Best Ever Western Films [LIST] - Games - Forums : Best Ever Albums

bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

I thought for sure none of my more weirdo choices would make the final cut.. and then at the last minute somebody posted a last-minute list, and sure enough, there was Rancho Notorious. Even though it was my number 2 choice, that wasn't enough points to get it into the top 100. But with the late addition by somebody else, it earned enough points to sneak into the top 100. At number 99. Ha ha. My number one choice didn't make it at all though.

PurpleHazel

bobbyb5 wrote:

I thought for sure none of my more weirdo choices would make the final cut.. and then at the last minute somebody posted a last-minute list, and sure enough, there was Rancho Notorious. Even though it was my number 2 choice, that wasn't enough points to get it into the top 100. But with the late addition by somebody else, it earned enough points to sneak into the top 100. At number 99. Ha ha. My number one choice didn't make it at all though.

Rancho Notorious is damn good. Directed by Fritz Lang, noirish, lively plot with lots of good ideas. Of the 5 westerns I watched for the first time, I liked it second best, and there wasn't a bad one in the lot.

bobbyb5

Gender: Male
Location: New York

PurpleHazel wrote:

Rancho Notorious is damn good. Directed by Fritz Lang, noirish, lively plot with lots of good ideas. Of the 5 westerns I watched for the first time, I liked it second best, and there wasn't a bad one in the lot.

And Marlene Dietrich sings an awesome saloon number too!!! Heh heh.

PurpleHazel

StreetSpirit wrote:

Which cinephile site are you talking about?

CriterionForum.org. This was their top 20:

criterionforum wrote:

THE WESTERN LIST (GENRE PROJECT) TOP 100

01 Man of the West (Anthony Mann 1958) 521
02 Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks 1959) 494
03 Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone 1968) 486
04 Red River (Howard Hawks 1948) 444
05 Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray 1954) 424
06 My Darling Clementine (John Ford 1946) 415
07 the Searchers (John Ford 1956) 404
08 the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone 1966) 400
09 Winchester '73 (Anthony Mann 1950) 398
10 McCabe and Mrs Miller (Robert Altman 1971) 397

11 the Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah 1969) 377
12 the Naked Spur (Anthony Mann 1953) 346
13 Stagecoach (John Ford 1939) 344
14 Forty Guns (Samuel Fuller 1953) 303
15 Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford 1962) 291
16 Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah 1962) 283
17 Yellow Sky (William A Wellman 1948) 265
18 Little Big Man (Arthur Penn 1970) 256
19 Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch 1995) 240
20 Heaven's Gate (Michael Cimino 1980) 235

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

Wasn't aware that Liberty Valance has moved up for those (legit imo) sources. Filmsite.org, though primarily based in American film, is a source I've used and if I remember correctly, they have five Ford films in their unranked "100 greatest American films" list: The Searchers, Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine, The Grapes of Wrath and The Quiet Man. I would at least confidently say Searchers and Grapes are his two big films, but Liberty Valance definitely deserves to be in the conversation. I do feel like I base too much of my perception on consensus from 2001-2005, when I was absorbing the most knowledge from the internet, whereas today I don't really pay attention to anything or do any research except for the occasional cult or foreign film. Things change over time. Back then Jurassic Park was absolutely not a consensus top 5 Spielberg film, perhaps not even top 10. Today it's a masterpiece. I suppose Liberty Valance could have gone through the same transition. Totally deserved on both films' part.

Regarding whether the original True Grit deserves placement, I expected it to be there, probably not top 50 buy definitely expected it on the list. There are a few surprises near the bottom, some of which I haven't seen. So yeah, in their place I was expecting True Grit, Cat Ballou, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, perhaps even The Wind and Go West.

PurpleHazel

badseed wrote:

Wasn't aware that Liberty Valance has moved up for those (legit imo) sources. Filmsite.org, though primarily based in American film, is a source I've used and if I remember correctly, they have five Ford films in their "100 greatest American films" list: The Searchers, Stagecoach, My Darling Clementine, The Grapes of Wrath and The Quiet Man. I would at least confidently say Searchers and Grapes are his two big films, but Liberty Valance definitely deserves to be in the conversation.

Grapes of Wrath and Stagecoach are without question two of Ford's most famous films, and do very well in mainstream U.S. lists like the AFI ones. But in the international critics polls, which tend to be more academic, apparently Liberty Valance does quite well.

The They Shoot Pictures Don't They? John Ford rankings:

1. The Searchers
2. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The
3. My Darling Clementine
4. Stagecoach
5. Grapes of Wrath, The
6. Quiet Man, The
7. How Green Was My Valley
8. Wagon Master
9. Young Mr. Lincoln
10. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

As you know, this poll is an extensive poll of polls, though it's heavily weighted toward the Sight & Sound critic's poll. Of course these polls change over time but the top 2 or 3 are the ones likely to shift least.

Filmsite is AMC. I don't know enough about them to know how they calculate their lists.

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

PurpleHazel wrote:

Grapes of Wrath and Stagecoach are without question two of Ford's most famous films, and do very well in mainstream U.S. lists like the AFI ones. But in the international critics polls, which tend to be more academic, apparently Liberty Valance does quite well.

The They Shoot Pictures Don't They? John Ford rankings:

1. The Searchers
2. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The
3. My Darling Clementine
4. Stagecoach
5. Grapes of Wrath, The
6. Quiet Man, The
7. How Green Was My Valley
8. Wagon Master
9. Young Mr. Lincoln
10. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

As you know, this poll is an extensive poll of polls, though it's heavily weighted toward the Sight & Sound critic's poll. Of course these polls change over time but the top 2 or 3 are the ones likely to shift least.

Filmsite is AMC. I don't know enough about them to know how they calculate their lists.

I don't think they "calculate" anything. They seem like a blend between AFI and Roger Ebert. Pretty uninspiring as far as their opinions on what's best go but the facts presented in many of the subsections (which include everything from the history of Film Noir to a guide to every important sex scene) are very informative.

Haven't checked out TSPDT yet this year. Suppose I need to see what's changed.

CA Dreamin

Gender: Male
Location: LA

The Western isn't dead.

badseed

Gender: Male
Age: 35
Location: FL

I added a poll out of interest. Not official or anything, as I don't plan on hosting another for a while. If there's interest in a horror re-do I'm down to do that one around October but wouldn't be hurt if someone else wanted to host it or if the consensus is not to do it yet. Just curious what you guys think would be fun to do next.

hereforashortime

Gender: Male

I would love an action movie list sometime.
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