Most Influential Wetern Film.

[Smokey]

There are alot of choices here, but looking back from 2009, which of the following westerns would be considered the most infulential western that set trend for others to follow and redefine that gener. Edit: Stagecoach was mistakenly Omitted in the above poll.

I'm having a hard time choosing, so lets see which direction the poll goes.

The Covered Wagon (1923): This was the first truly epic scale Western.


Stagecoach (1939): First team up of John Ford and John Wayne.


Red River (1948): Howard Hawks’ epic tells tale of generational conflict.


The Gunfighter (1950): A gunfighter is trapped by his own fame.


Winchester 73 (1950): The first adult western that that reviatalize that gere.


High Noon (1952): A conflict between personal responsibility and the needs of the community.


Shane (1953): The arrival and departure of the drifter, where it became the theme of many westerns that followed.


The Searchers (1956): A hero with a dark racist side.


Fistfull of Dollors (1964): The first camera angle shot of a gun shooting next to its holster.


The Wild Bunch (1968): An anti-western where outlaws and lawmen are alike.

[recoveryone]

Growing up I was not much of a western movie fan, first one I saw was Good Bad & Ugly at a drive in, but I have learn to appricate the genre. I think Clints' work set a new tone for all future work. I'm not bad guy or good, just here for the money or don't push me around attitude. The Wild bunch was just pure violence, I don't even remember the story line and I have it in the closet...lol. To me all the older films were geared towards Good vs Evil (reason why Star Wars worked so well) and the good guy got the girl or sings a song..lol

[Jack in Wilmington]

I voted for "The Searchers", But I really like Rio Bravo and Good The Bad and The Ugly as some of my all time best. What were some of your favorite western TV shows when you were growing up?

[Smokey]

To me all the older films were geared towards Good vs Evil (reason why Star Wars worked so well) and the good guy got the girl or sings a song..lol

Heheheheh. That is funny because in Rio Bravo, Dean Martin does a song along with Ricky Nelson. I guess you can say Roy Rogers films were influential also

I voted for "The Searchers", but I really like Rio Bravo and Good, Bad and the Ugly as some of my all time best.

All those movies are excellent westerns, but I think Rio Bravo was influence by High Noon. John Wayne consider High Noon as an anti-american film, so he made Rio Bravo to counter it.

[Worf101]

Too bad Stagecoach isn't in the poll Grrrrr....
Welp, I'd vote for Red River. Ford made Wayne a "Star" but Hawks made him an actor. His performance in Red River is so nuanced so, understated so "real". He never acted so well again. Even Ford had to admit.

Da Worfster

[Smokey]

Too bad Stagecoach isn't in the poll Grrrrr....

Does that mean you would have voted for Stagecoach

Both are explended western movies and as one reviewer said: "Ford treats his Western characters as people behave... Hawks displays it in vivid adventure."

Although Stagecoach is not the poll (edit mistake), IMO that is probably the most influential western. Where before Stagecoach westerns were considered passe' and a popcorn muncher, with this movie Ford elevated westerns to Cecil Demille' equal.

[Worf101]

Does that mean you would have voted for Stagecoach

Both are explended western movies and as one reviewer said: "Ford treats his Western characters as people behave... Hawks displays it in vivid adventure."

Although Stagecoach is not the poll (edit mistake), IMO that is probably the most influential western. Where before Stagecoach westerns were considered passe' and a popcorn muncher, with this movie Ford elevated westerns to Cecil Demille' equal.

Still "Red River" for me, it's not only my fave western, but it's one of my top ten films of all time. Brennan, Clift, Wayne, and a ton of great western stock players. Chit the only one missing is Ward Bond!!!! No "Red River" is still my vote. The "start em out" montage, the stampede, the breakup fight, the arrival celebration and climactic fistfight, it just don't git no better. And while the characters are "familiar", no one's perfect. Even Garth in his niavete and youth is, still, a gun slinger who has and will kill for fun, pay or in anger. Just great movie making.

Da Worfster

[Mingus]

My favorite is, 'How the West Was Won'

[nightflier]

Many of these movies are a bit older than most of us, so it figures most people here will have more familiarity with the newer ones. Sorry, but I had to vote for A Fist Full of Dollars as a protest for the typo and for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly not being on the list, LOL. And where's Once Upon a Time...?

[Rich-n-Texas]

"Most influencial"? Most influencial to me?

"Pale Rider" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales".

Give me your hat Festus so's I can swat you with it!

[3LB]

I picked The Searchers cuz even though A Fist Full of Dollars was grittier, edgier, and more ambiguous with regards to write and rong, even Sergio Leone admitted that The Searches was an inspiration for his characterizations.

[nightflier]

So are you saying Ford doesn't eat spaghetti, but Leone definitely loved his apple pie?

...Hey, don't blame me, Don McLean is playing on radio.

[Auricauricle]

Has anybody mentioned the El Mariachi and Desperado films by Robert Rodriguez? Mebbe not among the most influential, but certainly one of the most innovative in recent days....

[Jack in Wilmington]

Many of these movies are a bit older than most of us, so it figures most people here will have more familiarity with the newer ones. Sorry, but I had to vote for A Fist Full of Dollars as a protest for the typo and for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly not being on the list, LOL. And where's Once Upon a Time...?

I forgot about Once Upon a Time................. Great cast. Bronson, Fonda, Robards, Elam and a tremendous score.

[Smokey]

Sorry, but I had to vote for A Fist Full of Dollars as a protest for the typo and for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly not being on the list, LOL.

Well, if you think about it, GB&U was the continuation saga of "man with no name" in Fistfull of Dollors. So voting for FFD is a vote for GB&U

I actually liked For Few Dollors More more than the FFD because the former had Lee Van Cleef which gave it another dimension. But I agree that GB&U is best of the bunch.

"Most influencial"? Most influencial to me?

"Pale Rider" and "The Outlaw Josey Wales".

As Pale Rider (Preacher) borrow heavily from the movie Shane, when was the last time you heard...."Preacher! Come Back!"... instead of ..."Shane! Come Back!" LOL

Has anybody mentioned the El Mariachi and Desperado films by Robert Rodriguez? Mebbe not among the most influential, but certainly one of the most innovative in recent days..

I don't think you suppose to a have paved roads and cars in a western movie

Also check your PM.

[nightflier]

Yes, Lee Van Cleef makes a great villain and he wasn't too shabby as an actor (Death Rides a Horse, The Magnificent Seven, etc.). Ironically, he was a pretty nice person in real life, but the Leone roles pretty much typecast him from then on. Few people know he was in Escape From New York, too.

[markw]

My vote would have to go with the iconic "Destry Rides Again".