter

The first film is called High Plains Drifter, which was directed and also starred by highly respected actor-director Clint Eastwood who leaves his permanent mark all throughout this western film. While fitting the precise definition of a classic western; the stranger, a town in the middle of the plains, and the usual bad guys that would scare anybody. Viewers will have their eyes on the screen thinking what’s going to happen next and still wondering what really happened even after the credits, just like any of the best western films.

2. Little Big Man

Next is Little Big Man, made by Arthur Penn in 1970. It is the captivating story of Jack Crabb, a 121-year-old white man, portrayed by Dustin Hoffman, who is adopted into the Cheyenne tribe when he is just 10 years old. Jack Crabb recounting his tale is a very interesting experience that makes audiences laugh, cry and smile all throughout the film. An example is when he was the assistant to a native American medicine man in the battle of the Little Bighorn in June of 1876, a historical moment in American history.

3. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

One of the most well-known western films is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly made by acclaimed Italian director Sergio Leone. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach star as the main characters. This is an epic western produced in 1966. The movie begins in a desolate ghost town where Tuco, known as "The Ugly", escapes from three bounty hunters and runs into the desert. While doing this, in a totally different location, Angel Eyes, or "The Bad", played by Lee Van Cleef, questions an ex –soldier and kills him in cold blood. Meanwhile, Tuco runs into another group of bounty hunters who prepared to capture him when they are joined by Blondie, Clint Eastwood as "The Good". The whole storyline is about the three people trying to find lost treasure buried in a lost cemetery.

4. Dan?ces with Wolves

Another great western is “Dances with Wolves”, directed and also played by, Kevin Costner. This is the story of Lieutenant John Dunbar in a remote outpost in the wild Dakota during the American Civil War. He finds himself having to make a decision, which will not only affect his life forever but also the lives of the local Sioux tribe that has become kind of like his family.

5. Rio Grande

Rio Grande, one of the western films directed by John Ford in 1950, is set after the Civil War when the Union was trying to solve the Apache problem. Union officer Kirby Yorke, played by John Wayne, trains new recruits and one of them is his son, who he has not seen in many years. Yorke gives him a hard time as he acclimates to his duties. His feelings worsen when his wife, actress Maureen O’Hara, shows up to convince her son to leave the army and go with her back home.

6. The Magnificent Seven

Everybody has heard of The Magnificent Seven played by Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach and directed by John Sturges in 1960. This film features seven gunmen that were hired to protect a Mexican village from bandits. It is inspired from the well-known Japanese film The Seven Samurai. This is one of those classic western films that you’ll enjoy watching repeatedly.

7. The Wild Bunch

Last but not least, is The Wild Bunch directed by Sam Peckinpah in 1969. This is one of those western films that tells the story of a not-so-young gang of riders who decide to rob a Texas bank, only to find out that their plan was already known by the bank before they even began. They are forced to run to Mexico but feel the need to steal something to make up for the failed bank heist. Nevertheless, their pursuer is not willing to let them rest and so the story goes on until the final and climactic end.

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Written by Peter Nowell of gatsbeexchange.com