Is the Western dead?

[Jewel Thief]

In a world of swords and sorcerory, laser guns and starships... is the Western dead? Does anybody remember the good old glory days, when cowboys fought Indians? When the farmer was forced to throw down his plow and pick up a gun to defend his land? When the soused gunslinger made the mistake of attempting to outshoot a famous gun? When bands of bandits struck fear in the hearts of helpless villages, and magnificent hired hands struck fear in the hearts of bandits?

So, if you're a dirty, dusty cowpunching, ragpicking cowboy (or cowgirl) like me, shout out! Don't let the Western be as dead as Shane.

[Hell Puppi]

I do miss the days of John Wayne and Blondie.

In fact one of the best days I've had was working as a cashier was when a long-time customer decided to call me Blondie as a nickname...

I miss old westerns. Let's hope someone brings them back!

[Attilargh]

Western dead? Whaddya talkin' about?

It's just... Evolved.

[Shadow of the Sun]

I'm 15, and my favourite movie of all time is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

[The Prince of Cats]

Western dead? Whaddya talkin' about?

It's just... Evolved.

That is just what I was thinking... Dead? No...

(space pirate cowboys - the ultimate perfect anti-heroes)

[Darken Rahl]

There was a pretty big Western in theaters just last week...

[Brickwall]

It's been overdone to the point of unpalatibility these days. It needs new twists and some downtime before the Wild West will rise again.

[Jack Squat]

There was a pretty big Western in theaters just last week...

Yeah...3:10 to Yuma may be a remake, but I really enjoyed it.

Makes me want to see the original...when I get the time/money to head out to BlockBuster.

[Capt'n Ironbrow]

I don't think the western is dead, it's still a genre, and as genre it encompasses more than just the "old west" of the US. A lot of action movies have Western elements, especially those where a big (corrupted) corporation tries to forcefully overtake a small buisiness (The "I want your Ranch story-arc")... Actually, each action movie is a western when you forget the "setting" and just look at the plot-line.

If you're able, you should check out the programming of the BBC and German national TV, there's not a week without those channels having a western movie (afternoon or late night). And if it's not weekly, then at least monthly.

Though, cowboys fighting Indians might nowadays be considered politically incorrect and new movies on such a story-line will possibly even turn the tables on who's the bad guy (not the rogue indian chief, but the rogue American prospector or landowner).

[Telonius]

Deadwood, Brokeback Mountain...?

Not only is it alive, it's infecting other genres. The Dark Tower series, Trigun...

[Aizle]

Genre's have a tendency to go through lulls and peaks.

During the 80's, it seems like there was a horror flick coming out every other day. During the 90's it was all about the action flick. Recently Sci-fi has taken the forefront. Westerns are probably due up next...

That said, there have been some really great western flicks in recent years.

Silverado
Tombstone
Hidalgo
3:10 to Yuma

[GimliFett]

I don't think it's dead, it's just in a valley right now. I'd agree that the western has evolved somewhat, not disappeared. I grew up with the classic westerns (and kung-fu theater and b-movie theater, but those are for a different thread). Most of the westerns released these days (aside from 3:10 to Yuma) are straight to dvd releases. I recently rented Seraphim Falls, with Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson. It was great! I've also got a movie called Dead Birds in my Blockbuster queue: it seems to be a Western-Ghost story; lotsa fun.

As an aside, why is it British/non-American actors wanna be Cowboys so much? Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Russell Crowe, Christian Bale to name a few. Not that I'm complaining, they've all done great jobs.

[SMEE]

Well, you see, I'm quite found of Tex Willer comics.
They're quite a hit here in Brazil.

[GimliFett]

Well, you see, I'm quite found of Tex Willer comics.
They're quite a hit here in Brazil.

Wow. That's just cool. It's like Deadlands! Or rather, Deadlands is like it!

[ranger89]

Another vote for the genre not being dead. The classic western just got beaten to death in its heyday. I'm sure Hollywood will start remaking them since the major studios seem incapable of doing anything but remaking old movies these days.

Some of my favorite film and TV westerns of the modern era:
Silverado (actually made me like the genre)
Unforgiven
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (though not set in the Old West)
Deadwood
Firefly (it's a western in space)

[GimliFett]

Some of my favorite film and TV westerns of the modern era:
Silverado (actually made me like the genre)
Unforgiven
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (though not set in the Old West)
Deadwood
Firefly (it's a western in space)

Silverado: FTW!
Unforgive: Greatness.
Three Burials: Good movie, but pacing was a little slow.
Deadwood: I've seen two episodes, pretty good stuff, if overly foul-mouthed.
Firefly: Would be FTW if not for Silverado!

More:
The Missing: w/Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett; good stuff.
Open Range: Pretty good movie, nice touch with no one being ultra-accurate.
From Dusk till Dawn 3 - The Hangman's Daughter: As much as I enjoyed the first one, I loved this one. Great story and fun acting. A lot of people in this that I like in other things: Orlando Jones, Temura Morrison and I love Michael Parks as Ambrose Bierce.
The Proposition: It was ok.

[Kaelaroth]

Is the Western dead?

Let's hope so.

[StickMan]

cowboys fought Indians?

Wait when did cowboys go to India?

[PlatinumJester]

Let's hope so.

Westerns are decent. Magnificent 7, The good, the bad and the ugly, Outlaw Josey Wales, fistful of dollars, for a few dollars more etc.

So many good films. The best we have now is 3:10 to Yuma and Brokeback Mountain.

I haven't seen 3:10 to Yuma but Brokeback Mountain was severely overated. People liked it because Homesexual cowboys was a new concept outside of independant movies but underneath the story sucks and it's incredibly boring. I'm glad Crash won best Oscar instead of it.

Wild Wild West wasn't a great film or a traditional western but it was damn funny and enjoyable to watch.

[Machete]

I can only hope the western, in a traditional sense of pictures about "cowboys" "conquering the wild" while shooting "savage" indians and using "uneducated" slaves for bag carriers and manual farming is over.

Its the kind of stuff that shouldn't be glorified in my opinion. Sure, most westerns were shoot em ups, detective stories, and intimidation contests the likes that were rarely seen again until the 17 episode long stare downs in Dragon Ball Z, but the underlying tone has always been tainted with white male supremacy. Being a white male, you can't claim racism on me for saying this. Its just something I've noticed and disliked.

That said, some of the modern westerns are a bit better.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

How could you people possibly forget The Frisco Kid, with Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford? Great western/comedy!

[PlatinumJester]

What we need is a Tarantino Wester. Imagine the funk factor of that .

[GimliFett]

What we need is a Tarantino Wester. Imagine the funk factor of that .

It's been done: The Wild Bunch.

[PlatinumJester]

It's been done: The Wild Bunch.

It doesn't list him on the credits.

[ranger89]

I can only hope the western, in a traditional sense of pictures about "cowboys" "conquering the wild" while shooting "savage" indians and using "uneducated" slaves for bag carriers and manual farming is over.

Very good point and I'm glad you made it. I couldn't agree more. I still love old westerns like "High Plains Drifter" but can't watch the sterotypical cowboys-vs-indian shoot 'em ups. Modern movies like "Unforgiven" gave the genre a very serious, dark, and dramatic turn which it definitely needed.

[PlatinumJester]

Very good point and I'm glad you made it. I couldn't agree more. I still love old westerns like "High Plains Drifter" but can't watch the sterotypical cowboys-vs-indian shoot 'em ups. Modern movies like "Unforgiven" gave the genre a very serious, dark, and dramatic turn which it definitely needed.

In the Outlaw Josey Wales the Native American is a good guy and is a bit players as well. In fact he was the coolest guy in the film (this is excluding Clint who is cooler than anyone on Earth).

And why has NO-BODY mentioned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Perhaps one of the greatest films of all time.

[Om]

I can only hope the western, in a traditional sense of pictures about "cowboys" "conquering the wild" while shooting "savage" indians and using "uneducated" slaves for bag carriers and manual farming is over.

The Western was never about any of that. The genre revolved around the frontier and the men that were drawn to it. If the films were ugly at times... well so was the history.

[PlatinumJester]

The Western was never about any of that. The genre revolved around the frontier and the men that were drawn to it. If the films were ugly at times... well so was the history.

Good point. People are way too Politicaly Correct now a days. I'm not saying people should make anti native american films because that's just wrong but if a few native americans are killed by cowboys then people shouldn't cause a lot of fuss. It sucks but you can't change the fact that it still happened.

[Telonius]

I'm a little ambivalent about the Native American issue. "Cowboys" did actually shoot Indians from time to time; and the natives did go on raids every once in awhile. Not always against the "White Man" either - the Eriez tribe that lived near my hometown were wiped out by the Iroquois nations. Both the settlers and the Indians had their savages and their saints. As long as the portrayal is done in a respectful manner, it's possible to show the situation as it really was and still have it work in the film narrative. It's only when things get distorted and cliche'd that there are problems. (Of course the writers from the "classic" westerns generally weren't working with that sort of thing in mind).

[GimliFett]

As long as the portrayal is done in a respectful manner, it's possible to show the situation as it really was and still have it work in the film narrative. It's only when things get distorted and cliche'd that there are problems. (Of course the writers from the "classic" westerns generally weren't working with that sort of thing in mind).

See The Missing as an example of this being well-handled.