The Western genre had its heyday in the 1950s when Hollywood was churning them out like nobody’s business, but the genre never disappeared. In fact, some of the best westerns are more recent films. 

1. Hell or High Water

Several commenters suggested Hell Or High Water, which follows two bank-robbing brothers seeking to steal enough money to buy their family ranch back from banks that they are robbing. One person on social media called it a thematically potent, exciting, and beautifully shot western. 

2. Bone Tomahawk 

It was a nice surprise to see many of the respondents suggest the horror western Bone Tomahawk. The film follows a group of men who set out on a journey to save three townsfolk who were kidnapped by an indigenous tribe. It’s not an easy watch, though, as one commenter said, “I was not prepared for…THAT scene.” To which another responded, “There's a lot of scenes that could be considered THAT scene in Bone Tomahawk.”

3. The Proposition 

As a huge fan of Nick Cave, I was very happy to see a film he wrote to get a good amount of mentions. The Proposition follows Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) as he hunts down his outlaw older brother for a lawman who has made, that’s right, a proposition by which Charlie can trade his younger brother, who is set to be hanged, for his older one. One commenter called the film “great” and highlighted that the Australian setting makes it unique. 

4. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 

 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford — another western directed by an Australian, Andrew Dominik, and scored by Nick Cave —was suggested by several respondents. The film tells the story spelled out in its very long title and is perhaps more a movie about celebrity than a classical western, which makes sense from the director of Blonde. 

5. Slow West

I’m unsure whether u/Ottertoasties would be happy that Slow West was mentioned by another respondent or annoyed that their comment that the film, while “great,” “somehow doesn't make it on these lists,” was proven wrong. Either way, it’s nice to see the film about a young Scotsman (Kodi Smit-McPhee who would go on to wider recognition in another western: The Power of the Dog) in search of his beloved with the help of a bounty hunter be suggested. 

6. The Sisters Brothers 

The Sisters Brothers got a lot of love in the thread, with one respondent commenting that it “was such an odd movie, and I loved it.” Based on the book of the same name by Patrick deWitt, the film follows two bounty hunter brothers on the trail of two gold-seekers but uses that straightforward premise to subvert the usual western tropes at almost every turn, often with surprising sweetness and humor. 

7. No Country For Old Men 

Three of the Coen brothers’ forays into the western genre were mentioned in the comments: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, True Grit, and No Country For Old Men. And while No Country is the oldest — it came out in 2007 — it’s also the most unique, so it’s the one I’m going with here. Based on the novel of the same name by legendary author Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men tells the story of a man on the run from a sociopathic hitman after finding a bag full of drug money.  

8. The Good, the Bad, the Weird 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly received several mentions, as it should, but its semi-related Korean counterpart The Good, the Bad, the Weird, only got one. It’s a film I love and was thrilled to see recommended at all. The Good, the Bad, the Weird is inspired by that earlier film and similarly follows three men on their quest for gold, only this time, the setting is 1930s Manchuria instead of 1860s America. 

9. The Quick and the Dead 

When we think of Sam Raimi, we probably either think of Spider-Man or Evil Dead movies. But between his work on those franchises, Raimi tried his hand at a variety of genres in the 1990s, and one of his best films from the decade is his western The Quick and the Dead, which follows a woman who enters a pistol dueling competition seeking revenge on another participant. One respondent called the film “some of Raimi's finest work.”

10. Old Henry 

Old Henry was the most recent movie to get multiple recommendations. Released in 2021, the film follows a man as he defends his farm and child from outlaws. One respondent called the film “brilliant.” 

This article was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.