After a post yesterday on favorite movies about team sports, I’m following it up with my top five Westerns, all-time. Once again the list is in alphabetical order, and the list is good for today only. Tomorrow I might be tempted to bump “One-Eyed Jacks” off for “High Noon,” or another film, but not today.
“Lonely Are the Brave” (1962): Directed by David Miller; Cast: Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands, Walter Matthau
“One-Eyed Jacks” (1961): Directed by Stanley Kubrick/Marlon Brando; Cast: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Katy Jurado
“Stagecoach” (1939): Directed by John Ford; Cast: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine
“Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948): Directed by John Huston; Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt
“Unforgiven” (1992): Directed by Clint Eastwood; Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
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1 comment:
I want to offer 5 you haven't offered. Please note - I have a strong affinity for all 5 of your choices, especially the one listed first, which I think is an underappreciated classic. The look on Kirk Douglas's face when he hears the shot .. I don't want to say more so I don't spoil the movie for those who have not yet seen it.
Two directed by Sergio Leone:
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - Eastwood, Van Cleef and Wallach
Once Upon a Time in the West - Fonda, Robards and a terrific performance by Charles Bronson as Harmonica - also Claudia Cardinale
I am fond of both of these, perhaps because I love Moriccone's music.
The Ballad of Cable Hogue - and I can add this because I am also fond of Jason Robards, and his performance here and in the second of the two Leone films listed above give a sense of his effectiveness as an actor in this genre.
Bad Day at Black Rock - set right after WWII, with Spencer Tracy, Lee Marvin, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine - that's 7 acting oscars right there, and it also has Robert Ryan
And of course, since you don't have High Noon, I would list it as my fifth.
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