120 Best Western Movies For A Wild Trip To The Ol’ West

There are a few things that are a must in a Western movie: a story centering on a cowboy who rides a horse and is armed with a revolver or a rifle, action set in an arid, desolate landscape of deserts and mountains, and a Western music score. However, one thing distinguishes good Westerns from the best Western movies. And that’s having either John Wayne or Clint Eastwood in the lead role. Okay, okay, there are a few exceptions to this rule. And although this post is not about films starring John Wayne or Clint Eastwood movies, below you will undoubtedly find many Western movies featuring “Duke” and the Hollywood mega-star and prolific director.

However, there is only a dime’s worth of new Western movies worth making it to the best list. And there’s a solid reason why the Western genre has been declining: it doesn’t do well at the box office. The Lone Ranger (2013), starring Johnny Depp, was the third Western to flop in four summers and the most expensive, losing Disney over $160–190 million. Among the new Western movies of this century, perhaps the most profitable ones were Open Range (2003), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and True Grit (2010), with two of the three being successful remakes of older Westerns. The short answer to why Westerns fell out of popularity is cultural irrelevancy. There are no longer any frontiers, and it’s never as straightforward as good vs. evil or white hat versus black hat.

However, despite often being historically inaccurate, Western movies have great cinematic value, and heck, they are so compelling to watch! To reminisce on some of the greatest works of cinema in the shoot-’em-up genre, we’ve compiled an extensive list of, in our opinion, the best Western movies of all time. And don’t be surprised to see many old Western movies on the list, as they are total champs in the genre. Do you agree with our selection? Which cowboy picture would you deem the best Western movie? Let us know!

#1 Tombstone

1993 | 2 hours 10 minutes | Directed by George P. Cosmatos and Kevin Jarre

Starring Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott

Arguably one of the best of its kind, Tombstone is an exciting shoot-’em-up Western that works because it never tries to be anything other than what it is. This is one of those rewatchable epics with high entertainment value that came late to the Western genre when not many such films were being made. Straight into the movie, the opening minutes succeed in startling and shocking the audience. We enter into a dramatic shoot-out that follows some purportedly historical footage that is introduced by actor Robert Mitchum. Soon we learn about The Cowboys, the Mafia of that time, led by Curly Bill (Boothe). The movie was one of the better accounts of what happened, even if it was probably 90 percent historically accurate. It has all the elements that made the genre famous in its heyday. Anyone who likes Westerns will find this an exciting journey, and it’s also a terrific movie to introduce newcomers to the genre.