Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission. This article was originally published September 4, and has been updated to include additional movies. America can only claim a few art forms as its own.
Jazz, for sure. Comic books, certainly. The history of movie Westerns more or less begins with the end of the Old West itself.
A strand of violent, psychologically complex Westerns that appeared in the s, for example, captures both changing attitudes toward the settlement of the West and the treatment of Native Americans while channeling the spirit of a country still recovering from a devastating World War. This list of the 50 greatest Westerns reflects that wide legacy from the very first entry, a film directed by a Hungarian and starring a Tasmanian.
That means no modern Westerns, no stealth Westerns starring aged X-Men , and no space Westerns with blasters instead of pistols. We did, however, make an exception for a certain comedy that concludes with its stars attending its own premiere.
That, of course, still leaves a lot of great Westerns. More, of course, than could possibly fit on a top list interested in capturing the full scope of the genre.
