10 Classic Western Movies That Everyone Should Watch At Least Once

The Western genre may feel like a relic of an older time, and it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but there are some essential examples that everybody should watch at least once. The most conventional and timeless examples of Western movies typically feature gunslinging cowboys, loner outlaws, and dangerous bandits, facing off against one another in the Old West of America. With films dating back to the earliest days of cinema, the Western was once one of the most popular genres among audiences, and it was a type of storytelling that produced narratives of great complexity, depth, and emotional resonance.

While it’s not as popular as it once was, several great modern Westerns prove the genre isn’t dead. Today, the genre can still be found in the Wild West aesthetic of TV series like Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian and in revisionist takes on the big screen like Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained and Jane Campion’s Oscar-winning drama The Power of the Dog. With such a long-standing legacy, there are plenty of Western movies that everyone should have on their watch list, even if it is just for one viewing.

10, The Great Train Robbery (1903)

One of the earliest Western movies

The Old West technically still existed when The Great Train Robbery was released, as historians categorize 1912 as the point that the Wild West frontier was closed. Telling the story of a gang of outlaws robbing a locomotive, this short film was incredibly influential and has been paid homage to in scenes in movies like Goodfellas and TV series such as Breaking Bad. With its pioneering camera pans, looming shots, and an iconic final close-up, at just 12 minutes long, there’s no excuse not to see this classic silent Western movie.

9, The Searchers (1956)

The crowning achievement of director John Ford

John Ford was one of the most important directors of the Western genre and made such classics as Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine. However, it is The Searchers that acted as the culmination of all his previous work and is a masterpiece of cinema. Starring John Wayne as a Civil War veteran searching for his abducted niece, The Searchers addressed race relations and the treatment of Native Americans in a way rarely seen on screen. The film had a major impact on Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas, and influenced the trajectory of everything about Westerns that came after it.

8, The Magnificent Seven (1960)

An iconic adaptation that spawned a franchise

As an Old West adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s seminal masterpiece Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven is an iconic entry in the Western genre that spawned an entire franchise. Featuring an ensemble cast of seven gunslingers hired to protect a Mexican village from bandits, the movie was, for a Western audience, the first exposure to the “assembling a team” film trope that can be seen in everything from Star Wars to The Avengers. The Magnificent Seven was a classic of the era and produced three sequels, a television series, and even a star-studded 2016 remake.

7, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Deconstructs the myth of the Old West

Featuring the incredible trio of director John Ford and movie stars John Wayne and James Stewart, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is an expertly crafted deconstruction of the myth of the Old West. By contrasting legend and truth, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance shines a light on itself as a comment on the glorification of bandits, outlaws, and the Wild West. By the time this film was released in the early 1960s, the heyday of the Western genre was reaching its end, and a new, more self-aware, take on these stories was starting to take its place.

6, The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)

Includes some of the most iconic imagery of the entire genre

Featuring the incredible trio of director John Ford and movie stars John Wayne and James Stewart, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

4, Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

An epic homage to the genre’s legacy

Sergio Leone’s epic portrayal of revenge, greed, and the pushback against progress, Once Upon a Time in the West pays homage to all the Western movies that came before it while subverting and modernizing the genre. Featuring impeccable attention to detail, Once Upon a Time in the West uses visual storytelling and minimal dialogue to truly capture the vast expanse of Old West America. This is quite an intense journey that lasts almost three hours but still stands as a Western that everyone should make a point to see.

3, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)

Brought the Western into the New Hollywood era

As a defining moment in the development of New Hollywood, when auteur-driven filmmaking was taking over the old studio system, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was an important movie that blended the traditions of the genre with a humorous, action-packed, contemporary feel. The movie features the dynamic pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford as real-life outlaws Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and the duo’s onscreen chemistry had a major impact on subsequent buddy films and stands as a must-watch of the Western genre.

2, The Wild Bunch (1969)

Utilized modern filmmaking techniques

The Wild Bunch is notable for its use of revolutionary filmmaking techniques, including multi-angle framing, quick editing, and slow-motion shots. This new type of editing placed greater emphasis on the chaotic nature of the action and gunfights and led to a cinematic experience unlike anything previously seen. The brutal depiction of violence seen in The Wild Bunch challenged what could be shown on cinema screens and injected new life into the Western genre that had over the last decade been dwindling in popularity.

1, The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

An underrated later Western by Clint Eastwood