My Western Movie Collection... In A Nutshell

Today is all about the western movie genre. I have seen a fair number of westerns over the years, far more than the piddly few in my home video collection. I enjoyed pretty much every western I've seen (since starting to seriously watch about 25 years ago), in one way or another, but only a handful really stood out for me. And those are the ones I've sought out for my personal collection. I'm very happy with the titles I have, and really only have a couple on my Wishlist (see below).

Gary Cooper as the lawman Will Kane in the legendary High Noon

As I've mentioned elsewhere in my blog (like here), it took me many years to learn to appreciate stories of the Old West. As a kid and teen, I mostly ignored such stuff; it wasn't nearly as sensational as the horror and sci-fi that I loved. The "modern" Hollywood westerns of the 80's and 90's were okay-ish, but I think the only one that really made a mark for me was Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood's 1992 return to the genre. Other than that, it wasn't until into the late 90's and 2000's that I rewatched oldies and saw some newer fare, and developed a true appreciation for the films.

My video collection only contained a few westerns up until the last decade or so, when I began adding more favourites on DVD and especially on Criterion edition Blu-rays. I did, however, own all of the Lonesome Dove TV mini-series and spinoffs since the late 90's/early 2000's... not movies, actually, though the mini-series do play like proper films, with big budgets and even bigger star actors.

The sprawling epics, revenge tales (almost always the case), love stories woven into the fabric of the Old West setting, accounts of hardship and battles fought - these and more  capture my imagination and transport me to the dusty pioneer days of the barely settled plains of America.

The relationship between man and his loyal horse, the earliest American ranches and cowboys, adventures into the wilds of Mexican territory - law-abiding gringos versus desperados and banditos. Just a few of the tropes that became part of the Western in storytelling.

With the law in its most minimal form - usually just a sheriff and his deputy, often poorly qualified for the job - in the small communities, violence and theft was common and often went unchecked. The romance and danger of the era translates so well to the film medium. The beautiful landscapes range from mountains and forests in the northwest States to the desert and rocky canyons of the southwest, and down into Mexico. These lend themselves perfectly to the cinematic treatment: breathtaking sunsets across the picturesque plains, the desert and its mesas and buttes.

The symbolism, metaphors, and subtext in Westerns (at least the ones that bother to work on more than one level) speak to modern world situations, timeless struggles of humanity.

Here is my little list of what amounts to my favourite westerns, a few on DVD, the rest on Blu-ray. It's no coincidence that pretty much all of these are widely considered classics:

My Darling Clementine
Winchester '73 (my favourite film of the genre)
Stagecoach
The Searchers
Rio Bravo
The Wild Bunch
Once Upon a Time in the West
Heaven's Gate
Jubal
3:10 to Yuma (the 1957 original)
The Magnificent Seven
Open Range


And what really started it all for me, these DVDs of made-for-TV series:

Lonesome Dove TV mini-series 
Return to Lonesome Dove
Streets of Laredo
Dead Man's Walk
(all based on the novels by Larry McMurtry)

... and the spinoff regular TV series:

Lonesome Dove: The Series
The Outlaw Years

My Wishlist:

High Noon (the 1952 original), Unforgiven, and maybe another one or two I'm forgetting


That's all for now, pardner... giddyup!