The western film genre has been instrumental in shaping our view of American culture, helped the US tourism industry, and inspired generations of directors to produce several golden masterpieces in the last few decades.

While superhero movies continue to dominate the box office, westerns are quietly trying to return to the spotlight. And with 21st Century film hits like No Country For Old Men, Old Henry, The Hateful 8, The Revenant, and popular TV series such as Yellowstone and Outer Range, the future of what was once a domineering genre seems to once again look promising.

In this article, we take a look at the six most influential legendary westerns that many of us still look back on with respect and admiration.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

6 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

     20th Century Fox

Inspired by a true story about a lovable outlaw named Butch and his legendary sidekick, the dangerously-unstoppable Sundance Kid, the legacy of 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid still echoes nearly six decades later.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

But what eventually became an evergreen western gem almost didn’t get made. According to top dog screenwriter William Goldman, “Every studio but one rejected it,” as per The Independent. A mix between scorching action, romance, and comedy, the film went on to win Academy Awards for Best Story and Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Score for a Motion Picture, as well as numerous international awards, making it one of Paul Newman’s and Robert Redford’s most memorable works.

5 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

     United Artists/Produzioni Europee Associate

Most successful among Sergio Leone’s “Dollars Trilogy,” The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, is captivating the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide to this day. This shining classic wraps us in a tale of greed, friendship, and vengeance like no other, with its emotional grip being so tight as to inspire some of the most prominent film directors of today, including Martin Scorsese, Sam Raimi, Robert Rodriguez, Robert Zemeckis, Chad Stahelski, and Quentin Tarantino.

Leone’s second spaghetti western triumph was instrumental in shooting Clint Eastwood into the skies of stardom and, as noted by the BBC, earned the Italian director a boost in worldwide recognition as it managed to surpass even the success of 1965’s For a Few Dollars More.

4 The Wild Bunch

     Warner Bros.-Seven Arts

After being fired from The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Sam Peckinpah’s 1969 The Wild Bunch was seen as his chance to get back on the director’s saddle and prove that he still had the ability to tell stories that could echo through the ages. Written by Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner, and Peckinpah himself, The Wild Bunch tells the story of a veteran group of outlaws doing whatever it takes to adapt to and survive in the 20th century.

For its time, the bloody, gruesome nature of The Wild Bunch was so outlandish that The Guardian dubbed it the first “splatter western.” And even though the film did not win any major awards, it rode into the sunset with two academy award nominations and a nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures from the Directors Guild of America.

3 The Magnificent Seven

     United Artists

Based on Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 cult classic Seven Samurai, The Magnificent Seven (1960) tells the story of seven men fighting to protect a small town of weaponless citizens from a ruthless group of opportunistic villains.

With an all-star cast that included Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn, and Yul Brynner, the film cemented its legacy as one of the most popular westerns of all time. The film received a number of sequels and was revived by director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, 2001) back in 2016, with Denzel Washington in the lead role of Chisolm. Elmer Bernstein’s soundtrack for the film is “among cinema’s most memorable” and was even used in Marlboro cigarette commercials later on, as per Britannica.

2 High Noon

     Stanley Kramer Productions/United Artists

Directed by Austrian-Jewish immigrant Fred Zinnemann, High Noon (1952) takes us on a gripping adventure led by Gary Cooper in the role of Will Kane — a marshall on his way out of service. But Kane’s plans for retirement and a happy honeymoon disintegrate into dust as he learns that the notorious Miller gang is on their way to wreak havoc in his beloved city. Being a man of principle and honor, the old dog decides to stay and do what he does best — protect the town of Hadleyburg and its citizens from harm at all costs.

Due to its highly political nature, as well as being a piece of everlasting cinematic art, the film is said to be among former presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton’s favorite movies, according to The Guardian.

1 The Searchers

     Warner Bros.

John Ford’s The Searchers (1956) is considered one of the most influential films in the history of western cinema. Starring John Wayne, the story follows an unapologetically racist ex-confederate soldier (Ethan Edwards) who sets out on a mission to save his niece from the Comanche Indians after several of his relatives are brutally killed on their Texas farm.

Hailed as one of John Wayne’s most gripping performances and a masterclass in cinematography, the movie inspired many of the works of today’s most cherished directors, including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Paul Schrader, and Michael Cirmino, among others. As noted by The Washington Post, The Searchers remains highly relevant to this day, as it “explores themes of gender, race and sexual violence that are stunningly modern.”