The 1980s were a difficult time for the western genre. After the wave of Italian and revisionist westerns in the ’70s, the genre had ceased to be the cultural juggernaut it had been in decades past, and had now become a novelty, with any major Hollywood production being heralded as a “revival,” though usually an unsuccessful one. Despite the western’s decline, there were a number of noteworthy westerns made during the ’80s, including a few outright classics. Here is a ranked list of the decade’s best.
Updated January 7th, 2022: The western genre had gone through a radical transition during the 1970s, and western films of the 1980s were extremely different from older cinema classics. We’ve updated this article to best reflect this unique decade in the western genre.
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10 Young Guns (1988)
20th Century Fox
The life of Billy the Kid has been fodder for westerns almost since movies began, but the Kid is usually utilized merely as shorthand for “western outlaw” or even “western hero”. Few films evinced any interest in depicting him with any historical accuracy. Young Guns is unique - and commendable - for trying to stay the course of historical accuracy, and for realizing that the actual events of the Lincoln County War that brought the Kid to national notoriety are fascinating and exciting on their own, without excessive embellishment.
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Young Guns received criticism for its Brat Pack casting (Emilio Estevez plays the Kid, leading a posse made up of Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Charlie Sheen), as well as for a shallow emphasis on action over substance, but those qualities make is a source of nostalgia today for generation X.
9 Pale Rider (1985)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Clint Eastwood westerns were often credited as the sole remaining standard-bearer of the genre during the ’70s and beyond, but he actually made just one western during the ’80s, Pale Rider. The film revisits the archetype of the lone stranger coming to down to town to bring justice, with biblical overtones referencing the Book of Revelations, a common trope in spaghetti westerns and something Eastwood had played with in his apocalyptic High Plains Drifter.
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Here Eastwood plays Preacher, who appears in the remote mountain town of LaHood, California astride a pale horse, seemingly in answer to a prayer. Pale Rider borrows liberally from Shane, and in contrast to the deconstructionist High Plains Drifter it attempts to dabble in the classic Americana of directors such as John Ford and Henry King.
8 Three Amigos! (1986)
Orion Pictures
This classic comedy from John Landis opens with a winning premise, courtesy of Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels: three silent film stars are recruited by an impoverished village to liberate them from a tyrannical bandit, only they don’t realize this is for real. Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short play the titular trio, each at the top of their game, and the film is loaded with outrageous silliness and a couple classic musical numbers courtesy of Randy Newman. Incredibly quotable and loaded with sight gags, Three Amigos! transcends simple genre parody to become a celebration of the absurd.
7 The Grey Fox (1982)
United Artists Classics
Based on the true story of stagecoach robber Bill Miner (widely credited with coining the phrase “Hands up!”) this Canadian production stars Richard Farnsworth as the gentleman bandit who decides to rob a train after serving thirty years in prison for stagecoach robbery. Farnsworth plays Miner as a man out of time trying to catch up with the dawning twentieth century and unable to break away from a life of crime due to his own compulsions. Charming, elegiac, and beautifully photographed, The Grey Fox is a classic end-of-the-frontier tale.
6 The Man from Snowy River (1982)
Adapted from the Banjo Paterson poem of the same name, the thrilling Australian Western drama The Man from Snowy River tells the exciting tale of the young and ambitious Jim Craig as he sets out to earn a substantial amount of money and prove himself a man in order to inherit and fix-up his deceased father’s station in 1880s Australia. Jim is given a job with a seasoned rancher and falls in love with his beautiful daughter but runs into trouble after he gets caught up in a long-standing family feud, and is later tasked with capturing a prize stallion that gets loose.
The heartfelt drama features an impressive dual performance by Kirk Douglas and was praised for its stunning cinematography and wholesome entertainment; it is credited with popularizing the Paterson poem and attracted a large fan following up on its release, earning over $50 million worldwide and nabbing a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film.
5 Straight to Hell (1987)
Island Pictures / J&M Entertainment
From idiosyncratic auteur Alex Cox comes this wild spaghetti western pastiche about three bumbling hitmen hiding out in a derelict Mexican town, only to discover that it’s run by trigger-happy, coffee-addled cowboys.Given Cox’s affection for Italian westerns, one might have expected a love-letter to the genre, or at least an affectionate homage.
Instead, Cox delivers a punk rock Three Amigos!. Straight to Hellis equal parts nihilism and nonsense with an incredible cast of musicians and actors including Joe Strummer (of The Clash), Courtney Love, The Pogues, and cameos by Dennis Hopper, Elvis Costello, Grace Jones, and Jim Jarmusch.
4 Silverado (1985)
Columbia Pictures
Touting a large ensemble cast including Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, and Kevin Costner, Lawrence Kasdan’s rousing Western Silverado centers on a group of eccentric cowboys who head to the titular town in hopes of building up their respective fortunes, only to go toe-to-toe with a money-hungry rancher and crooked sheriff.
The Oscar-nominated picture was lauded for its classic approach to the genre as well as its compelling performances, electrifying action sequences and breathtaking imagery and production design; it has been credited with reviving the Western in cinema with Roger Ebert calling it “sophisticated” and elaborating, “This is a story, you will agree, that has been told before. What distinguishes Kasdan’s telling of it is the style and energy he brings to the project.”
3 Near Dark (1987)
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
This horror/western/neo-noir was the solo directorial debut of Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, and subverted the traditional Eastern European vampire character, transforming the trope through the lens of country western, dirtbag Americana. Adrian Pasdar stars as the unlucky recipient of a vampire bite that brings him into a group of psychotic bloodsuckers roaming the American West.
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This startling genre fusion is notable for its incredible cast (including Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Jenette Goldstein giving career-best performances) and strong atmosphere thanks to Adam Greenburg’s shadowy cinematography and the soundtrack by Tangerine Dream. A cult classic, Near Dark has gone on to have a large influence on the horror genre, often copied but never equaled.
2 The Long Riders (1980)
United Artists
Recounting the real-life exploits of the James-Younger Gang, The Long Riders was notable at the time of its release primarily for casting actual brothers in its lead roles, with James and Stacy Keach as Frank and Jesse James, the Carradines as the Youngers, Randy and Dennis Quaid as the Millers, and Christopher and Nicholas Guest as the Ford Brothers. Today, however, it’s clear that The Long Riders is more than a casting gimmick, its director Walter Hill’s greatest triumph.
The Long Riders powerfully evokes a feeling of authenticity thanks to Jack T. Collis’ set design, Bobbie Mannix’s costumes, and the great Ry Cooder’s rustic score. The real-life camaraderie between the actors comes across onscreen to great effect, and Hill pulls out all the stops, most memorably during the startling Northfield raid sequence that recalls Sam Peckinpah in its depiction of violence.
1 Heaven’s Gate (1980)
Inspired by the horrific true events of the Johnson County War, Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate was derided on its release for its perceived excess, but today, it is largely recognized as a masterpiece. Sprawling in length and scope, Heaven’s Gate is a true American epic that nonetheless has a very human core in the love triangle between an aristocratic lawman (Kris Kristofferson), an immigrant sex worker (Isabelle Huppert), and a killer with a guilty conscience (an outstanding Christopher Walken).
Heaven’s Gate deals with themes of class, violence, and culture clash, but its most memorable qualities are its score and visual design; Heaven’s Gate is an astonishingly beautiful film, one that stays with you long after it’s over.
