IGN's Top 25 Westerns of All Time
by KasparM | created - 11 Feb 2012 | updated - 11 Feb 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
PG-13 | 166 min | Western
A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 349,037 | Gross: $5.32M
2. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,083 | Gross: $101.16M
3. High Noon (1952)
PG | 85 min | Drama, Thriller, Western
A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 110,151 | Gross: $9.45M
4. Shane (1953)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Western
A weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon De Wilde
Votes: 44,130 | Gross: $20.00M
5. The Wild Bunch (1969)
R | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An aging group of outlaws look for one last big score as the "traditional" American West is disappearing around them.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien
Votes: 90,342 | Gross: $12.06M
6. The Searchers (1956)
Passed | 119 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
An American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond
Votes: 96,262
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,003 | Gross: $6.10M
8. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
PG | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
Votes: 226,686 | Gross: $102.31M
9. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Approved | 128 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Seven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Eli Wallach
Votes: 102,511 | Gross: $4.91M
10. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Approved | 123 min | Drama, Western
A senator returns to a Western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins.
Director: John Ford | Stars: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin
Votes: 82,272
11. Rio Bravo (1959)
Passed | 141 min | Western
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson
Votes: 68,043 | Gross: $12.54M
12. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
PG | 135 min | Western
Missouri farmer Josey Wales joins a Confederate guerrilla unit and winds up on the run from the Union soldiers who murdered his family.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Chief Dan George, Bill McKinney
Votes: 79,827 | Gross: $31.80M
13. My Darling Clementine (1946)
Passed | 97 min | Drama, Romance, Western
After their cattle are stolen and their brother murdered, the Earp brothers have a score to settle with the Clanton family.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Linda Darnell, Victor Mature, Cathy Downs
Votes: 25,751
14. Tombstone (1993)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
A successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.
Directors: George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre | Stars: Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton
Votes: 166,220 | Gross: $56.51M
15. The Professionals (1966)
PG-13 | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode
Votes: 18,831 | Gross: $19.54M
16. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
R | 122 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who's awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
Director: James Mangold | Stars: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman
Votes: 331,024 | Gross: $53.61M
17. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
R | 120 min | Drama, Western
A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane
Votes: 27,637 | Gross: $8.20M
18. The Naked Spur (1953)
Passed | 91 min | Drama, Thriller, Western
A bounty hunter trying to bring a murderer to justice is forced to accept the help of two less-than-trustworthy strangers.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, Janet Leigh, Robert Ryan, Ralph Meeker
Votes: 12,656
19. Will Penny (1967)
Approved | 108 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Aging cowboy Will Penny gets a line camp job on a large cattle spread and finds his isolated cabin is already occupied by an abandoned woman traveler and her young son.
Director: Tom Gries | Stars: Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett, Donald Pleasence, Lee Majors
Votes: 5,253
20. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Western
Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Coburn, Kris Kristofferson, Richard Jaeckel, Katy Jurado
Votes: 21,085 | Gross: $0.95M
21. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
R | 99 min | Action, Drama, Western
A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
Votes: 232,615 | Gross: $14.50M
22. The Gunfighter (1950)
Approved | 85 min | Western
Notorious gunfighter Jimmy Ringo rides into town to find his true love, who doesn't want to see him. He hasn't come looking for trouble, but trouble finds him around every corner.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker
Votes: 12,521
23. Silverado (1985)
PG-13 | 133 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A misfit bunch of friends comes together to right the injustices which exist in a small town.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan | Stars: Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Rosanna Arquette
Votes: 49,427 | Gross: $33.20M
24. Little Big Man (1970)
PG-13 | 139 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Jack Crabb, looking back from extreme old age, tells of his life being raised by Native Americans and fighting with General Custer.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, Chief Dan George, Martin Balsam
Votes: 37,886 | Gross: $31.56M
25. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Passed | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 132,402 | Gross: $5.01M
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