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MM Aims Its Six Shooter at 15 Modern Westerns
Kevin Costner stars in Dances With Wolves.
Westerns have been around nearly as long as movies themselves. One of the most revered early feature films, The Great Train Robbery (1903), was a Western and, for a long time, the genre remained the most popular. From the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone to the frontier films of John Ford, Westerns were long the bread and butter of the movie industry. After a lull in the 1980s that followed Michael Cimino’s 1980 disaster Heaven’s Gate, when most critics and audiences agreed that the classic American Western was all but dead, Kevin Costner breathed new life into the genre with his Oscar-Winning film Dances with Wolves. It now happens that every so often, just as moviegoers are writing off the genre as outmoded or irrelevant, an inspired moviemaker will deliver a new, thought-provoking take on the category, restoring the public’s faith in the classic American genre. Join MM as we take a look back at 10 of the best modern Westerns—and five runners up—from the past 20 years.
Dances with Wolves (1990)
In Kevin Costner’s Oscar-winning epic, the actor-director-producer plays John Dunbar, a Civil War lieutenant, who, while positioned on the western frontier, befriends a Sioux tribe, gradually earning their respect and shedding his white man’s ways in the process. The film swept the 1991 Oscars, winning statues for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Dances with Wolves also broke new ground in the genre by being morally ambiguous in its portrayal of “Cowboys and Indians;” in the film, the Native Americans are viewed more sympathetically than the soldiers.
City Slickers (1991)
This Billy Crystal hit comedy effectively utilized the Western genre in telling the story of a group of friends going through mid-life crises who become transformed after going on a cattle driving vacation. Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby play Crystal’s adventure-seeking friends who help take on the birthing of a calf, drunken cowboys and “Ben & Jerry.” Jack Palance, a Western veteran in films like Shane, won an Oscar for playing Curly, the group’s cranky yet likable guide.
Following the success of Dances with Wolves, Unforgiven was the second Western in just three years to be named Best Picture at the Oscars. Clint Eastwood directed and acts in this grim, violent drama about a retired Old West gunslinger who reluctantly accepts one last assignment after the brutal murder of a prostitute. Co-starring Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman, Unforgiven is a groundbreaking modern Western which, like Dances with Wolves, breaks from the typical genre conventions. Unlike classic Westerns, the supposedly noble sheriff in Unforgiven (Hackman) is actually the villain and the traditional bad guy, a deadly assassin (Eastwood), turns out to be the sympathetic protagonist.
Tombstone (1993)
Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer lead an impressive cast in this rollicking Western adventure. The two men play infamous gunslingers Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday respectively, who plan to retire in Tombstone, Arizona. Their dreams of rest and relaxation are thwarted when they enter into a conflict with “The Cowboys,” a band of vicious outlaws. Unlike the previous Oscar-winning Westerns, Tombstone had a more action-oriented tone reminiscent of the genre’s classic films.
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
Before he became known for the Spider-Man franchise, Sam Raimi (then known as the mastermind behind the Evil Dead trilogy) took a stab at Westerns with this bloody, action-packed tale of a lady avenger (Sharon Stone) who participates in an elimination tournament hosted by a ruthless gunslinger (Hackman in another solid supporting role). Previous Westerns portrayed women as damsels in distress, homemakers worried over their dear loves’ safety or Native American beauties. The Quick and the Dead allowed the fairer sex an equal part in the adventure. Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, both relative unknowns at the time, also star.
Richard Donner directed this affectionate, light-hearted Western homage starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster and James Garner (star of the 1950s television series on which the film is based). Gibson plays the title character, a cocky gambler in desperate need of money for a poker tournament, who faces various comic mishaps and challenges along the way, including the wiles of a charming thief (Foster). Scripted by veteran screenwriter William Goldman (responsible for one of the greatest Westerns, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), the film also features cameo appearances by legendary Western stars such as Denver Pyle and Dub Taylor. Unlike most other, usually grim, modern Westerns, Maverick was a refreshing reprieve that didn’t take itself too seriously.
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by vaniya on 9/17/10 at 8:23 am
I found nothing of substantial value. Bound in Blood is an average shooter that skids, dips and shifts into complete mediocrity or below. Playing the game is an exercise in apathy—it’s neither solid nor liquid. In other words, it isn’tcompelling…
Spotting Fake Gibson Les Paul- Comment by صور on 12/21/10 at 2:52 pm
thank you very much
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صور للماسنجر- Comment by صور on 12/21/10 at 2:53 pm
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