There was a time, back in the middle of the 20th century, when the Western was a staple at the movie theater. Actors like John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and a young Clint Eastwood made countless films about cowboys, gunfights, boomtowns, cattle drives, and ruthless robber barons. But, the sun had largely set on the Western film genre by the 1980s with fewer and fewer of the movies being made.
Skip ahead to today and the modern Western is seeing a bit of a renaissance, driven in large part by a streaming TV series called Yellowstone. Who knows if this Western revival will lead to more films, but it has already inspired a spinoff series called 1883 and another one coming soon called 6666.
With the new interest in Westerns, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the best modern Western movies from this dead period from the 1980s through 2021. It turns out that while the number of Western movies dropped off precipitously toward the latter part of the 20th century, the quality of the films that were made really held up. In no particular order, here are 10 noteworthy Westerns from the last 3 decades.
Open Range (2003)
Well before Yellowstone, Kevin Costner had actually carved out a niche as both an actor and director in numerous high quality Westerns. Our favorite is Open Range. No shade thrown on Dances With Wolves, but we just like this one better.
This is another throwback Western that follows a classic story of an ethical rancher facing off against a corrup land baron, with a gunslinger looking for redemption standing between the two. Costner (who also directed) is joined by Robert Duvall (as the rancher) Michael Gambon as the villain, and Annette Bening as a local ‘spinster’ who falls for the former gunslinger. It’s just a rock solid Western in the finest tradition of the genre.
Tombstone (1993)
As with so many of these films, the cast is fantastic with Kurt Russel, Val Kilmer, Bill Paxton, and Western veteran Sam Elliott. The film takes on the well-known story of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and gives us an action-focused character study into this raw battle between law and order and criminal chaos.
It is one of Kilmer’s best roles and it is a great look back toward some of the best classic Westerns. It may not have won any Academy Awards, but this one remains one of the most popular and well-regarded Westners of the last few decades.
Lone Star (1996)
This is another true modern Western, taking many of the elements of the classic Western and applying them to a more modern story. It is more of an odd mystery story, set in Texas as a modern sheriff (Chris Cooper) tryes to solve a 25-year old murder of his terribly racist, sadistic, and terrible predecessor (played by Khris Kristofferson in flashback scenes).
As he uncovers secrets that locals would rather keep buried, the sheriff begins to see that his own father (Matthew McConaughey) may be implicated in the murder. It is a modern classic.
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
This one of a couple of remakes on our list, matching Christian Bale and Russel Crowe as the lead roles. Bale’s character, a wounded Civil War veteran, is charged with delivering a dangerous criminal (Crowe) to his date with the hangman.
The criminal consistently tempts his captors while his vengeful crew closes in on them. But, this is a story about the relationship between these two men and their battle of wills. It was nominated for two Academy Awards.
True Grit (2010)
This remake of a true Western Classic (starring the Duke) is directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld in a story of justice and revenge.
The cinematography is spectacular as we follow a young girl and the old one-eyed drunk she enlists on a hunt for her father’s murderer. Many critics consider it to be superior to the original. It received 10 Oscar nominations.
No Country for Old Men (2007)
This is truly a modern Western, taking place in the modern day, but containing so many elements of the traditional Western. This is the second movie on this list from the Coen brothers, who have a penchant for making unique films.
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson, the film follows the chain of events set off when a hunter stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong and takes off with two million dollars in cash. The film won 4 Academy Awards.
Django Unchained (2012)
Quentin Tarantino brings his unique movie making and storytelling skills to this Western starring Jamie Foxx, Chrisoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, and Leonardo DiCaprio. As with many of Tarantino’s films, it pays homage to some of the classic ‘spaghetti’ Westerns of the 60s and 70s.
It’s wild and over the top, as fuses the ultra-violent style of those Westerns with powerful racial political themes. Jamie Foxx is outstanding as the gunslinger hero of the film and DiCaprio is incredibly evil as the villain. It won 2 Academy Awards.
Unforgiven (1992)
The oldest movie on our list might be the best. Fantastic acting from Clint Eastwood (who also directed), Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris highlighted this powerful story that is really a meditation on violence and the toll it takes on those who fill their lives with it.
It is as if we are seeing one of Eastwood’s younger Western characters in his later years. Unlike so many early Westerns, killing another man is shown for the deep damage it can do to the person behind the trigger. Critics loves this one as well, and it won 4 Academy Awards.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
We get one more from Tarantino on our list with The Hateful Eight. The cast is highlighted by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russel, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, and Bruce Dern, among others. It’s a combination of classic Western and almost Agatha Christie style mystery, with a group of disparate characters who take shelter in a Wyoming cabin to escape a blizzard.
Included are a bounty hunter (Russel) and his prisoner (Leigh) who is on her way to a hanging. Twists, turns, deceptions, and backstabbing ensue as no one can be trusted. It won 1 Oscar.
Pale Rider (1985)
One last one from the Western icon, Clint Eastwood who both directs and plays the protagonist. In a call back to many of his earlier Westerns, he plays a man with no name, simply called the preacher, since that is what he is - or appears to be at first.
Eastwood’s pious preacher comes to the rescue of a group of humble prospectors who are under the heel of a greedy mining company owner who wants to run them all off their claims and take them for himself. There is a mysterious backtory that we never fully understand that lends mystery to the preacher, who also turns out to be an angel of death style gunslinger before he set down his weapons and became a man of god.
