Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon premiered at Cannes on May 20th, and the reviews are nothing but awe-struck delight. Scorsese’s highly anticipated film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has been getting a lot of buzz recently. The term Western is getting used a lot to describe this epic crime drama.

It has come to my attention that my peers often label the Western genre as their “least favorite,’ calling it boring and repetitive. Some even claim that the genre is dead. I can’t help but think about the Westerns that have received critical acclaim. The Power of the Dog (2021) earned a Best Directing Academy Award for Jane Campion. There Will Be Blood (2007) yielded Daniel Day-Lewis an Academy Award for Best Acting in a Leading Role. There’s also 3:10 to Yuma (2007), and Tarantino’s Hateful Eight  (2015), and Django Unchained (2012). And we could go further back to name Westerns that have been deemed some of the greatest films of all time.

For a genre that my contemporaries seem to hate, The Western has yielded some pretty impressive films. So why does it seem like people hate the genre so much? I admit I never considered myself a Western fan. I took it upon myself to explore this genre. After watching over thirty-two Westerns from the 1930s to the 2020s, I can now say that we, the Western doubters, haters, and ignorers, are totally wrong about the genre.

In the following article, I try to briefly break down the Western genre into four categories, with some films I found to be the most enjoyable from the adventure. In doing so, I hope you find that the “boring and repetitive” genre is the true core of American storytelling.

The Classics Westerns

Ford, Hawks, and Wayne are synonymous with the “classic western.” John Ford gave us recreations of the past, constructing and reconstructing our understanding of the American West. Howard Hawks looked deeper into human nature and the relationships between men. Both worked with John Wayne, America’s Cowboy, creating some of my favorite films, including Stagecoach (1939), Red River (1948), and Rio Bravo (1959). 

Ford’s Stagecoach follows a group of diverse travelers across the West in a small, cramped stagecoach, where they learn a little more about themselves and each other. The film includes every stereotype you can think of in a “classic western:” an outlaw (Wayne), a prostitute (Claire Trevor), the imminent threat of the Apache, death, birth, and a shootout. The film uses so many classic Western tropes that it almost begins to make fun of the cliches it uses. Most importantly, the film questions law, order, and the current institutions in place. In other words, how far can the law go before a man needs to step in? I found the whole film to be rather entertaining despite being slightly dated. 

Hawk’s Red River, despite being classified as a “classic,” is a wonderful piece of modernist, reflexive filmmaking. The film follows Thomas Dunson (Wayne), a Texan cattle ranch owner, and his protégé, Matt Garth (Montgomery Clift). Following the Civil War, Dunson and Matt lead a cattle to drive to Missouri, where the two butt heads increasingly into the journey. The film perfectly utilizes parallel storytelling, revealing and focusing more on the relationship between father and son rather than on the post-civil-war West. The parallels of the film, taking the real out of death itself, allow this supposed classic to deconstruct its genre. The performances are my favorite of the classical era, and this is a true piece of art to watch. 

Rio Bravo, also directed by Hawks in 1954, comes later in what I would consider the classical Western era. Starring Wayne, Dean Martin, and Ricky Nelson, the film takes us to a town where the sheriff (Wayne) and his deputies try to hold a convicted murderer (Claude Akins) in jail until reinforcements arrive. What’s in their way? The murderer’s extremely wealthy land baron brother (John Russell). In a way, Wayne’s sheriff character, the face of the law, is not unfamiliar to his many characters before. The film is almost nothing but a swan song to Hawk’s previous classics. However, the film offers a triangulation between the world, civilization (law), and the American West. Full of contradictions, each character offers a lot of deep conversations about America’s current (1959) societal status and where they are going. 

If there’s anything these three classics have in common, they already begin to pick apart the genre they are a part of. Aside from entertaining masterpieces from two of America’s greatest directors, these films and the beginning era of Westerns already start reflecting on themselves.

Rio Bravo (1954), starring John Wayne, offers a face of justice while questioning the existing laws and conventions.
The Revisionist Westerns

Continuing the play with the idea of the genre are four films that I have deemed “revisionist” Westerns. They completely change how they view themselves offering standout performances, unforgettable scenes, and more glimpses at the global view of civilization.

Johnny Guitar (1954), starring Joan Crawford, uses dreamlike storytelling to play with gender and sexuality in an unapologetically political film. Deemed often as nothing more than a “campy western,” the film closely ties political events, including the HUAC trials, to the film’s plot. At times, yes, the film’s exaggerations can almost feel comedic, but Ray’s ambitiousness is applaudable. 

Dipping back into Ford, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) is a fantastic, tragic Western that type casts John Wayne and James Stewart to bring the quintessential film that questions law, order, and American justice. It’s political and questions the role of violence and the American hero, giving us a glimpse at early 60s American anxieties. 

The Wild Bunch (1969), or what my professor deems the “turning point” for the Western genre, is a radical, violent, and political spectacle that deeply criticized the American 60s and the normalcy of tragedies. A group of aging outlaws led by Pike Bishop (William Holden) prepares for one last robbery. Slowly, they watch their wild west crumble around them. The film is violent and leaves innocence destroyed. John Wayne reportedly hated the film. Rightfully so, considering his role in the Western genre was a little less bleak. If Wayne saved an ounce of hope for the American man, The Wild Bunch destroyed it. 

I could not write this article without mentioning at least one Sergio Leone film. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966), starring another very familiar face, Clint Eastwood, turns the West into a fairytale. The film, directed by an Italian, gives an exploded, overly exaggerated viewpoint of the American West without becoming a parody. Leone gives a masterclass in genre exploration and creates a true spectacle we all can agree is one of the greatest of all time. 

Leone turns the West into a fairytale using Eastwood’s iconic, unnamed character in multiple films.
The Parodies

All genres, indeed, enter the parody stage once they’ve been exhausted. Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles (1974) blows the West and filmmaking itself out of proportion to deliver a comedic triumph with hilarious performances from Gene Wilder and Cleavon Little. To ruin a western town, a corrupt politician (Harvey Korman) appoints a black Sheriff. Little does he suspect that the Sherriff will soon become his greatest opponent. Brooks’ ability to make fun of the genre without exhausting any of the jokes is why he is one of comedy’s greatest treasures. The film makes fun of everything and everyone. Truly, if it was released today, Brooks may have been “canceled.” However, it’s all light-hearted and truly an enjoyable (adult) watch. 

Not necessarily exclusive to the parody categorization are the few musicals I had the pleasure of watching. Lemonade Joe (1964) is another foreign Western from Czechoslovakia. The musical-comedy-parody takes a deep look at American capitalism while also paying homage to the beloved Western genre. Paint Your Wagon (1969) is more comedy than a parody. The musical questions existing conventions set by American society in the context of the expanding West. It’s a fantastic film again using the genre to critique current societal standards. (But really, you should watch it for the absolutely wild song performances by Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood.)

Lemonade Joe (1964) uses colorful cinematography to play more with the Western genre and myth.
The Contemporaries

I deemed the final category as the “contemporary westerns.” Those films, released fairly recently, critique the genre. However, it’s been established that directors have critiqued the genre since its inception in the 30s. If nothing else, this last section is a list of films you need to watch as soon as possible. 

Unforgiven (1992), There Will Be Blood (2007), and No Country for Old Men (2007) are, in my humble opinion, near-perfect films. There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about each film. All three play with the West moving on, aging, and leaving behind scars, memories, and resentment for man. They’re bleak, deep, and are in no way as hopeful as the films from the classic Wayne era. 

Two contemporary films that stood out to me were Sayles’ Lonestar (1966) and Peele’s Nope (2022). Both films arguably received significantly less acclaim than the three previously mentioned films. Lonestar, with fantastic performances from Chris Cooper and Elizabeth Peña, attempts to deal with the dirty past of the violent West, questioning the previously conceived notions of justice. Similarly, as Peele’s filmography tends to do, Nope looks at the black experience and previous experience in film and television. The film’s use of genre and spectacle is rather ambitious and, understandably, the reason why it received mixed reviews. However, I found both films more rewarding after I had digested sixty years of Westerns before them. 

Peele’s Nope is the use of a violent Chimp attack to represent the treatment of Black Americans as ‘others’ or ‘animals’ in film and television.

If anything, I found that this exploration taught me that the Western, unlike any other genre, becomes more interesting the more you watch it. The line between the Stagecoach films and recent Nope endeavors goes through a lot of twisting, turning, telling, and retelling. US history is continuously critiqued and reconsidered. We gain an understanding of how Americans and the world felt at certain points in time. 

If this article does nothing else, I hope it gives you a few more films on your watchlist. Maybe it gave a better understanding of everyone’s least favorite genre. 

You can check out all the westerns I watched for this article here. Be sure to comment with more recommendations! 

Article by Sara Ciplickas

Feature image from ‘Red River’ (1948), United Artists