The MoFo Top 100 Westerns: Countdown

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If we're asking for stuff ...... points totals for those that didn't make it would be of interest. No worries if that's a lot of effort though.



Nice list. I absolutely love the effort Holdon has put into the artwork and the essays, great stuff.

Anyway here's my list.

1. There Will be Blood (2007)
2. The Good The Bad and the Ugly (1966)
3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
4. The Hateful Eight (2015)
5. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
6. Django Unchained (2012)
7. High noon (1952)
8. The Revenant (2015)
9. For a Few Dollars More (1965)
10. Way Out West (1937)
11. A fistful of dollars (1964)
12. Blazing Saddles (1974)
13. City Slickers (1991)
14. Pale Rider (1985)
15. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
16. Westworld (1973)
17. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
18. The Great Train Robbery (1903)
19. Dances with wolves (1990)
20. The Wild Bunch (1969)
21. The Searchers (1956)
22. High Plains Drifter (1973)
23. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
24. The battle of Elderbush Gulch (1913)
25. Black 47 (2018



If we're asking for stuff ...... points totals for those that didn't make it would be of interest. No worries if that's a lot of effort though.
Yes, that is a lot to ask for. Everything past #110 got 29 points or less. If I compile those numbers then people will want to know how many votes, and on and on. If a title couldn't generate even 30 stinkin' points, you were probably the only one to vote for it or there were a couple of you, but clearly not enough to make a ripple. Whether a movie on the cut list got 24 points or 3, it wasn't especially popular.
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Yes, that is a lot to ask for. Everything past #110 got 29 points or less. If I compile those numbers then people will want to know how many votes, and on and on. If a title couldn't generate even 30 stinkin' points, you were probably the only one to vote for it or there were a couple of you, but clearly not enough to make a ripple. Whether a movie on the cut list got 24 points or 3, it wasn't especially popular.
Bit of an overreaction to a simple question that already stated not to worry if it would involve a lot of work



TGTBATU and OUATIW were my #2 and #3, respectively...

The former edged out the latter, however, I think I might prefer them the other way around after my very recent rewatch of the winner of this list. West I actually didn’t like all too much on the first watch but the rewatch completely changed that. So I think I might prefer that.

However, both are 1 and 2 here for a reason. Both are sublime westerns and generally amazing films in their own right.

Once again huge credit to Holden for the amazing work he has constantly been putting out here with this list. Great job.



Seen: 71/100

My ballot:
  1. Once Upon a Time in the West 1968
  2. High Noon 1952
  3. Unforgiven 1992
  4. Jeremiah Johnson 1972
  5. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966
  6. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969
  7. One-Eyed Jacks 1961
  8. The Gunfighter 1950
  9. Rio Bravo 1959
  10. The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976
  11. Young Guns 1988
  12. Tombstone 1993
  13. My Name Is Nobody 1973
  14. Dances with Wolves 1990
  15. The Big Country 1958
  16. The Ox-Bow Incident 1943
  17. Hell or High Water 2016
  18. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid 1973
  19. The Hateful Eight 2015
  20. McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971
  21. The Mercenary 1968
  22. The Great Silence 1968
  23. The Wild Bunch 1969
  24. Dead Man 1995
  25. Desperado 1995







The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly & Once Upon a Time in the West...neither were on my list. Like, but not love both.

My list:
1 The Big Country (1958) #27
*2 The Ox-Bow Incident (1942) #19
*3 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)#20
*4 Meek's Cutoff (2010) #58
*5 The Gunfighter (1950) #40
*6 The Bravados (1958) #81
*7 The Searchers (1956) #4
*8 Rio Bravo (1959) #10
*9 The Unforgiven (1960) #94
*10 The Naked Spur (1953) #86
-11 Along the Great Divide (1951)
-12 The Man from Laramie (1955)
-13 Yellow Sky (1948)

*14 Winchester '73 (1950) #53
-15 Jubal (1956)
-16 The Wind (1928)
*17 The Furies (1950) #84
-18 Bend of the River (1952)
-19 Monte Walsh (1970)

* 20 Johnny Guitar (1954) #30
-21 The Hangman (1959)
-22 Fort Apache (1948)

*23 High Plains Drifter (1973) #31
-24 The Hired Hand (1971)
* 25 Ride Clear of Diablo (1954) 'One Pointer'



A BIG Thanks to Holden Pike for hosting this!

You did one helluva an excellent job! Your graphics were amazing, but it's the sheer amount of effort and your enthusiasm that impressed me! Nicely Done!



28 days...6 hours...42 minutes...12 seconds
1. Tombstone
2. There Will Be Blood
3. Hell or High Water
4. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
5. The Quick & The Dead
6. Rango
7. Blazing Saddles
8. Bone Tomahawk
9. Maverick
10. 3:10 To Yuma (2007)
11. True Grit (2010)
12. Django Unchained
13. An American Tail: Fivel Goes West.
14. The Mask of Zorro (1998)
15. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
16. The Good, the Bad and the Weird.
17. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
18. The Apple Dumpling Gang
19. City Slickers
20. Back to the Future III
21. 8 Seconds
22. Open Range
23. Thunderheart
24. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
25. Westworld


Yup, that's my horribly bad list. I didn't watch any westerns in prep for this as my life has been really busy and I wasn't even planning on submitting a list until Holden bugged me at the last minute. Thus, classics are left off of it and weird stuff like The Mask of Zorro made it.
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Suspect's Reviews



Excuse me if I've posted before,but I love the Westerns-some of my favs...Warlock-Rio Bravo-Magnificent Seven[both films]-Ride The High Country-Tombstone-Open Range-3:10 To Yuma-Quick And The Dead-High Noon-Dances With Wolves-The Good The Bad The Ugly-Hang Em High-Unforgiven-Buck And The Preacher-Glory-Appaloosa-Hostiles-The Searchers-Two Rode Together-Winchester 73-The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance-Gunfight At The O.K. Corral-The Lone Ranger[yes the one with-Johnny Depp]-Hateful Eight-True Grit.



Unsurprisingly, all of my picks made it. Considering how basic my western knowledge is...

Anyways, here’s my pathetic attempt at a (partial) westerns list:

(1. No Country for Old Men)
1. Django Unchained 2012
2. Once Upon a Time in the West 1968
3. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly 1966
4. The Revenant 2015
5. The Gold Rush 1925
6. Dances with Wolves 1990
7. Westworld 1973
8. High Noon 1952
9. Bone Tomahawk 2015
10. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2007
11. For a Few Dollars More 1965
12. A Fistful of Dollars 1964
13. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 2018
14. There Will Be Blood 2007
15. Hell or High Water 2016
16. Unforgiven 1992
17. Rango 2011
18. The Great Train Robbery 1903


EDIT: I screwed up and accidentally posted the wrong list. The above is the correct one.



Bright light. Bright light. Uh oh.
Great job Holds. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is my #21. Didn't vote for Once Upon a Time in the West . I'm just going to post my list including the one left - The Yearling.

My List

1. Little Big Man
2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
4. The Outlaw Josey Wales
5. Dances with Wolves
6. Friendly Persuasion
7. One-Eyed Jacks
8. The Professionals
9. Barbarosa
10. Red River
11. Oklahoma!
12. Hud
13. The Big Country
14. Giant
15. The Yearling
16. The Searchers
17. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
18. Unforgiven
19. The Ox-Bow Incident
20. The Ballad of Cable Hogue
21. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
22. Support Your Local Sheriff!
23. The Revenant
24. There Will Be Blood
25. High Noon
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Once Upon A Time In The West was my 1 pointer
Didn't vote for GBU though but wish I had now for Morricone.


Well... here t'is...



01. Young Guns (1988) --- 61st
02. There Will Be Blood (2007) --- 14th
03. Unforgiven (1992) --- 3rd
04. The Hateful Eight (2015) --- 11th
05. Dances With Wolves (1990) --- 7th
06. The Cowboys (1972) --- 50th
07. Django Unchained (2012) --- 12th
08. True Grit (2010) --- 22nd
09. True Grit (1969) --- 38th
10. The Quick And The Dead (1995) --- 42nd
11. The Sons Of Katie Elder (1965) --- 100th
12. A Man Called Horse (1970) --- DIDN'T PLACE
13. Wyatt Earp (1994) --- 110th (Holden posted a list of 101-110)
14. Desperado (1995) --- DIDN'T PLACE
15. The Magnificent Seven (1960) --- 24th
16. The Searchers (1956) --- 5th
17. Young Guns 2 (1990) --- DIDN'T PLACE
18. Westworld (1973) --- 69th
19. Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (1973) --- 67th
20. 3:10 To Yuma (1957) --- 48th
21. Tombstone (1993) --- 28th
22. A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014) --- DIDN'T PLACE
23. The Big Country (1958) --- 27th
24. How The West Was Won (1962) --- DIDN'T PLACE
25. Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) --- 2nd



Two absolutely amazing movies, I didn't care which one was first really but I voted OUATITW a tad higher.

Seen: 40/100
- Slow West (#95)
- The Big Gundown (#85)
- The Furies (#84)
- The Gold Rush (#78)
- 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)
- The Revenant (#25)
- Stagecoach (#23)
- True Grit (#22)
- Blazing Saddles (#21)
- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (#20)
- The Ox-Bow Incident (#19)
- For a Few Dollars More (#18)
- McCabe and Mrs. Miller (#17)
- A Fistful of Dollars (#16)
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (#15)
- There Will be Blood (#14)
- Django Unchained (#12)
- The Hateful Eight (#11)
- Rio Bravo (#10)
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (#8)
- High Noon (#6)
- The Searchers (#5)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (#4)
- Unforgiven (#3)
- Once Upon a Time in the West (#2)
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (#1)

My list:
1. There Will be Blood
2. Once Upon a Time in the West
3. Unforgiven
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
5. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
6. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
7. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
8. Blazing Saddles
9. The Searchers
10. Rio Bravo
11. For a Few Dollars More
12. Johnny Guitar
13. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
14. Hell or High Water
15. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
16. The Revenant
17. The Lone Ranger
18. A Fistful of Dollars
19. Red River
20. The Gunfighter
21. Bone Tomahawk
22. The Hateful Eight
23. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
24. Stagecoach
25. Django Unchained



Great, Great, list!!!! So happy this countdown happened, and I have so many awesome Westerns to explore now!!!
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Thanks for doing this Holden. Great job.
As someone who hasn't watched a lot of Westerns (I only gave 11 in my list), this has provided me with a wide selection of movies to watch. I have already watched a few from the list (The Naked Spur, Slow West, Support your local..., etc) and intend to add a lot more.




2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
My Ballot:
1. Unforgiven
2. Once Upon a Time in the West
3. High Noon
4. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
5. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
6. The Professionals
7. Ramrod
8. Hell or High Water
9. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
10. High Plains Drifter
11. The Sun Shines Bright
12. The Iron Horse
13. Pursued
14. Stagecoach
15. Wagon Master
16. Red River
17. One Eyed Jack's
18. Treasure of the Sierra Madre
19. There Will Be Blood
20. The Big Country
21. My Darling Clementine
22. Back to the Future Part 3
23. Shanghai Noon
24. The Revenant
25. The Battle of Elderbush Gulch


I count 6 misses.



Fantastic job, Holden! No offense to any list builder over time, but this one was my very favorite as Westerns hold a special place in my movie heart. There were many that I considered but dropped from contention, like a couple of Steve McQueen Westerns: the mentioned Nevada Smith (with awesome performances by McQueen and Karl Malden) and Tom Horn with McQueen playing the ex-Army man who is hired by cattlemen to kill rustlers with his high-powered rifle but is railroaded when his killings get a little too public for their liking. And Randolph Scott unfortunately made a poor showing on the list, except for Ride the High County #63. He excelled at the Western and practically made it his whole career in the latter half of his oeuvre. My favorite of his which he starred in was Ride Lonesome (1959) which also featured James Coburn's film debut. And the ones Holden mentioned which didn't get a single vote are very worthy Westerns worth a look for anyone interested:

Duel in the Sun (1946)
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
The Tall T (1957)
The Tin Star (1957)

I was disappointed to see that John Wayne's Angel and the Badman didn't place anywhere as it's quite comical a movie where Wayne's gunslinger falls in love with a beautiful Quaker girl (played by the gorgeous Gail Russell). Although the overall stakes are serious, the movie is really funny. And frequent Wayne co-star Bruce Cabot is here also.

A couple of James Stewart Westerns that didn't make it, although a couple were mentioned are The Man From Laramie (Stewart's personal favorite Western), Bend of the River, and one not mentioned anywhere, The Far Country where Stewart is a cowboy in Alaska, with Walter Brennan as his sidekick. Several Bob Hope Comedy/Westerns that didn't get a mention, and I know, Comedy/Westerns are not, with the exceptions of the ones that made the list, my particular cup of tea...are Paleface, Son of Paleface, and Alias Jesse James (the ending of which has a whole slew of Western stars making cameos, including Gary Cooper). Speaking of Cooper, several not-mentioned Westerns are worthy of watching: Springfield Rifle, Distant Drums, Dallas, Along Came Jones (Comedy/Western), The Westerner (an all-out classic wherein Cooper's drifter meets Judge Roy Bean, played by Cooper's frequent co-star Walter Brennan). This one is a keeper! Also worthy is The Plainsman with Cooper.

There are so many Westerns that could have made the list and would have pleased me, including many of the ones Holden posted that didn't make the countdown.

My final list:
1. The Outlaw Josey Wales
2. El Dorado
3. The Wild Bunch
4. True Grit
5. The Magnificent Seven
6. For a Few Dollars More
7. A Fistful of Dollars
8. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
9. The Big Country
10. Ride the High Country
11. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
12. Shane
13. Hombre
14. Once Upon a Time in the West
15. Tombstone
16. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
17. Rio Bravo
18. The Searchers
19. Open Range
20. Winchester '73
21. Broken Arrow DNP
22. Ride Loneseome DNP
23. The Professionals
24. Destry Rides Again DNP
25. The Naked Spur

Once again, thank you Holden, for the enormous amount of work you put it in for this countdown. I really love the color photos, and the tinted representations. The best thing about this list is that there are many Westerns that non-fans and fans didn't know of that they are now interested in. I'm a long-time fan and I see a few I must watch that I was unaware of. Thanks again, pardner!
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Big surprise, I thought for sure Once Upon a Time would be #1. It was on my list at #14. I almost didn't include it, as a reaction against those who rate it so highly, but as it happens I do like it a lot myself and have seen it several times, so I had it at #14. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly I had all the way at #2, and it was my #1 film on my 60s list. I grew up with the movie on TV constantly in the 70s/80s, and I've seen many more times on video and DVD, and I still have never tired of it.

Four out of my top five movies starred Clint Eastwood, three of which he directed.

My List:

1. Unforgiven (#3)
2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (#1)
3. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (#17)
4. The Outlaw Josey Wales (#13)
5. High Plains Drifter (#31)
6. Little Big Man (#39)
7. Jeremiah Johnson (#37)
8. The Wild Bunch (#9)
9. The Big Country (#27)
10. The Shootist (#58)
11. Rio Bravo (#10)
12. The Ox-Bow Incident (#19)
13. The Gunfighter (#40)
14. Once Upon a Time in the West (#2)
15. 3:10 to Yuma (1957)(#48)
16. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (#8)
17. The Sisters Brothers (#102)
18. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (#76)
19. The Naked Spur (#86)
20. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (#67)
21. Lone Star (DNP)
22. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (#33)
23. The Man from Laramie (DNP)
24. Support Your Local Sheriff! (#89)
25. Johnny Guitar (#30)


Great job on this countdown, Holden. The graphics were great and your insight into all the films on the list is much appreciated!
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