The MoFo Top 100 Westerns: Countdown

Tombstone is awesome but didn’t get my vote

Seen: 18/74
- Slow West (#95)
- The Big Gundown (#85)
- The Furies (#84)
- The Shooting (#71)
- The Grey Fox (#66)
- The Great Train Robbery (#60)
- Meek’s Cutoff (#58)
- Red River (#56)
- Bone Tomahawk (#54)
- The Cowboys (#50)
- Rango (#41)
- The Gunfighter (#40)
- Open Range (#36)
- Hell or High Water (#35)
- The Great Silence (#34)
- The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (#33)
- Johnny Guitar (#30)
- Tombstone (#28)

My list:
12. Johnny Guitar
14. Hell or High Water
19. Red River
20. The Gunfighter
21. Bone Tomahawk
23. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

It was thanks to your nomination in the HoF that made me love The Big Country. But the weird thing is I had seen it some years before, but it just didn't click with me and I had forgot it. Maybe I was too tired to enjoy it on the very 1st watch

Awesome! Two of my favorite Westerns made it back-to-back. I saw Tombstone at the cinema when it was first released and loved it so much I saw it again there, and made sure to snap up the DVD when it came out. Now I have the "Director's Cut" (Cosmatos says it's him ) that includes some cut scenes that fit back in just right, just like the cut scenes from Aliens that Cameron put back in for the DVD release. I'm sure that running time was the main reason for the deletion of these scenes. Having seen both Tombstone and Wyatt Earp, I have to say that the former is my favorite of all the Earp/Doc Holliday film tales but the latter is a superior film that takes on epic status and is a damn fine film. I just had to trim my list and Wyatt Earp was a casualty.

Val Kilmer is super in one of his finest roles, but Kurt Russell is often overlooked as the stoic, no-nonsense Wyatt Earp, whether that be the whole truth or not of Earp. So many great supporting roles---Stephen Lang, one of my favorite actors, is great here as the cowardly Ike Clanton. @Holden Pike, thanks for that great picture of Lang with the gun being held to his head. This exchange is one of my favorites:
Ike Clanton: What is that now? Twelve hands in a row? Holliday, son of a b****, nobody's that lucky.
Doc Holliday: Why Ike, whatever do you mean? Maybe poker's just not your game Ike. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!

The Big Country is a glorious movie, with not a wasted scene or role, IMO. The score, especially the opening, is one of the best in filmdom, and one of my personal favorites. I love the fact that Gregory Peck's character doesn't have to prove anything to anyone---he is his own man and does things he's been called out on in public, but in private, or with as few witnesses as possible. And Burl Ives is my favorite performer in the film. @Loner, thanks for that Ren & Stimpy clip. I saw that years ago and knew instantly what they were riffing on. Those are my favorite lines from Ives, although R&S paraphrased Ives a bit. The first two lines were: "Teach your grandmother to suck eggs!" and "If you ain't the mother and father of all liars!" He deserved that Oscar, no doubt.

Tombstone was #15 on my list and The Big Country was #9.

My list so far:
Hombre Me: 13 The list proper: 88
The Naked Spur Me: 25 The list proper: 86
Ride the High Country Me: 10 The list proper: 63
Winchester '73 Me: 20 The list proper: 53
El Dorado Me: 2 The list proper: 47
The Professionals Me: 23 The list proper: 45
Shane Me: 12 The list proper: 43
True Grit Me: 4 The list proper: 38
Open Range Me: 19 The list proper: 36
Tombstone Me: 15 The list proper: 28
The Big Country Me: 9 The list proper: 27

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

I liked Johnny Guitar, but it didn't make my list. I saw Tombstone when I was younger, but didn't get around to rewatching it before the coutndown. It might have made my list. I've seen a few scenes since it plays at work for the clients sometimes. It's one of those movies that gets played on TV a lot. I love the scene near the end with Val Kilmer coming out of the shadows, the sharp witted dialogue, the tension thick in the air. It really showed the subtle skill of the characters as they moved around each other like samurai. The good old days when Val Kilmer was a big star, before he dropped into obscurity.

I thought it was too vague for anyone to get. Evidently Burl Ives liked it too.

From IMDb

During the first season The Ren & Stimpy Show (1991) episode "Stimpy's Invention" featured a record, "Happy Happy Joy Joy," which contained a variety of spoken-word segments meant to parody some of Ives' albums from the 1960s. When Ives saw the episode, he contacted Ren and Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi and said that he would have been willing to do the voice over work for it.

The Big Country is #5 on my list.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Like most Jim Jarmusch films Dead Man is a love it or leave it proposition. Shot beautifully in black and white this Psychedelic/Acid Western follows William Blake (Johnny Depp), an accountant from Cleveland who arrives on the frontier for a job only to find it has been filled and the owner of the company, played by Robert Mitchum in one if his last roles, is a mean cuss. He is taken in by a prostitute but while there in her bed winds up shooting and killing a man in self defense. That man (Gabriel Byrne) happened to be Mitchum’s son. Depp’s Blake, completely out of his element, takes off into the wilderness on horseback pursued by three hired bounty killers (Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott, and Eugene Byrd). Eventually he chances upon a large Native American who calls himself Nobody who is an unlikely admirer of the British philosophical poet and painter William Blake, so he decides to help this stupid fu*king White Man with the same name who, now hunted and wounded, becomes adept at killing. Neil Young provides a sparse, haunting, improvised electric guitar for the score and Robby Müller’s (Paris, Texas, Repo Man) dreamlike cinematography drifting through the landscape. Enough MoFo’s loved Indie legend Jarmusch’s first foray into genre as it was on fifteen ballots, ten of them being top ten votes: two tenth place, a ninth, a seventh, a fifth, a fourth, a third, a second, and two first place votes.

One of the things often cited as a negative by Dead Man’s detractors is its slow pace. While punctuated by a few bursts of incredible action, including an infamously brutal bear attack, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Reventant is likewise thought of as too slow by some. But this powerfully immersive version of Hugh Glass’ real life story of survival and revenge, which was also the inspiration for the 1971 film Man in the Wilderness starring Richard Harris, was nominated for eight Oscars winning Best Director for Iñárritu, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, and Best Cinematography for Emmanuel Lubezki. DiCaprio stars as Glass, hired as their guide by the Army for a fur trapping expedition into the snowy wilds, led by a young Captain played by Domhnall Gleeson. After an attack by the Arikara tribe Glass and his halfbreed son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) lead the survivors by foot back towards the Fort. While scouting ahead Glass is mauled by a Grizzly and barely (no pun intended) survives. After witnessing Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), one of the men in the party, murder his son as Glass himself is left in a shallow grave to die, he manages to extricate himself and slowly carry on back towards the Fort by himself. Vengeance and determination fuel him in the astoundingly beautiful landscape. Announcing our Top 25, The Revenant is the first film on the countdown to receive twenty votes including a fourth, fifth, sixth, two seventh, two eighth, and a tenth placer.

Oh crap, gonna have to do a major update on the algorithm now

Not much of a fan of Dead Man personally, I don't hate it but it doesn't really work that well for me. On the other hand I do like The Revenant quite a bit so am happy to see it place well even if I opted to not include it on my personal ballot.

Seen: 41/76

Faildictions (yee-haw version 1.10):
24. The Fastest Gun Alive
23. Destry Rides Again (1939)

The Revenant was my #4.

I love the film quite a bit, but it’s not really what I would consider a western. It’s a bit in the grey area, kind of like No Country for Old Men, which I feel like is more of a western. But since I couldn’t vote for that apparently, I’m voting for this.

Dead Man was my #1 pick. I don't think there's anything I can say about it that I didn't already cover in this review I wrote (though I'd obviously jack up that score a bit now - I'm not in the habit of immediately giving out the full five but I think it's earned it). Maybe it's not the out-and-out best Western, but it packs damn near everything I love about the genre into a neat little package that very much stands out as its own thing (which is true of all Jarmusch films, for better or - much less likely - for worse). Absolute masterpiece.

I also wrote a bunch of words on The Revenant, but they are far less complimentary (and I still remain unimpressed after a second viewing). At least I was slightly nicer when it came to my review of The Big Country (which I do think I should give another watch). Tombstone...well, I've seen it twice and I kind of think of it as a Western for people who don't really like Westerns. I'll agree that the stacked cast definitely carries it more than anything else about the film itself.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Both of these films were on my ballot. Dead Man made my top ten as my ninth overall pick while The Revenant got only two points as my twenty-fourth choice, but I had to have it on my list.

I fell instantly and deeply in love with Dead Man upon its release. I was already a fan of Jarmusch. His Stranger Than Paradise and Down by Law were strong introductions to a distinctive cinematic voice, and while his development continued with Mystery Train and Night on Earth they already felt a bit like Jarmush parodying himself or hitting too many of the same notes. Dead Man was his biggest budget at the time and for me a true leap forward, encompassing all of his gifts for tone and quiet humor but integrating them into a Western, of all things. For me it is a Post Modern bit of genius, and if you were an English major like me or know William Blake’s poetry via some other route the allusions to his work throughout are clever and sometimes profound (“The vision of Christ that thou dost see is my vision's greatest enemy”). In addition to all of that is Gary Farmer and the depiction of a Native American. His Nobody, who was also given the name He Who Talks Loud, Saying Nothing by other Natives, is the inverse of Hoffman’s Jack Little Big Man Crabb in that as a boy he was taken from his tribe and forcibly raised by whites. Therefore he too has bits of both cultures, most obviously identified by his appreciation of Blake’s poetry, but he is a unique character. With Chief Dan George’s Grandfather Lodge Skins in Little Big Man Nobody is my favorite Native American portrayal in cinema: humanistic, humorous, respectful. I love Dead Man’s melancholy rumination on death and poetry wrapped up in a Western.

The Revenant is an expensive, glorious piece of filmmaking where Alejandro González Iñárritu's impressive vision is realized in Emmanuel Lubezki master class in cinematography and Leo’s dedication to the unglamorous movie star role finally netting him his Oscar. As breathtaking as Jeremiah Johnson’s photography of Utah was in 1972, the images of the unspoiled Dakotas, actually shot throughout Alberta, Canada with the snowy final showdown filmed in the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina is truly stunning. It is a film where every frame of film is a painting. The blood, pain, and brutality of the story juxtaposed with all of that beauty will make this one I return to again and again forever.

The top twenty-four films to go and fifteen of my choices have been revealed.

HOLDEN PIKE'S LIST
5. Little Big Man (#38)
7. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (#83)
9. Dead Man (#26)
10. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#52)
12. The Great Silence (#34)
13. My Name is Nobody (#79)
14. The Grey Fox (#66)
16. Hombre (#88)
17. The Big Country (#27)
18. Pursued (#73)
19. Jeremiah Johnson (#37)
21. One-Eyed Jacks (#32)
23. The Professionals (#45)
24. The Revenant (#25)
25. Support Your Local Sheriff! (#89)

The Revenant is such a visual treat. Makes me want to go on a winter wilderness holiday.

Its a tough watch in parts, damn that Bear scene is horrific and brilliant. Tom Hardy and Leonardo on absolute top form.

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Both these were very high on my list as they are not only two of my favorite Westerns but both are in my top 100 films at the moment.

Dead Man has Depp's best performance, gorgeous cinematography, and a sharp as hell script. That third component is usually what takes a movie from being great to a favorite for me. Extremely funny in subtle ways. Fantastic film.

I am in the bag for all of Innaritu's "tricks". It's very weird that the cinephile world wants ambitious directors and then when we get one we ding them for that ambition. The Revenant is truly one of the most gorgeous films I have ever watched. It also has great characters and a plot that is easy to get engrossed in. Probably not my favorite DiCaprio performance but he's pretty damn good.

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Letterboxd

Oh boy @ 25 already, lots of catching up reading to do, but let me start by being the 76th mofo to mention that Holden’s graphics/presentation is amazing!

Seen list 46/76 + ranking on my personal list:

90. Duck, You Sucker! (#53)
85. The Big Gundown (#52)
82. ¡Three Amigos! (#50) So glad/relieved it made the list without my vote
80. The Mercenary (#21)
79. My Name is Nobody (#13)
76. The Life & Times of Judge Roy Bean (#27)
75. Pale Rider (#60)
74. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (#58)
72. Maverick (#95)
69. Westworld (#65)
68. Bad Day at Black Rock (#62)
67. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (#18)
66. The Grey Fox (#85)
64. Django (#36)
63. Ride the High Country (#92)
62. City Slickers (#82)
61. Young Guns (#11)
58. Meek's Cutoff (#67)
57. The Shootist (#40)
56. Red River (#78)
55. Back to the Future Part III (#49)
54. Bone Tomahawk (#55)
53. Winchester '73 (#32)
52. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#54)
51. Giant (#53)
48. 3:10 to Yuma (#35)
47. El Dorado (#29)
46. The Proposition (#68)
45. The Professionals (#71)
44. My Darling Clementine (#78)
43. Shane (#90)
42. The Quick and the Dead (#88)
40. The Gunfighter (#8)
39. Little Big Man (#33)
37. Jeremiah Johnson (#4)
36. Open Range (#47)
35. Hell or High Water (#17)
34. The Great Silence (#22)
32. One-Eyed Jacks (#7)
31. High Plains Drifter (#48)
30. Johnny Guitar (#93)
29. 3:10 to Yuma (#57)
28. Tombstone (#12)
27. The Big Country (#15)
26. Dead Man (#24)
25. The Revenant (#26)

My Ballot 12/25:

1. -
2. -
3. -
4. Jeremiah Johnson 1972
5. -
6. -
7. One-Eyed Jacks 1961
8. The Gunfighter 1950
9. -
10. -
11. Young Guns 1988
12. Tombstone 1993
13. My Name Is Nobody 1973
14. -
15. The Big Country 1958
16. -
17. Hell or High Water 2016
18. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid 1973
19. -
20. -
21. The Mercenary 1968
22. The Great Silence 1968
23. -
24. Dead Man 1995
25. -

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Entertainment Log
Letterboxd profile

Hate Dead Man.

Revenant made my list at 24 I believe. Knew it would make it.

As a fan of both Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, I was of course excited when I heard about The Revenant. I do have my gripes with some of the CG, but the cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful (even if those two normally beautiful men are not), the story is compelling, and the performances are top notch - finally earning DiCaprio his Oscar (though I'm probably more impressed with Hardy here). I had it at #8.



I first watched Dead Man many years ago with a friend. We had both loved Johnny Depp for a long time, but hadn't heard of this film and had no idea what to expect. When it was over, we had no idea what to think but I was intrigued enough to buy the DVD. After many years and several rewatches, I still didn't know whether or not I liked this bizarre journey of Nobody and The Stupid F***ing White Man. I finally decided that I do like it when I rewatched it yet again about two months ago. I also decided to put it at #10 on my ballot.



My Ballot:
1. 3:10 to Yuma (2007) (#29)
3. Open Range (#36)
5. The Quick and the Dead (#42)
6. The Hanging Tree (#87)
8. The Revenant (#25)
10. Dead Man (#26)
12. The Dark Valley (#92)
15. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#52)
17. Tombstone (#28)
18. Slow West (#95)
21. Rango (#41)
25. In Pursuit of Honor (One-Pointers)

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I liked The Revenant better when it was Man in the Wilderness.

The Revenant
Man in the Wilderness

I liked that part where Neil Young tuned his guitar for two hours.


Hell or High Water

I think it's just a question of whether that ambition is being put to worthwhile use rather than being granted respect as a matter of course (much less whether or not it's even realised effectively in the films themselves). Lubezki's a talented cinematographer and all, but I don't think he's put to particularly good use in The Revenant - his work there seems like more of a formal exercise than anything else and suffers for having to repeat itself as much as it does across the film's considerable runtime, which is also too long to accommodate such a simplistic and contrived plot (it borrows from Training Day!). Ambition is good if there's a point behind it, but The Revenant mostly feels like it's ambitious for its own sake and that works against it.

Wow that sneaky Innaritu Never heard about Man In The Wilderness but going by the moviestills it's even more ctrl+c - ctrl+v than The Departed/Infernal Affairs.