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Tombstone, The Grey Fox and Jesse james (Brad Pitt version)
are the three closest movies that depict the west as it REALLY was- ie clothing,l firearms, character mannerisms.
In Tombstone, when Morgan Earp is talking about life after death issues and seeing a "bright white light" was a period correct subject. From the 1880's thorugh the early 20th century, life after death, spiritualism and being able to contact the dead were very popular topics for discussion in the US.
"Red River"- unquestionably states the essence of the early cattledrive and the West.
A close second is a tie between "Broken Arrow" and "Ulzana's Raid". The first is historically accurate story of Jim Jeffords (the first Indian agent for the Chiricahua Apaches ) and Ulzana is a no b. s. , no romance portrayal of the Arizona indian war.
With the fighting between whites and Indians, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon shows the hostilities on both sides.
Will Penny, The Searchers, Culpepper Cattle Co., A Thunder of Drums, Rio Bravo, The Professionals, The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country, Red River, Man in the Wilderness.
Any movie that is based on Louie Lamore is going to be very accurate. Hondo, Searchers, Lonesome Dove, Stage Coach, Shane,Red River,
Loved your choices. Must point out Lonesome Dove was written by Larry McMurty, another great western writer.
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid Seems to me to belong in this group as it tells the life of American Outlaws very close to how their life played out !
None of them, for the most part they are all entertaining but each is influenced and tailored to and by the era in which it was made. While a movie made today may appear more accurate through clothing, style etc. than a movie made in 1955, it is still at least a century removed from the real way people spoke, acted and lived. This doesn't make the movies bad, it just solidifies what they are, fictional entertainment.
Tumbleweeds (1925)
Cowboy (1958)
The Ride Back (1957)
The Virginian (1929)
John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy, Fort Apache, She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (John Wayne's best performance) and Rio Grande
The Tall T (1957)
The Searchers (1956) This deals with some very complex issues
Ulzana's Raid
Monte Walsh (1970 and 2003)
Four Faces West (1948) A Western without a single gunshot.
The most recent western movies seem to be the most realistic for reasons previously stated here. Three movies that I enjoyed for accuracy were:
Wyatt Earp (Kevin Costner)
Jesse James (Brad Pitt)
Dances With Wolves (Kevin Costner)
The Searchers
Broken Arrow
Possibly the Shootist. but definitely if you include twentieth century stories, then include the masterpiece North to Alaska, one of the greatest comedies and authentic to its time.
Maybe we need a category of "Northerns". Losts of good arctic tales on film.
And though the "Wild Bunch" was great, it is not a Western it is a Mexican.
My vote for most accurate, best etc. goes to "Lonesome Dove".
Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duval are magnificent.
i think get smart and spongebob the lost city (the movie) was the best ever. also bruce almighty was a great western movie
Personally i enjoyed the western films that had John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. They made it very entertaining to watch. Also i think that Blazing Saddles was a swell movie, not only was it hilarious but it was funny. Brokeback mountail however was not a good western because of the homosexuality. Please Hollywood never have a gay western film again. Ok?? Thanky you.
Tombstone (1993) is pretty accurate. Although it does have it's minor historical goofs, it captures the whole picture quite well. Plus, very entertaining to watch.
Wild Bill (Jeff Bridges, 2000), Culpepper Cattle Co., Monte Walsh (2003), The Cowboys, Lonesome Dove, The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Deadwood Series, Conagher (even though most of Louis L'amour's westerns made great movies, most of the characters were way too idealized to be realistic. However Con Conagher was not), Geronimo (1995 I think), Appaloosa (2007, Ed harris and Viggo Mortenson). These are the most realistic Western Movies ever made in my opinion. I am a graduate student in Museum Studies and Cultural Resource Management and have devoted most of studies to this particular period.
Although not a movie but a mini series Lomsemoe Dove gets my vote and
Red River
Lonesome Dove,,,Culpepper Cattle Co.,,,Tombstone,,,,Hondo,,,,Hombre,,,,Stagecoach(with John Wayne),,,One-Eyed Jacks,,,Left-hand Gun,,,Outlaw Josey Wales,,,,Unforgiven,,,,Will Penny,,,,Shane,,,Monte Walsh,,,Mountain Men,,,Assasination of Jesse James,,,Good Ole Boys,,,
Not sure, maybe Appaloosa
deffinatly lonesome dove series formost, then all of louis lamours westerns, wyatt earp, dances with wolves, assassination of jesse james, pat garrett and billy the kid, butch cassidy and sundance kid, wild bunch, ulzana's raid, jeremiah johnson, once upon a time in the west( thought it had it's unrealistc parts for most part yeah it was on this list) monte walsh, hombre, shane, gettysburg, gods and generals and son of the morning star,
Contrary to popular opinion, the closer to the era a film is made is actually a better depiction of its reality. Having been born in 1956, I already witnessed changes in how people view characters. To be honest, well over 90% of films after 1970 depict characters who obviously think they are on camera (not God's camera, but a public eye), and this is how people feel nowadays, but it wasn't before. In fact, the Westerns from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s have much more realistic value in terms of how characters acted, while films after 1965 gave us less credible characters with more realistic dust. Recent Duvall films, among others, have gone back to somewhat more realistic characters. Note the similarities between "Open Range" and "Shane", both of which gave mostly realistic conflicts, and behavior we could believe.
The best Custer, in my opinion, was a character not even given the name of Custer-Henry Fonda's portrayal in "Fort Apache", in which he had many faults, but also some favorable qualities. While the older Wyatt Earp films weren't as good in actual events, the characters were much more like the real characters. "Tombstone" is a complete joke, and a great example of 21st century people from a computer age dressing up like 19th century Western actors, but it is impossible to buy into it.
"Union Pacific", even with its spectacular look, actually has about the most believable characters of any on the list. Of course "Shane" is probably the most real.
I didn't like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", because it was very trite and dull, but I admit it was very much how the people acted for the time. They were trite and dull people.
Many people praise "Ulzana's Raid", but it still was a caricature of the Apache as a super human. Audie Murphy's film about Clum and the capture of Geronimo bent a few facts, but was much more realistic.
The spaghetti westerns nearly destroyed the Western with their complete lack of realistic situations and one dimensional characters each trying to "out-evil" each other, which looks ignorant to any objective viewer not on drugs, while taking away the grand scenery and costumes. These films failed on all levels. Thank goodness the film industry realized their mistake by now and reverted to something that doesn't make us puke.
"Ride With the Devil" was a very realistic looking piece, and a much improved version of the weak "Kansas Raiders". Like the Duvall westerns, it doesn't picture 18th century Americans as products of a computer age.
Ride With the Devil
Geronimo
Silent Tongue
Going South
I think Open Range is very period detailed. Shalako, while obviously flawed in a number of aspects, does a good job of depicting the peculiar form of Western Safari that took place in large numbers. The Ox Bow Incident is a wonderful character study into the times. Finally, the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery, if for no other reason than its proximity to the times, available property, and having been pulled from the headlines. Perhaps my favorite is Big Jake. It embraces the headlong rush to modernization that happened all over the west, while acknowledging people's real resistance to change in difficult circumstances. A number of things are flawed, but it does a pretty good job.
I really liked the Deadwood series but disagree with the decision to put such foul mouths on Victorian characters. They did it so the viewer would understand they talked in a shocking manner… totally unnecessary. Also in Deadwood, did Victorian America really have that extensive a vocabulary? Wow! Like, pass me the dictionary, Scooby.
To me the following are the best western movies:
1. Shane 2.Last Train to Gun Hill 3. They Died With Their Boots On 4. Gunfight At the OK Corral 5. The Wild Bunch 6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 7. Dances With Wolves 8. The Big Country 9. The Bravados 10. Clementine
I actually believe few movies show the historical reality of the West. Where are the Mormons, Chinese, Basques, Miners, Blacks Populists, and hard scrabble farmers. Matewan a John Sayles movie about West Virginia is a great "Eastern" Western. Showing the violence of the Labor movement in West Virginia. How many movies refer to the radical and violent Western Labor movement . I have never seen a reference to the Wobblies who dominated the Western landscape in mining and lumber camps for much of the early part of the Twentieth century. Unfortunately our movies track the dime store novels of the 1880's and rarely get beyond the same themes; gunfighters, cattle barons, and Indian Wars. One of the few movies that transcended this cramped genre was "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" it is haunting and beautiful . Still holds up.
Appaloosa for sure. The set, costumes, even the weapons were closest to historical accuracy (as much as one can be in the entertainment industry) The phrases and vocabulary appeared to reflect what I had read from journals of the 1880's.
Always wondered why John Wayne never used period correct firearms
in any of his westerns…Oh well, leaving that aside…I think the classics would be:
1. Duel in the Sun
2. Shane
3. Ft Apache
4. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
5. Red River
6. High Noon
7. The Searchers
8. Unforgiven
9. The Shootist
10. Jeremiah Johnson
Not necessarily in order, and I can think of 10 more just as good!
best – Stagecoach, red river, open range, red river
Applossa with Ed Harris great story and acting one of the best I have seen
"The Missouri Breaks"!!!
Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton and Randy Quaid are believable as the good-natured, likeable horse thieves who unfortunately catch the attention of a psychopathic 'Regulator' played with horror and also great comedy by Marlon Brando. The acting, scenery and dialogue are superb. A hugely underrated film. If you haven't seen it, get it, get a beer and enjoy.
The shootist
OutLaw Josie wales
Stagecoach
The searchers
Unforgiven(1992)
Appaloosa(2008)
Open range
Jose Whales
Midnight Cowboy
Lonesome Cowboys
Even Cowgirls Sing the Blues
"McCabe and Mrs. Miller"
and, although an HBO series, "Deadwood"
Believe it or not, "Cowboys and Aliens" tops the list in depicting the old west…as far as the props, clothing, guns and characters (minus the aliens of course). Revolvers were scoured from museums or duplicated from museum pieces. The prop people did their homework in this piece…even better than Tombstone, altho the lingo in Tombstone is still unmatched.
The Missing was underrated in being very authentic. Especially the chiricahua apache language dialog.
Personally I think Shane has to be on the most reflective western films that stayed with me since my youth. Reliving the movie each time is like watching it for the first time. Another one is the Man without a Star and He died with his boots on.