Defining Genre
THE WESTERN
SKY, DUST, AND THE LONG WALK
The American myth in three acts. Where the landscape is the antagonist and the credits roll on a sunset.
Peak 1950s
1,481
Films Catalogued
64.4
Avg Master Score
6.2
Avg IMDb
1950s
Peak Decade
GEORGE SHERMAN
Top Director
Of which 39 earned Oscar nominations or wins
The Defining Three
ESSENTIAL VIEWING
Top-ranked by master score. If you only saw three films from this decade, these are the three.
No.01
MS95.9
SERGIO LEONE|1966
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY
“For three men the Civil War wasn't hell. It was practice.”
No.02
MS93.4
SERGIO LEONE|1964
A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS
“In his own way he is, perhaps, the most dangerous man who ever lived!”
No.03
MS92.2
SERGIO LEONE|1965
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE
“The man with no name is back... the man in black is waiting... a walking arsenal - he uncoils, strikes and kills!”
Filter the List
1,481/1,481 films
Master Score
Awards
Showing 50 of 1481
01
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
1966 · Sergio Leone
95.9
02A Fistful of Dollars
1964 · Sergio Leone
93.4
03For a Few Dollars More
1965 · Sergio Leone
92.2
04Blazing Saddles
1974 · Mel Brooks
91.7
05Dances with Wolves
1990 · Kevin Costner · 7 Oscars
90.9
06Jeremiah Johnson
1972 · Sydney Pollack
90.3
07Unforgiven
1992 · Clint Eastwood · 4 Oscars
89.9
08The Outlaw Josey Wales
1976 · Clint Eastwood
89.7
09The Searchers
1956 · John Ford
89.4
10Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1969 · George Roy Hill · 4 Oscars
89.3
11The Ox-Bow Incident
1943 · William A. Wellman
89.1
12High Noon
1952 · Fred Zinnemann · 4 Oscars
89.0
13The Gunfighter
1950 · Henry King
88.2
14True Grit
2010 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
88.1
15Rio Bravo
1959 · Howard Hawks
87.9
16Winchester '73
1950 · Anthony Mann
87.9
17Way Out West
1937 · James W. Horne
87.7
18T
The Wind
1928 · Victor Sjöström
87.7
19No Country for Old Men
2007 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen · 4 Oscars
87.3
20Johnny Guitar
1954 · Nicholas Ray
86.8
21Of Mice and Men
1992 · Gary Sinise
86.7
22The Harder They Fall
2021 · Jeymes Samuel
86.5
23Pale Rider
1985 · Clint Eastwood
86.3
24Lucky
2017 · John Carroll Lynch
85.9
25The Shootist
1976 · Don Siegel
85.9
26Django
1966 · Sergio Corbucci
85.9
27McCabe & Mrs. Miller
1971 · Robert Altman
85.9
28Lonely Are the Brave
1962 · David Miller
85.7
293:10 to Yuma
1957 · Delmer Daves
85.7
30Destry Rides Again
1939 · George Marshall
85.5
31Duck, You Sucker!
1971 · Sergio Leone
85.2
32Hell
2010 · Luis Estrada
84.9
33The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
2018 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
84.8
34Old Yeller
1957 · Robert Stevenson
84.6
35The Man from Laramie
1955 · Anthony Mann
84.6
36Ride the High Country
1962 · Sam Peckinpah
84.6
37Yahsi Bati - The Ottoman Cowboys
2009 · Ömer Faruk Sorak
84.6
38The Tall T
1957 · Budd Boetticher
84.5
39Sergeant Rutledge
1960 · John Ford
84.5
40The Great Silence
1968 · Sergio Corbucci
84.4
41Shenandoah
1965 · Andrew V. McLaglen
84.1
42They Call Me Trinity
1970 · Enzo Barboni
84.1
43El Topo
1970 · Alejandro Jodorowsky
84.0
44Apache Gold
1963 · Harald Reinl
84.0
45The Naked Spur
1953 · Anthony Mann
83.9
46H
Home from the Hill
1960 · Vincente Minnelli
83.8
47Westworld
1973 · Michael Crichton
83.8
48Django Unchained
2012 · Quentin Tarantino · 2 Oscars
83.6
49No Man's Land
2013 · Hao Ning
83.6
50The Emigrants
1971 · Jan Troell
83.3
Continue the Canon
NEXT GENRE
Every catalogued genre, one short walk from any other. Step sideways, or jump straight to the form you came for.
Step Back
WAR
THE FRONT LINE, FRAMED
The genre that asks the audience to sit inside the worst chapter of a century. Where every shot is also a memorial.
End of the Index
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