The MoFo Top 100 Westerns: Countdown

seren-sumthin-or-other indeed!
If I may, what genre of music do you usually sing and which does The Great Train Robbery specialize in?

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Classic Rock. They perform mostly covers but have originals as well. My favorite of their own songs is titled "Short Sets, Long Breaks, Big Money".

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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

Jeremiah Johnson was my #7. Robert Redford channeling his inner mountain man and the terrific scenery make this a favorite.

My List:

6. Little Big Man (#39)
7. Jeremiah Johnson (#37)
10. The Shootist (#58)
13. The Gunfighter (#40)
15. 3:10 to Yuma (#48)
18. The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (#76)
19. The Naked Spur (#86)
20. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (#67)
24. Support Your Local Sheriff! (#89)

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

very cool.
Let me know should you all venture out by Detroit. Definitely sounds like a band I'd want to check out.

True Grit (1969) was my #9... 8th to make it.
I think, looking at my list, it's the last John Wayne movie I had.


Again, not a fan of Wayne, but rather like The Cowboys True Grit is surprisingly good.


Wayne's a strange one tbh. He's got this thing about him that you either love him or hate him.
I'm kinda impartial and get occasionally surprised by him.
True Grit though, classic in the very sense of the word... and a legendary cast as well with Duvall, Hopper, Slate and Glenn Campbell.


01. Young Guns (1988) --- 61st
02. Hope so
03. Definitely
04. Definitely
05. Definitely
06. The Cowboys (1972) --- 50th
07. Definitely
08. Definitely
09. True Grit (1969) --- 38th
10. The Quick And The Dead (1995) --- 42nd
11. The Sons Of Katie Elder (1965) --- 100th
12. Probably not now
13. Hope so
14. Hope so
15. Definitely
16. Definitely
17. Probably not now
18. Westworld (1973) --- 69th
19. Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (1973) --- 67th
20. 3:10 To Yuma (1957) --- 48th
21. Hope so
22. Probably not now
23. Definitely
24. Hope so
25. Definitely

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For the life of me I cannot find the write up for this great Western I had only gotten to enjoy in the last year or so and placed at #13 in my list.
Originally penned for John Wayne, Gregory Peck does, for me, a far better rendition of a legendary quick draw gunslinger just trying to see his wife and the son he has never seen yet. All the while being harassed by vengeful cowboys and upstart wannabes. Specifically a young punk by the name of Bromley looking to get a name for himself by gunning down a legend.
Peck brings a lot of heart to the gunslinger looking to find peace at the end of his travels with a truly great ending
Minor Western History Lesson: John Ringo WAS a ruthless gunman who many did consider the fastest draw or at least definitely one of that number. He was distantly related to the Younger Clan who's brothers had robbed banks with Frank and Jesse James as the James/Younger Gang.
Ringo is known for associating with the Clantons and McLaurys during the OK Corral (incident) and, unlike many a film, he survived the revenge killings post OK Corral. His death is somewhat vague since a couple of folks claim to have killed him, including Wyatt himself. Though it is more likely Johnny Ringo, despondent, shot himself in the head after being snubbed during a recent visit to his family in San Jose.



Little Big Man is a big favorite from my youth that had the terrible misfortune of not making my list regardless of my love for it.
Dustin Hoffman is ideal as the over hundred year old Jack Crabb that tells tall tale after tall tale of his life with and away from the Cheyenne Indians (or, in a more touching reference by the character: The Human Beings). With a wry humor we see him live a colorful life in so many different ways and occupations it would seem like he was telling the lives of multiple people instead of just himself.
What always sticks with me is Faye Dunaway bathing him while singing gospel, Richard Mulligan's vain ridden portrayal of General Custer and so many wonderful scenes during his life with the Human Beings to go into detail now.
An excellent film to have on this Countdown.



Ahh, the birth of the "character" best associated with the "Duke", John Wayne; Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. While it did not make my list, the pairing of Wayne with the single-minded Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) is a helluva great Western. Just ask the Coen Brothers who would do a remake some forty odd years later.
A favorite from childhood, I think my one critique was feeling a little so-so with Glenn Campbell as La Boeuf.
Still, a very solid addition to the Countdown. D@mn glad to see it here.


Now, while I have seen Jeremiah Johnson several times on TV as a kid, I am not going to add it to the Movies Watched - YET. I want to watch this again to appreciate so many aspects of it I'm sure I didn't as a mere pup.
So, I'll be posting regarding this next viewing on my Rectification List very very soon.


Apparently, sooner than expected.
Since this remains the last post, I'll simply add to it.
Jeremiah was definitely in need of a rewatch. So much of this I had forgotten and some, very possibly had been edited from regular TV. At the same time I did a short research on the man himself and while the real history sounds more of a Tarantino film, I truly did enjoy Redford and Sidney Pollack's contemplative, slow burn of a film with so many amazingly beautiful on scene shots of the Rockies in Utah. One of the many colorful characters includes a second time seeing Grandpa from The Waltons, Will Geer. The first time is from a previous Rectification Lister, Winchester '73.
Another worthy addition to the Countdown and a delightful opportunity to rewatch a film I had not seen since the mid seventies.




Movies Watched 42 out of 64 (65.63%)

John Wayne Films: Two
Clint Eastwood Films: Zero

MY LIST
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. Ride The High Country (#63)
7. The Proposition (#46)
8.
9.
10. The Cowboys (#50)
11. The Grey Fox (#66)
12.
13. The Gunfighter (#40)
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. The Quick & The Dead (#42)
20.
21.
22.
23.
24. Red River (#56)
25.

Rectification List (for my own old decrepit noodle)
1. Warlock (#94)
2. Naked Spur (#86)
3. The Great Train Robbery (#60)
4. Winchester '73 (#53)
5. 3:10 To Yuma ['57] (#48)
6. Jeremiah Johnson (#37)

I think True Grit was the first John Wayne movie that I watched for this countdown, (but to be honest, I really watched it to see Glen Campbell in a movie). I thought it was okay, but I liked most of John Wayne's other movies better than this one.

I'm usually a fan of Robert Redford, but after reading a little bit about Jeremiah Johnson, I decided not to watch it because it didn't sound like my type of movie.

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If I answer a game thread correctly, just skip my turn and continue with the game.
OPEN FLOOR.

A small Open Range cattle operation consisting of Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and his hands Charley Waite (Kevin Costner), the young Button (Diego Luna), and the burly but good-natured Mose (Abraham Benrubi) come in conflict with a land baron (Michael Gambon) who would rather intimidate and even kill the “free grazers” he despises than share the ample resources. The local Marshal (James Russo) is in his pocket, but the town doctor and his sister (Annette Bening) as well as some of the other townspeople have sympathy for Spearman and his men. The basic plot, which also involves a love story, some hired guns, and the revelation that Costner’s character is no stranger to killing, might have come out of any dime novel or 1950s television Western. But Costner as director finds a nice tone and adds some gorgeous cinematography and a passel full of darn fine actors, including Michael Jeter in his final performance, to make a very satisfying if not terribly original picture. Unlike Kevin Costner’s other Western, Open Range didn’t get any kind of awards season love. But plenty of MoFos sure like it, appearing on fourteen ballots including an eighth, a seventh, a fifth, a third, and a pair of second place votes.

Two West Texas brothers in danger of losing the family farm decide to rob a series of banks to raise the money to save it with a wily, veteran Texas Ranger hot on their trail. That logline could be the plot for a story set in 1889 but instead Hell or High Water is set in the 21st Century. Chris Pine and Ben Foster play the brothers who cleverly rob small branches of the bank that is about to foreclose on them. Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham are the Rangers assigned to the case, Bridges wizened lawman on the verge of retirement. There are some good action scenes and an amusing cat-and-mouse dynamic but the film resonates a little more deeply by dramatizing the frustrations of current economic inequities, especially in small dusty towns that are only shells of what they once were. This Neo-Western was on fourteen ballots including tenth, eighth, seventh, and third place nods.

Seen both but voted for neither. Open Range is ok but was never really in contention for a place on my list, of the two I'd rate Hell Or High Water higher but it never really felt much like a Western to me so again was never in contention.

Seen: 36/66

Faildictions (yee-haw version 1.01):
34. From Hell To Texas
33. Revenge In El Paso

I had Hell or High Water on my list at #7, and The Proposition at #11.

This is probably not the first time I've seen the term "Neo-Western" used, but if I have come across it before, I've forgotten about it. Searching other neo-westerns now, there are some films that probably would've made my ballot if I had looked into it before the deadline.

I didn't want to fill out my list with too many films that only marginally qualified for the Countdown though, so it's probably for the best. At least I now know that I like more films that technically fall into the genre than I originally realized haha.

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Hell or High Water was my #12. A solid little modern western.

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Robert Duvall should be allowed to become immortal so he could be in every Western till the end of time.

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I've been a fan of Kevin Costner for about as long as I've been a fan of movies and Open Range is one of his best. Sure, as Holden pointed out, with its freegrazers vs ranchers premise it's not particularly original, but the story isn't what draws me in anyway. What I love is the focus on the relationships between the characters. It particularly focuses on the relationship between Boss and Charley who have been together so long they're practically married and I really love the dynamic between the two veteran actors. I had it at #3.



I decided to give Hell or Highwater a shot when I saw Ben Foster's name on the cast list. I thought it was very good but didn't love it. It was one of the last films to get cut from my ballot, though two other films starring Ben Foster did get my vote.

My Ballot:
3. Open Range (#36)
5. The Quick and the Dead (#42)
6. The Hanging Tree (#87)
12. The Dark Valley (#92)
15. The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (#52)
18. Slow West (#95)
21. Rango (#41)
25. In Pursuit of Honor (One-Pointers)

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Both these made my list. Hell Or High Water is one of the most entertaining movies of the last few years. Great script and extremely funny. I don't know why but the line "who the hell gets drunk on beer anyway" is a line I think about way too regularly. I just love that line reading. The movie feels very Coen-esque to me.

Along with Appaloosa, I think Open Range is one of the most overlooked modern Westerns. Surprising, but very cool, to see it this high.

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Besides its inherent quality and two beloved and recognizable stars, voting wise I suspect Open Range benefits from being run on cable TV a lot.

You know I agree with that!

I've seen Hell Or High Water and liked aspects of it, but didn't like it enough or consider it a western, so it didn't make my list. My review: Hell or High Water

Open Range is a solid western, it didn't make my list but I did consider it.

I had Hell or High Water at 8. It's a fantastic film from the fantastic year of 2016, one of the better movie years this century.

I didn't include Open Range but it should have been on the back end of my ballot. Kind of forgot it.