When you think of Western movies, you think of the desert, old towns, horses, gun fights, and outlaws. But you also think of cowboys and sheriffs and justice. The genre is a staple and has had some of the most influence on American cinema.
So what are the best movies about cowboys that everyone should watch? While we might all know some of the best Western actors, such as John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, let’s take a look at some of the best movies about cowboys that feature a few actors who did everything right.
6. 3:10 to Yuma, Netflix (2007)
While a more recent addition to the Western genre, 3:1o to Yuma is by far a favorite when it comes to movies about cowboys. The Western action drama directed by James Mangold stars Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the leading roles.
Bale plays a rancher impoverished by drought who takes on the dangerous by lucrative job of taking a notorious outlaw, played by Crowe, to justice. A battle of wills and wits ensues as the outlaw consistently tries to psych out the rancher. While it might not be one of the classics that are familiar when it comes to Westerns, it definitely deserves its spot on the list.
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5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Prime Video (1969)
Next on the list of best movies about cowboys is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a 1969 Western buddy film by Goerge Roy Hill.
The movie is loosely based on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy, who is played by Paul Newman, and his partner Harry Longabaugh, or “the Sundance Kid” played by Robert Redford. The two are on the run from a posse after a string of train robberies.
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4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, AMC (1966)
When you think of classic Westerns, the Dollars Trilogy is surely one to come up. The third installment of the trilogy, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western by Sergio Leone, and stars Clint Eastwood as “the Good”, Lee Van Cleef as “the Bad”, and Eli Wallach as “the Ugly.”
The story follows a bounty-hunting scam that joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
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3. Django Unchained, Prime Video (2012)
Django Unchained is next up on the list of best movies about cowboys. The 2012 Revisionist Western by Quentin Tarantino stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The movie is set in Antebellum South and Old West and is a highly stylized, revisionist tribute to spaghetti Westerns. The movie follows a freed slave who sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi with the help of a German bounty hunter.
2. Once Upon a Time in the West, Prime Video (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West is another classic Western movie that you might think about if you’re looking for movies about cowboys. The 1968 epic Spaghetti Western by Sergio Leone stars Henry Fonda, who interestingly enough is the villain in the movie, and Charles Bronson, who is his nemesis.
James Robards played a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale is a newly widowed homesteader. The story follows a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
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1. Tombstone, Hulu (1993)
The last two entries were close, but Tombstone is the number one pick for best movies about cowboys. The 1993 is a beloved Western film that has some of the most iconic lines in cinema, and stars Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Salm Elliot, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Micheal Biehn, and Dana Delany.
The movie is loosely based on real events that happened in the 1880s in Southeast Arizona, including the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the Earp Vendetta Ride. It depicts several WEstern outlaws and lawmen, such as Wyatt Earp, William Brocius, Johnny Ringo, and Doc Holliday.
The movie follows a successful lawman’s plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona, but the plans are quickly disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating. If you want a classic story about cowboys in action with a story full of justice, this is the one you have to see.
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