Greatest Westerns
AMC Movie List

Greatest Westerns

Howdy, pardner. Which cowboy classic deserves top billing?

rank title points votes your vote
1 Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood's 1992 Oscar-winner examines the mythic violence of the Western, taking on the ghosts of his own star past.
136 362
2 The Magnificent Seven
In this re-telling of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and others team up to protect a small town.
132 344
3 The Searchers
In this John Ford classic, John Wayne plays a former soldier who goes looking for his kidnapped niece (Natalie Wood).
132 356
4 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Fast shooter Clint Eastwood takes on Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef in Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Western stunner.
131 379
5 Tombstone
Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer breathe new life into the legend of Wyatt Earp. Bill Paxton and Dana Delany co-star.
130 342
6 True Grit
John Wayne wins an Oscar playing grumpy U.S. marshal "Rooster" Cogburn, on a mission to avenge the death of a young girl's father.
122 324
7 Shane
A Wyoming range war is elevated to mythic status in George Stevens' drama; Alan Ladd plays the titular drifter.
115 335
8 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
John Wayne and James Stewart pair up for John Ford's exploration of truth as played in the drama of a small-town shooting.
112 326
9 High Noon
The bride (Grace Kelly) of a marshal (Gary Marshall) wants peace; he's determined to protect his town at all cost.
111 317
10 Rio Bravo
A Howard Hawks Western with The Duke and co-stars Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson and Dean Martin.
108 198
11 A Fistful of Dollars
In the first "Dollars" movie, Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood create the model for countless Spaghetti Westerns to come.
107 289
12 Red River
John Wayne stars for director Howard Hawks as a fortune-seeking cowboy with nothing left to lose.
107 307
13 The Shootist
On the verge of death, John Wayne's John Books settles old scores and befriends a feisty widow (Lauren Bacall) and son (Ron Howard).
107 297
14 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Witty pals Butch (Paul Newman) and Sundance (Robert Redford) wreak havoc as members of the train-robbing Wall Gang.
106 316
15 Stagecoach
A motley group of passengers, John Wayne and John Carradine among them, travel by train through Apache territory.
105 285
16 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
In the second of John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy," John Wayne battles and finally befriends his Arapaho foes.
104 288
17 The Wild Bunch
Sam Peckinpah's revisionist tale finds William Holden and Ernest Borgnine engaging in ferociously violent bloodshed.
59 269
18 Winchester '73
Lin McAdam (James Stewart) and High-Spade (Millard Mitchell) take part in a marksmanship match-up in an effort to win a coveted gun.
59 269
19 Dances with Wolves
A Western starring Kevin Costner and set during the Civil War era. The film was Costner's directorial debut!
37 187
20 Once Upon a Time in the West
Another Sergio Leone epic (with an Ennio Morricone score), this one stars Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Charles Bronson.
25 173
21 My Darling Clementine
John Ford directs Henry Fonda in one of the most accurate and entertaining depictions of the Wyatt Earp legend.
-17 233
22 Young Guns
Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, and Charlie Sheen are just some of the stars that pack this '80s retelling of Billy the Kid's story.
-70 276
23 Johnny Guitar
Joan Crawford headlines as a barkeep struggling with a drifter and a rancher. A camp classic.
-133 231
24 McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Robert Altman puts a new spin on the form, putting Warren Beatty in a frontier of hustlers, opportunists, and corporate sharks.
-133 225
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