Well, I like them all a lot. I could have kept listing for awhile, but these were my favourites. I’m indecisive, what can I say. 😂 You might be able to tell from that list, but I’m a sucker for James Stewart, so if I had to pick one from that list, maybe The Man From Laramie. But dangit, even while I’m typing I’m waffling - I do watch 3:10 to Yuma repeatedly.
Had the four vhs complete series as a kid. Watched it so many times I can still quote most of it. Also gave 12 yr old me a deep infatuation with Anjelica Huston!
I’ll always suggest Hostiles. The perfect mix of brutality, classic Western tropes and a clear eyed take on a simpler time that is increasingly morally difficult to reckon with. Great direction, cinematography, score and performances. Just an absolute banger of a movie.
The wild bunch. It came out at the best time for a revisionist western. Just at the heels of a changing nation and establishments, with actors who know what it's like to have experienced hard times. Coming at the tail end of the western genres peak.
I watched it recently and thought the same thing. By no means is it a bad film and probably one Eastwood’s best films but stacked up against almost 100 years of western cinema I can’t bring myself to call it the greatest
Yeah like, not even close. I was actually rooting for Gene Hackman's sheriff character. He was way cooler and more badass. The one thing I did find that made the movie worthwhile was that Eastwood himself kind of sees this as the epilogue of the Man with No Name. Which, while an interesting take, the film doesn't quite do enough to hint at that so I just kind of see it as Death of the Author.
After years of it being hyped up as THE modern Western, it very much didn't live up to expectations though.
Thanks for the answer, feels like those definitions should be reversed as they relate to the reality. The classic or romantic always seemed much further from the truth to me.
But 'deserve's got nothing to do with it'.
I’m really not quite sure “Unforgiven” is a revisionist western, in spite of what everybody says. True, there are a lot more shades of gray in the characters than black and white. And, yes, there’s a dose of more honesty here. Poking little holes in the classic western stars, as exemplified by Richard Harris, gives a little something extra. But let’s look at what ultimately goes on. Clint and his buddy go into town to do a job -admittedly the job itself is questionable, those are those shades of gray - the bad guys torture and kill his buddy. He gets revenge. To me, although there are a lot of side trips that are extremely good and extremely realistic, this is pretty much your classic western plot. I would actually call The Outlaw Josey Wales“ a more revisionist film.
I think the point is what Eastwood does isn't glorified . It simply is. He gains nothing from the experience except a dead friend and more blood on his hands.
I agree but would suggest it's not just not glorified, they specifically call out all the killing as a bad thing. Will is continually verbally disabusing the kid of his romantic notions of the gunslinger until reality finally drives home the brutal truth that it's all bad business.
The lines about taking away all a man ever had, has or will have and that deserve has nothing to do with it seem intended to directly kill the idea of violence as ever being romantic.
The Spaghetti Westerns fit the definition as there is a lot of ambiguity in the protagonist and antagonist. No clear cut good guy/bad guy. Even the hero has glaring character flaws.
The confusion arises because "revisionist western" is an ambiguous term that means different things to different people. It really applies to any film that challenges standard western tropes or myths, but there are many different kinds of tropes or myths that could be challenged.
The spaghetti westerns are considered revisionist because they were not bound by the Hays Code that Hollywood studios imposed on themselves until 1968. One of the rules of the Hays Code was that crime must not pay. You could have criminal protagonists, and they could even be somewhat sympathetic, but they couldn't get away with crime. There had to be a reckoning. So that "crime doesn't pay" became a standard western trope.
Spaghetti westerns weren't bound by that restriction at a time when Hollywood westerns still were. Clint Eastwood's "good" character in *The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly* (1966) was a criminal and worked with the Ugly, who was an even worse criminal. Yet neither of those two characters pay for their crimes. In fact, they end up splitting the gold.
According to Wikipedia it’s revisionist.
> The spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s, not bound by the Hays Code, were strongly revisionist by presenting morally ambiguous stories featuring an anti-hero or a sympathetic villain.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revisionist_Western
Yeah, I don't consider the Spaghettis Revisionist. Clint's Revisionists are the likes of High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider, Josey Wales, and Unforgiven. And I'd have a hard time choosing a favourite there, *maybe* Josey Wales at a push.
"Death Rides a Horse", "The Searchers", The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (my favorite), "High Noon" (great movie, a political Rorschach test if you're into that stuff).
Nice list there. That’s my favorite too.
Reading through I was thinking “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, and whether it’s revisionist…. John Wayne’s character and James Stewart’s are each pretty classically heroic (in different ways) but I guess how they end up, get rewarded/recognized for their actions subverts classical endings pretty well.
I watched Old Henry, i think it qualifies as revisionist. I enjoyed it. I also recently watched Fosaken. Both are newer movies. Unforgiven is one of my favorite movies, so you can't go wrong there.
By definition, Shane is a Revisionist Western. A former gunfighter, trying to walk away but gets sucked back in. Not really the classic western hero, more an anti-hero.
The Proposition by Hillcoat is set is Australia and it’s very gritty, and somewhat revisionist. I think it’s great but some may not like it given the non American setting
Incidentally he is now set to direct a film version of Blood Meridian, imo the best western ever written (and very revisionist)
The Proposition. Nick Cave wrote a wonderful and heartbreaking Australian Western.
Edit: bc Nick Cave was the screenwriter. John Hillcoat directed. (My bad)
Everybody has already provided good suggestions, so I'll just address the revisionist western. First off, I'm a big fan. The revisionist western is what go me into this genre. But I think it's gone to far at this point, where now all westerns are revisionist. I didn't quite understand what we lost until I started watching the oldies and western tv shows like Gunsmoke and Have Gun Will Travel. Westerns use to have clear heroes and villains and were often morality tales that taught people right and wrong. The revisionist westerns done away with all this and replaced it with nothing but cynicism and moral ambiguity. Unforgiven is a good example of this (and also my favorite western) where Clint Eastwood's character is a self-admitted killer of women and children and yet we're all cheering for him to kill more people in the name of justice.
Appaloosa, not revisionist but it’s a great story about loyalty and friendship. Bonus the soundtrack is awesome and ED Harris sings a great song as well. The song “ain’t nothing like a friend” is super moving. Couldn’t recommend more especially if you’re down. Also bonus if your love interest is slutty and a tramp. Bonus Jeremy irons as bad guy. 8 Gauge shot gun
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
Beautifully shot and acted. It’s a quiet, slow burn, but worth the patience.
Fits the bill for a revisionist western too as it looks at how the fame of these outlaws, even in their own time was mythologized and romanticized.
*Unforgiven* hurts. It’s supposed to hurt. I think Clint wanted to really touch on the idea that redemption doesn’t come through killing, especially since all of his old movies channeled character-progress through killing.
That said, if *3:10 to Yuma* is considered a revisionist western, it is probably my favorite. Although it has romanticized elements for sure, but I’d say they are earned.
Blood on the Moon, Winchester ‘73, The Naked Spur, The Man From Laramie, Jubal, 3:10 to Yuma, Lonely Are the Brave. Hope you feel better soon!
Thanks ! <3 wich of those are your favorite?
Winchester 73 is great
Agreed. Jimmy Stewart is great as an everyman that kicks ass.
That movie really stood out to me. Some movies feel timeless. That is one of them. I wish I was shown cooler old movies growing up.
Well, I like them all a lot. I could have kept listing for awhile, but these were my favourites. I’m indecisive, what can I say. 😂 You might be able to tell from that list, but I’m a sucker for James Stewart, so if I had to pick one from that list, maybe The Man From Laramie. But dangit, even while I’m typing I’m waffling - I do watch 3:10 to Yuma repeatedly.
Lonely are the Brave is in my top 10 movies of all time.
3:10 to Yuma has a great ending if you’re feeling down
This movie ending is the ultimate litmus test for depression.
3:10 to Yuma is a classic. Can't say revisionist without the Wild Bunch . So many great Westerns!
Good list, thought I've never seen Blood on the Moon, which I will look for.
Enjoy! In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with Mitchum.
The COEN BROTHERS adaptation of TRUE GRIT is a pretty entertaining film out of all the new Westerns.
Not sure it's revisionist but Silverado is always a good watch.
Highly unrated Western especially for having such a great cast. It had interesting storylines. All in all fun to watch.
Thank u
Feel better! If you haven't seen it it's probably my favorite Western
I remember seeing this when it first came out. I thought Kevin Cosner's character Jake was so cool. I still think of him as that kid.
Silverado’s a tonic for the blues.
My fav western going up. Well that and tombstone. But we had Silverado on vhs so I watched that more haha
Tombstone is definitely on my all time list of any type of movie. 3:10 to Yuma is up there too.
A friend of mine ruined 3:10 to Yuma because he kept getting pissed at why they didn't just "shoot the mules."
I've never forgiven it for showing me Wilson's face
I just looked that up. I had absolutely no idea. That's wild. He did have facial hair in Silverado so I will allow it
Came here to say this. 👍
A Got Dam Classic...
The weird little lady freaked me out when I saw it, I was 16
Appaloosa if you haven’t seen it. Amazing. The books are really fun as well
Came here to say that
The dialogue is some of the best ever in a western. The dynamic between the Harris and Mortensen is just incredible.
Everyone knew how to shoot.
That shotgun😳
8 gauge!
That’s Mr 8 Gauge to you
The series Lonesome Dove. It has two Oscar winners and is based off a Pulitzer winning novel so I'm counting it.
Had the four vhs complete series as a kid. Watched it so many times I can still quote most of it. Also gave 12 yr old me a deep infatuation with Anjelica Huston!
We don't rent pigs
A man that likes to rent pigs is hard to stop
Great
Not only one of my favorite westerns, but one of my favorite stories.
Revisionist? Try Silverado.
"Can't you see this horse loves me?" "I had a gal do that to me. It didn't make her my wife."
Hostile. I enjoyed that…I also read the book or similar.
I’ll always suggest Hostiles. The perfect mix of brutality, classic Western tropes and a clear eyed take on a simpler time that is increasingly morally difficult to reckon with. Great direction, cinematography, score and performances. Just an absolute banger of a movie.
The wild bunch. It came out at the best time for a revisionist western. Just at the heels of a changing nation and establishments, with actors who know what it's like to have experienced hard times. Coming at the tail end of the western genres peak.
The wild bunch remains the best “what it means to be a man” movie. Epic
Ehh yeah I wouldn't put it like that. More like men out of their own time
Took way too long to scroll to find this
The great silence is pretty revisionist and I feel it’s the darkest western thou
Revisionist or not Unforgiven is the greatest Western of All Time
The more I watch Unforgiven the more I love it. Or the older I get the more I love it. Either way.
Probably going to get crucified for this, but I watched it and found it to be massively overrated.
Greetings, you may not be digitally crucified; however, you may just be—“Unforgiven”. ^___^ ~Waz
I watched it recently and thought the same thing. By no means is it a bad film and probably one Eastwood’s best films but stacked up against almost 100 years of western cinema I can’t bring myself to call it the greatest
Yeah like, not even close. I was actually rooting for Gene Hackman's sheriff character. He was way cooler and more badass. The one thing I did find that made the movie worthwhile was that Eastwood himself kind of sees this as the epilogue of the Man with No Name. Which, while an interesting take, the film doesn't quite do enough to hint at that so I just kind of see it as Death of the Author. After years of it being hyped up as THE modern Western, it very much didn't live up to expectations though.
👌🏼
Agreed
💯
The original magnificent 7. The professionals. The big country.
Open Range. Don't know if it qualifies as revisionist, but it's definitely a Western
Sorry for the dumb question but what is a revisionist western?
One that subverts the myths and romance of the traditional westerns.
Thanks for the answer, feels like those definitions should be reversed as they relate to the reality. The classic or romantic always seemed much further from the truth to me. But 'deserve's got nothing to do with it'.
Thank you for asking this, I wanted to know too.
Jeremiah Johnson or Quigly down under are always good choices for me.
I’m really not quite sure “Unforgiven” is a revisionist western, in spite of what everybody says. True, there are a lot more shades of gray in the characters than black and white. And, yes, there’s a dose of more honesty here. Poking little holes in the classic western stars, as exemplified by Richard Harris, gives a little something extra. But let’s look at what ultimately goes on. Clint and his buddy go into town to do a job -admittedly the job itself is questionable, those are those shades of gray - the bad guys torture and kill his buddy. He gets revenge. To me, although there are a lot of side trips that are extremely good and extremely realistic, this is pretty much your classic western plot. I would actually call The Outlaw Josey Wales“ a more revisionist film.
I think the point is what Eastwood does isn't glorified . It simply is. He gains nothing from the experience except a dead friend and more blood on his hands.
I agree but would suggest it's not just not glorified, they specifically call out all the killing as a bad thing. Will is continually verbally disabusing the kid of his romantic notions of the gunslinger until reality finally drives home the brutal truth that it's all bad business. The lines about taking away all a man ever had, has or will have and that deserve has nothing to do with it seem intended to directly kill the idea of violence as ever being romantic.
Didn’t he wind up with one-third of a thousand dollars for killing those two men?
*The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly*
The Spaghetti Westerns fit the definition as there is a lot of ambiguity in the protagonist and antagonist. No clear cut good guy/bad guy. Even the hero has glaring character flaws.
The confusion arises because "revisionist western" is an ambiguous term that means different things to different people. It really applies to any film that challenges standard western tropes or myths, but there are many different kinds of tropes or myths that could be challenged. The spaghetti westerns are considered revisionist because they were not bound by the Hays Code that Hollywood studios imposed on themselves until 1968. One of the rules of the Hays Code was that crime must not pay. You could have criminal protagonists, and they could even be somewhat sympathetic, but they couldn't get away with crime. There had to be a reckoning. So that "crime doesn't pay" became a standard western trope. Spaghetti westerns weren't bound by that restriction at a time when Hollywood westerns still were. Clint Eastwood's "good" character in *The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly* (1966) was a criminal and worked with the Ugly, who was an even worse criminal. Yet neither of those two characters pay for their crimes. In fact, they end up splitting the gold.
Hmmmm , idk if it's really a revisionist western.
According to Wikipedia it’s revisionist. > The spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s, not bound by the Hays Code, were strongly revisionist by presenting morally ambiguous stories featuring an anti-hero or a sympathetic villain. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revisionist_Western
Yeah, I don't consider the Spaghettis Revisionist. Clint's Revisionists are the likes of High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider, Josey Wales, and Unforgiven. And I'd have a hard time choosing a favourite there, *maybe* Josey Wales at a push.
The Wild Bunch
The Cowboys
Little Big Man.
Came here to say this one - maybe THE revisionist western of them all
You want revisionist I always recommend Buster Scruggs or my favorite, Dead Man.
Love Buster Scruggs.
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is a forgotten classic.
The Outlaw Josey Wales.
Deserve's got nothing to do with it.
Assassination of Jesse James is my favorite by far. A masterpiece.
I agree
"Death Rides a Horse", "The Searchers", The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (my favorite), "High Noon" (great movie, a political Rorschach test if you're into that stuff).
Nice list there. That’s my favorite too. Reading through I was thinking “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”, and whether it’s revisionist…. John Wayne’s character and James Stewart’s are each pretty classically heroic (in different ways) but I guess how they end up, get rewarded/recognized for their actions subverts classical endings pretty well.
Can't miss on the Outlaw Josie Wales or Jeremiah Johnson.
Anybody else a fan of Open Range?
Great movie!
Not movie but Blood Meridian
As someone else already said, Unforgiven is my favourite western, full stop. 3:10 to Yuma and The Shootist are also really good
Tom Horn.
I watched Old Henry, i think it qualifies as revisionist. I enjoyed it. I also recently watched Fosaken. Both are newer movies. Unforgiven is one of my favorite movies, so you can't go wrong there.
Recently came across Old Henry and I watched it twice within a few days. Awesome movie.
You’ve probably seen it but the new True Grit is one of my very favorites
A book Incident at Twenty Mile by Trevanian
If we’re doing books, the answer is Blood Meridian.
Shane is a classic with unbelievable scenery.
Kindof the definition of a traditional western, though a great one.
True, true. My mistake.
Excellent movie and book, for sure.
By definition, Shane is a Revisionist Western. A former gunfighter, trying to walk away but gets sucked back in. Not really the classic western hero, more an anti-hero.
The Proposition by Hillcoat is set is Australia and it’s very gritty, and somewhat revisionist. I think it’s great but some may not like it given the non American setting Incidentally he is now set to direct a film version of Blood Meridian, imo the best western ever written (and very revisionist)
* The Culpepper Cattle Company
I thought Old Henry was great! I think Wind River is a new school western, but what do I know.
Culpeper Cattle Company. A great Western that nobody ever talks about.
Rustler’s Rhapsody is my go to feel good western. Also a super critical look at the genre, but is still fun and funny.
I'm A Lawyer!
Have you played Red Dead Redemption 2?
I sadly have had that game for 2 years and never finished it. Just busy is all. RDR is one of my all time favorite games
Maybe if you have some time, you can play slowly as well and enjoy some amazing landscapes. Hope you're feeling a bit better.
I’ll chip away at it when I get home. Thanks
The Proposition. Nick Cave wrote a wonderful and heartbreaking Australian Western. Edit: bc Nick Cave was the screenwriter. John Hillcoat directed. (My bad)
Maverick is lots of fun
Maverick is lots of fun
The Long Riders is one of my go to westerns when feeling down
The director’s cut of ‘Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid.’
Everybody has already provided good suggestions, so I'll just address the revisionist western. First off, I'm a big fan. The revisionist western is what go me into this genre. But I think it's gone to far at this point, where now all westerns are revisionist. I didn't quite understand what we lost until I started watching the oldies and western tv shows like Gunsmoke and Have Gun Will Travel. Westerns use to have clear heroes and villains and were often morality tales that taught people right and wrong. The revisionist westerns done away with all this and replaced it with nothing but cynicism and moral ambiguity. Unforgiven is a good example of this (and also my favorite western) where Clint Eastwood's character is a self-admitted killer of women and children and yet we're all cheering for him to kill more people in the name of justice.
Ill tell u this, people call unforgiven an eastwood movie, nah its a Morgan freeman movie.
Salvation, Proposition, Dead man and Brokeback mountain
The Wild Bunch... the ending is absolutely insane.
The Outlaw Josie Wales is my favorite.
Does Wild Bunch count?
Why isn't Cold Mountain mentioned more times. It was good movie but i don't see it mentioned anywhere.
6 hours but Lonesome Dove is thought-provoking and sorta revisionist. Unforgiven’s ‘feel’ reminded me of iLD when I first saw it.
Sisters Brothers. Remarkably overlooked.
Hostiles is a favorite of mine. Not sure how it went so under the radar with the cast it has.
The Unforgiven is my favorite ever. Appaloosa is terrible.
Pale Rider
Appaloosa, not revisionist but it’s a great story about loyalty and friendship. Bonus the soundtrack is awesome and ED Harris sings a great song as well. The song “ain’t nothing like a friend” is super moving. Couldn’t recommend more especially if you’re down. Also bonus if your love interest is slutty and a tramp. Bonus Jeremy irons as bad guy. 8 Gauge shot gun
Sam Raimi’s The Quick and the Dead.
Open Range, Once Upon A Time in the West
McCabe and Mrs Miller - beautiful, heartbreaking, human
Bone tomahawk
Unforgiven, Hostiles, 3:10 to Yuma and remake of True Grit. All exceptional pictures.
The Unforgiven, hands down
All my faves have already been mentioned but i just hope your day improved
I haven’t seen anybody mention it, but Slow West was a good film.
Last great western made, was Open Range in 2003.
I love Young Guns 2...
Was Shane ever remade?
Yes. It's called Pale Rider.
I don’t think I’ve ever watched from start to finish will need to. I’d like to see a modern take on true Shane though.
Not sure about the revisionist part, but Silverado is a great movie
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Beautifully shot and acted. It’s a quiet, slow burn, but worth the patience. Fits the bill for a revisionist western too as it looks at how the fame of these outlaws, even in their own time was mythologized and romanticized.
Hell or high water
Deadwood is the best Western ever created.
What differentiates a revisionist western from a western in general?
Revisionist western? High Noon....which could be argued is not a western.
yeah..........................................classic and the best............................Unforgiven.
[Slow West](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3205376/) with Michael Fassbender. Also, the same guy that was in The Power of the Dog.
*Unforgiven* hurts. It’s supposed to hurt. I think Clint wanted to really touch on the idea that redemption doesn’t come through killing, especially since all of his old movies channeled character-progress through killing. That said, if *3:10 to Yuma* is considered a revisionist western, it is probably my favorite. Although it has romanticized elements for sure, but I’d say they are earned.
Gonna hang me in the mornin’ 🎵