Summary
With delightfully dark classics likeEl TopoandMcCabe & Mrs. Miller, the 1970s marked the end of the western genre’s heyday and the dawn of the anti-western. The western genre has been a staple of American cinema since the invention of filmmaking. One of the first narrative films ever made – Edwin S. Porter’s 1903 silent movieThe Great Train Robbery– was a western. Seminal masterpieces likeStagecoachandDestry Rides Againestablished the cinematic language of the western genre in the 1930s, and westerns remained popular and prevalent throughout the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s.
But in the 1970s, the genre’s reign over multiplexes began to end. The Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War had caused disillusioned Americans to question their institutions, and many moviegoers became savvy to the western genre’s tactical whitewashing of the darker chapters of U.S. history. The western genre would never quite reclaim its blockbuster status, but the demythologization of the western tropes and conventions led to the creation of the revisionist western, or “anti-western.” This movement paved the way for some of the greatest westerns ever made throughout the ‘70s.
10The Cowboys
Directed by Mark Rydell, 1972’sThe Cowboysstars John Wayne as aging rancher Wil Andersen, who’s forced to hire a bunch of inexperienced kids as cowhands to help him with a cattle drive. The boys barely know how to drive cattle under the best of circumstances, but they face plenty of dangers along the way and they’re being chased by a nefarious gang of rustlers. The movie was criticized for its use of violence as a coming-of-age ritual, but that’s all part of its portrayal of a harsh, deadly frontier.
Wayne’s impeccable performance inThe Cowboysbrings the same grizzled, end-of-the-road roughneck vibes asTrue Grit. ButThe Cowboysis a much more optimistic film, as it sees Wayne’s protagonist imparting his wisdom onto the next generation.The Cowboysis a pitch-perfect adventure movie with lovable characters.
9Jeremiah Johnson
Sydney Pollack turned the life of Mexican War veteran and legendary mountain man Jeremiah Johnson into a contemplative western movie, aptly titledJeremiah Johnson, in 1972. Robert Redford plays the title role opposite Will Geer as his mentor, “Bear Claw” Chris Lapp.Jeremiah Johnsonisn’t as action-packed as the average western movie– and it requires a lot of patience from the audience – but that quieter approach paves the way for a thoughtful, meditative character study.
Jeremiah Johnsondoesn’t shy away from the brutality of the Old West, but it replaces the genre’s usual shootouts and saloon brawls with a poignant celebration of the human spirit. It’s all about its characters’ desperate quest for freedom, which is both timeless and universally resonant. It also benefits from stunning cinematography by Duke Callaghan, razor-sharp editing by Thomas Stanford, and, of course, Pollack’s typically fantastic direction.
8High Plains Drifter
Clint Eastwood blended elements of supernatural horror into a familiar western framework in his 1973 thrillerHigh Plains Drifter. Similar toA Fistful of Dollars, Eastwood plays a mysterious stranger who rides into a town full of corruption and doles out his own unique brand of justice. But unlikeA Fistful of Dollars, his character isn’t just a man seeking justice – there’s something paranormal going on. It’s unclear if he’s a ghost or an angel of vengeance or even the Devil himself.
By the early ‘70s, there wasn’t much room for innovation in the western genre. There had been western comedies, neo-westerns in a contemporary setting, westerns where the heroes were cowards, westerns where the heroes were full-blown villains – it seemed as though everything that could be done in a western had already been done. ButHigh Plains Drifter’s horror western storyline managed to put a fresh spin on the well-worn genre formula.
7Ulzana’s Raid
Robert Aldrich’s 1972 revisionist westernUlzana’s Raidis both a spot-on homage to the classical westerns of John Ford and a subversive New Hollywood western deconstructing all the tropes and trademarks the genre is known for. Set in Arizona in the 1880s,Ulzana’s Raidrevolves around a ruthless raid by Chiricahua Apaches against European settlers. As Ulzana continues his rampage of terror, an inexperienced young lieutenant is sent after him.
The genius ofUlzana’s Raidis that it uses its western narrative as an allegory for the then-ongoing Vietnam War. It’s all about a band of U.S. troops going after an elusive and unbeatable enemy, which could be seen as symbolic of the United States’ controversial involvement in the conflict in Vietnam. Like all the best Hollywood movies of the ‘70s,Ulzana’s Raidreflects a fractured America.
6Duck, You Sucker!
After seemingly concluding his western career withOnce Upon a Time in the Westin 1968, Sergio Leone returned to the genre one last time to helmDuck, You Sucker!in 1971.Duck, You Sucker!– also known asA Fistful of DynamiteandOnce Upon a Time… the Revolution– isn’t as iconic asLeone’s spaghetti westernsfrom the ‘60s, likeA Fistful of DollarsandThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. But it is a certifiable underrated gem.
Set during the Mexican Revolution of the 1910s,Duck, You Sucker!stars Rod Steiger as Mexican outlaw Juan Miranda and James Coburn as Fenian revolutionary John Mallory. After the two meet by chance, they unwittingly become heroes of the Revolution.Duck, You Sucker!is easily Leone’s most underappreciated film; it’s an action-packed epic with a surprising emotional punch.
5El Topo
The term “acid western” was coined to describe Alejandro Jodorowsky’s revolutionary approach to the genre inEl Topo.El Topocombines the allegorical ambitions of traditional westerns likeThe Searcherswith the excessive, surreal violence of spaghetti westerns and the psychedelic experimentation of the counterculture of the 1960s. Jodorowsky didn’t just directEl Topo; he also wrote the screenplay, composed the score, and starred in the title role, so it’s a singular cinematic vision.
El Topoloosely tells the father-son story of gunslinger El Topo and his son Hijo, who grows disillusioned with his father’s violent lifestyle. It has a shapeless, episodic structure, prioritizing its themes and ideas over solid narrative beats. Jodorowsky channels Eastern philosophy and Judeo-Christian symbolism through a western genre framework.El Topois one of the weirdest – and most profound – movies ever made.
4The Shootist
John Wayne capped off his legendary acting career with his stellar lead performance in Don Siegel’s 1976 westernThe Shootist. This marked Wayne’s final film appearance before his death in 1979, and it was the perfect swansong for one of Hollywood’s most renowned leading men. Based on Glendon Swarthout’s 1975 novel of the same name,The Shootistrevolves around an aging gunslinger looking for the perfect way to die; he wants to feel minimal pain and enjoy maximal dignity in his final moments.
It’s poetic that this ended up beingWayne’s final western, because it sees his typical western hero at the very end of his road, ready to finally hang up his hat and call it a day. A dying Wayne gives a moving and authentic performance as a dying gunfighter. This performance elevatesThe Shootistfrom a standard, formulaic western to a bona fide classic.
3The Outlaw Josey Wales
Three years afterHigh Plains Drifter, Eastwood directed himself in another relentlessly brutal revisionist western: 1976’sThe Outlaw Josey Wales. Set during the Civil War, the movie tells the epic tale of Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer who joins a Confederate guerrilla army to exact revenge when his family is massacred by a Union militia. Wales earns a reputation as a fearsome gunfighter, and even after all his fellow fighters have surrendered to the Union, he continues to seek vengeance.
The Outlaw Josey Walesis an anti-war masterpiece that decries the fact that humanity’s greatest creativity and innovation happen during wartime. It decries the fact that even though no one enjoys war, warfare continues to ravage the world in an endless cycle. LikeEastwood’s later masterpieceUnforgiven,The Outlaw Josey Walesexplores a more grounded, humanistic take on the Man with No Name archetype.
2Blazing Saddles
Mel Brooks satirized the western genre’s whitewashing of American history in his groundbreaking 1974 parodyBlazing Saddles. The movie revolves around a corrupt white politician who wants to tear through a quaint little town to build a railroad. He hires a Black sheriff in an attempt to sabotage the town, but the sheriff turns out to be so good at his job that he saves the town and brings the crooked politician and his cronies to justice. This is both a great western hero’s journey and a spot-on satire of the absurdity of racism.
Not only isBlazing Saddlesa hilarious spoof of westerns; it’s also just a terrific western. Sheriff Bart is an easy hero to root for and his story touches on all the hallmarks of a classic western.Blazing Saddlesis a comedy masterpiece that’s just as funny half a century later.
1McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Robert Altman upended the skewed mythologization of the western genre withhis seminal 1971 anti-westernMcCabe & Mrs. Miller. The film stars Warren Beatty as a mysterious gambler named John McCabe and Julie Christie as a British madam named Constance Miller, who team up to establish a makeshift brothel in an unincorporated boomtown. McCabe spreads rumors around town that he’s a notorious gunslinger, but when bounty hunters come after him, he reveals his true cowardly colors.
Along with the earlier revisionist westernButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which tackled the same themes with a more comedic angle,McCabe & Mrs. Milleris a landmark entry in the western canon. It subverted everything that audiences had come to expect from the genre. Its hero isn’t a role model, its action sequences are brutal rather than exciting, and its ending is decidedly bleak.
