Last updated March 2024
Want to watch sensationally awesome Best Western Movies? We assembled 30 marvelous Best Western Movies with universal acclaim from revered IMDB critics and our own legion of discerning users. Available for instant viewing, these world-class titles are as jaw-droppingly good as entertainment gets. Help fellow fans uncover buried treasures by voting for the titles you feel are keepers. We appreciate members who take the time to pay it forward with great recommendations!
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Plot Summary:
While the Civil War rages between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hit man and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold
Duration: 161 min
IMDB Rating: 8.8/10
IMDB Votes: 797000
Genere: Adventure, Western
Country: Italy, Spain, West Germany
Plot tags: old west, civil war, treasure hunt, american civil war, greed, gunfight, moral ambiguity, wild west, anti hero, shootout, cowboy, hitman, heroes, beautiful scenery, betrayal, desert, gold, vengeance, treasure, cons and scams, outlaw, twists and turns, storytelling, great ending, music
A Dog's Will (2000)
Plot Summary:
The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small Northeast Brazil town. But when they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the Devil and the Virgin Mary, before they are admitted to paradise
Duration: 104 min
IMDB Rating: 8.6/10
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Western
Country: Brazil
Plot tags: religion, priest, poverty, social differences, clergy, unfulfilled love, race against time, hopes, rich and poor, society, district attorney, social relations, partner, odd couple, buddies, righting the wronged, amusement park, bishop, virgin mary, lawyer, dark humor, life after death, court, law, great ending
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Plot Summary:
This classic western masterpiece is an epic film about a widow whose land and life are in danger as the railroad is getting closer and closer to taking them over. A mysterious harmonica player joins forces with a desperado to protect the woman and her land
Duration: 166 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 344000
Genere: Western
Country: Italy, USA
Plot tags: old west, vengeance, mysterious character, cowboy, wild west, revenge, villain, desert, harmonica, gunfight, small town, death, showdown, greed, farm, widow, storytelling, social commentary, great ending, gang, violence, hitman, assassin, murder, corruption
Django Unchained (2012)
Plot Summary:
With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner
Duration: 165 min
IMDB Rating: 8.5/10
IMDB Votes: 17000000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: slavery, racism, revenge, violent, bounty hunter, old west, vengeance, african american, dark humor, gunfight, racial violence, slave, society, gory, one against many, shootout, brutality, racial stereotype, racial slur, hitman, freedom, friendship, courage, rescue, torture
For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Plot Summary:
Two bounty hunters are in pursuit of "El Indio," one of the most wanted fugitives in the western territories, and his gang
Duration: 132 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 270000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Italy, Spain, West Germany
Plot tags: old west, wild west, bounty hunter, cowboy, small town, robbery, rape, revenge, storytelling, heroes, gang, gunfight, shooting, reward, rivals, civil war, life & death, violence, european, heist, team, sidekick, anti hero, moving, prison escape
Unforgiven (1992)
Plot Summary:
William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 8.2/10
IMDB Votes: 430000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: old west, revenge, vengeance, cowboy, redemption, gunfight, sheriff, hitman, prostitute, small town, wild west, morality, vigilante, badass, prostitution, mutilation, one last job, modern western, modern west, western hero, heroes, tough heroes, melancholy, great ending, dark hero
Flames of the Sun (1975)
Plot Summary:
A Police Officer, whose family was killed by a bandit named Gabbar Singh, decides to fight fire with fire and recruits two convicts, Jai & Veeru, to bring Gabbar Singh to jail alive, but will they succeed in their mission and get their reward? Come and watch the action-packed super-hit Sholay to find out!!
Duration: 204 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Musical, Thriller, Western
Country: India
Plot tags: vengeance, fight, revenge, bandit, martial arts, partner, police officer, villain, bounty hunter, friendship between men, best friend, widow, death of friend, flashback, harmonica, redemption, criminal heroes, village, police, murder, indians, hindu, criminal's revenge, gunslinger, rebel
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Plot Summary:
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed
Duration: 123 min
IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: politics, cowboy, lawyer, small town, wild west, robbery, senator, showdown, funeral, bully, justice, criminal, outlaw, success, society, old west, protector, mentor, great ending, friendship, election, sacrifice, law and order, plot twist, stagecoach
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Plot Summary:
In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy is the affable, clever and talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion is the laconic dead-shot 'Sundance Kid'. As the west rapidly becomes civilized, the law finally catches up to Butch, Sundance and their gang. Chased doggedly by a special posse, the two decide to make their way to South America in hopes of evading their pursuers once and for all
Duration: 110 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 224000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Western
Country: USA, Mexico
Plot tags: old west, gunfight, cowboy, bank robbery, buddies, robbery, buddy, outlaw, heist, shootout, friendship, friendship between men, last stand, machismo, wild west, bromance, train, fast draw, outlaw gang, bank, dialogue, great dialogue, thief, chase, bank robber
The Revenant (2015)
Plot Summary:
In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling
Duration: 156 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 854000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA
Plot tags: survival, wilderness, revenge, vengeance, native american, snow, bear attack, life & death, nature, winter, hunter, obsessive quest, violent, father son relationship, bravery, beautiful scenery, lost in the woods, old west, river, lone hero, danger, gunfight, violence, left to die, grizzly bear
Manon of the Spring (1986)
Plot Summary:
In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon (Beart) has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She plots vengeance on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death years earlier
Duration: 113 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Switzerland, France, Italy
Plot tags: revenge, female nudity, haunted by the past, farm, cave, unrequited love, spring, provincial life, wedding, hunting, obsession, water, suicide, engineer, trap, rabbit, goat, husband wife relationship, mayor, small town, nephew, marriage, suicide by hanging, harmonica, xenophobia
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Plot Summary:
Wounded Civil War soldier, John Dunbar tries to commit suicide – and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe
Duration: 181 min
IMDB Rating: 8.0/10
IMDB Votes: 285000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA, UK
Plot tags: native american, american civil war, self discovery, culture clash, friendship, native, tribe, courage, pride and honor, native american white relationships, survival, wolf, indians, civil war, american history, prairie, indian tribe, wild west, redemption, cowboy, lifestyle change, fort, modern western, modern west, nature
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Plot Summary:
Aging outlaw Pike Bishop (William Holden) prepares to retire after one final robbery. Joined by his gang, which includes Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) and brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Bishop discovers the heist is a setup orchestrated in part by his old partner, Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). As the remaining gang takes refuge in Mexican territory, Thornton trails them, resulting in fierce gunfights with plenty of casualties
Duration: 145 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: mexican revolution, gunfight, robbery, gang, shootout, on the run, violent, heist, friendship, cowboy, wild west, civil war, bounty hunter, gangster, mercenary, chase, bank robbery, train, tough guy, bank, wilhelm scream, old west, medieval, soldier, one last job
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Plot Summary:
When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one—until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery
Duration: 206 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 121000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Mystery, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: courtroom, murder, genocide, greed, native american, oil, interracial marriage, oil field, fbi, diabetes, poisoning, true crime, hunting, corruption, interwar period, money, wedding, investigation, wealth, fbi agent, serial murder, american indian, modern western, interracial romance, hired killer
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Plot Summary:
The Man With No Name enters the Mexican village of San Miguel in the midst of a power struggle among the three Rojo brothers and sheriff John Baxter. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold intended to pay for new weapons is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the stranger inserts himself into the middle of the long-simmering battle, selling false information to both sides for his own benefit
Duration: 99 min
IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
IMDB Votes: 228000
Genere: Action, Drama, Western
Country: Italy, Spain, West Germany
Plot tags: gunfight, old west, wild west, cowboy, small town, violence, greed, gang war, vengeance, brutality, hitman, gold, sheriff, deal, death, rivalry, dishonesty, cons and scams, tough heroes, gang, revenge, drifter, indians, moving, badass
Tombstone (1993)
Plot Summary:
Legendary marshal Wyatt Earp, now a weary gunfighter, joins his brothers Morgan and Virgil to pursue their collective fortune in the thriving mining town of Tombstone. But Earp is forced to don a badge again and get help from his notorious pal Doc Holliday when a gang of renegade brigands and rustlers begins terrorizing the town
Duration: 130 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 162000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: old west, cowboy, vengeance, gunfight, lone hero, gunslinger, sheriff, friendship, criminal, betrayal, revenge, wyatt earp, murder, horse, gang, organized crime, wild west, modern western, modern west, unlikely friendships, shootout, bully, western hero, medical, usa history
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Plot Summary:
Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and deception
Duration: 168 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 645000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: bounty hunter, murder, winter, snow, gang, stagecoach, twists and turns, cold weather, old west, brutality, prisoner, dark humor, gore, criminal, revenge, blizzard, hitman, dialogue, coffee, deception, plot twist, massacre, violent, blood, projectile vomiting
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Plot Summary:
After avenging his family's brutal murder, Wales is pursued by a pack of soldiers. He prefers to travel alone, but ragtag outcasts are drawn to him - and Wales can't bring himself to leave them unprotected
Duration: 135 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: american civil war, native american, revenge, civil war, murder, massacre, surrender, manhunt, on the run, one against many, indians, vigilante, wild west, tough guy, war crime, loss of son, dog, rescue, ranch, widower, grief, old woman, civil war veteran, ferry, one man army
Hud (1963)
Plot Summary:
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner."
Duration: 112 min
IMDB Rating: 7.8/10
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: rancher, dysfunctional family, redemption, ranch, human nature, parents and children, family life, rodeo cowboy, family problems, irresponsible, father son relationship, small town, drinking alcohol, housekeeper, rodeo, alcoholism, loner, father, drug addiction, modern western, morality, time travel, infection, female protagonist, working class
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Plot Summary:
A town – where everyone seems to be named Johnson – is in the way of the railroad and, in order to grab their land, Hedley Lemar, a politically connected nasty person, sends in his henchmen to make the town unlivable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west
Duration: 93 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 149000
Genere: Comedy, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: cowboy, farce, old west, racism, satire, gay slur, cowboys and outlaws, small town, absurd humor, governor, ethnic slur, prejudice, gunfight, interracial relations, wild west, sheriff, civil rights, misfit, railroad, convict, nothing goes right, odd couple, buddies, indians, social commentary
Wind River (2017)
Plot Summary:
An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation
Duration: 107 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 274000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: USA, UK, France
Plot tags: investigation, murder, snow, rape, winter, murder investigation, native american reservation, fbi, violence, fbi agent, native american, forest, revenge, mountain, forensics, female agent, indian reservation, hunter, death, female fbi agent, gang, hunting, blizzard, american indian, violence against women
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the "3:10 to Yuma", a train that will take the killer to trial
Duration: 122 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 327000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: gunfight, old west, honor, runaway, sheriff, morality, gang, outlaw, heroic mission, race against time, violence, righting the wronged, death of protagonist, courage, heroes, reward, rivalry, dishonesty, wild west, cowboy, civil war, redemption, leader, train, chase
The Great Silence (1968)
Plot Summary:
A mute gunslinger fights in the defense of a group of outlaws and a vengeful young widow, against a group of ruthless bounty hunters
Duration: 105 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Italy, France
Plot tags: winter, snow, evil wins, small town, cowboy, nudity, revenge, wild west, greed, gunslinger, rocky mountains, violence, female nudity, gunfight, unhappy ending, new year, native american, monster, samurai, killer, civil war, sheriff, self defense, decadence, woman with a gun
Hell (2010)
Plot Summary:
Benjamin Garcia, Benny is deported from the United States. Back home and against a bleak picture, Benny gets involved in the drug business, in which he has for the first time in his life, a spectacular rise surrounded by money, women, violence and fun. But very soon he will discover that criminal life does not always keep its promises
Duration: 149 min
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Western
Country: Mexico
Plot tags: drug cartel, organized crime, gangster, violence, u.s. mexico border, politics, gang war, society, social relations, mafia, drug dealing, life is a bitch, criminal heroes, unlikely criminals, dishonor among criminals, anti hero, juvenile delinquency, police corruption, assassination, death, gang, dark humor, drug lord, temptation, bribery
Jeremiah Johnson (1972)
Plot Summary:
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by Indians when he proves to be the match of their warriors in one-to-one combat on the early frontier
Duration: 108 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: native american, wilderness, survival, native, hunting, mountain man, indians, rocky mountains, snow, revenge, grizzly bear, mountain, interracial relations, respect, isolation, vengeance, environment, desert, runaway, transformation, culture clash, winter, wilderness survival, death of wife, trapper
Duck, You Sucker (1971)
Plot Summary:
At the beginning of the 1913 Mexican Revolution, greedy bandit Juan Miranda and idealist John H. Mallory, an Irish Republican Army explosives expert on the lam from the British, fall in with a band of revolutionaries plotting to strike a national bank. When it turns out that the government has been using the bank as a hiding place for illegally detained political prisoners -- who are freed by the blast -- Miranda becomes a revolutionary hero against his will
Duration: 157 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Drama, War, Western
Country: Italy
Plot tags: mexican revolution, revolution, friendship, rape, cowboy, culture clash, redemption, mercenary, chase, rebellion, motorcycle, friendship between men, haunted by the past, two man army, cynicism, chaos, danger, on the run, odd couple, chaos and mayhem, male nudity, suicide, traitor, grief, guilt
Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
Plot Summary:
A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary
Duration: 107 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: prison escape, friendship, chase, modern west, escape, on the run, indians, cowboy, anarchist, small town, wilderness, idealism, horse, wild west, fighting the system, sheriff, jail, fugitive, bar fight, gunfight, existentialism, modern western, drinking, time travel, journey
Hell or High Water (2016)
Plot Summary:
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas
Duration: 102 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 247000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: criminal, bank robbery, robbery, brother, texas ranger, bank robber, heist, cowboy, armed robbery, small town, modern western, bank, desperation, violence, ranch, casino, gunfight, peril, redemption, chases and races, brother brother relationship, investigation, shooting, social commentary, oil
True Grit (2010)
Plot Summary:
Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and adventure on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested
Duration: 110 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 353000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: vengeance, old west, revenge, cowboy, bounty hunter, justice, gunfight, texas ranger, determination, teenage girl, death of father, murder, coming of age, dialogue, sheriff, shooting, hunt down, wild west, chase, violence, modern western, modern west, friendship, partner, heroes
The Shootist (1976)
Plot Summary:
Afflicted with a terminal illness John Bernard Brooks, the last of the legendary gunfighters, quietly returns to Carson City for medical attention from his old friend Dr. Hostetler. Aware that his days are numbered, the troubled man seeks solace and peace in a boarding house run by a widow and her son.However, it is not Brooks' fate to die in peace, as he becomes embroiled in one last valiant battle
Duration: 100 min
IMDB Rating: 7.6/10
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Plot tags: gunfight, cancer, wild west, widow, self defense, small town, haunted by the past, cowboy, retirement, life is a bitch, danger, human nature, against the odds, indians, hitman, vengeance, shootout, old west, criminal heroes, revenge, death, courage, old age, boarding house, aging