Western: 81

The Dark Valley (2014) is an Austrian-German Western drama film directed by Andreas Prochaska. It is based on Thomas Willmann’s sole eponymous 2010 novel. The movie begins with a terrified young man and woman hiding in the basement of a wooden building. They are soon discovered by a group of men who brutally attack the man and kidnap them both. Some time later, a mysterious stranger arrives in a remote town in the Austrian Alps. Going by the name Mr. Greider, he claims to be a photographer and takes up residence with a widow who has recently lost her husband and ...

The Lone Ranger (2013), an American Western action film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, follows the story of lawyer John Reid. In 1933 at a San Francisco funfair, young Will meets Comanche Tonto, who tells him about his encounters with the famous Lone Ranger. The film then flashes back to 1869, when Reid returns home to Colby, Texas on a train managed by railroad tycoon Latham Cole. Unbeknownst to Reid, the train also ...

Hatfields & McCoys (2013) is a Western television miniseries produced by History channel in 2012. The three two-hour episodes aired over three consecutive days in May, and became the network’s first scripted drama (excluding a previous miniseries, The Kennedys, which was not aired in the US). While the story takes place in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky, it was actually filmed in Romania near Brașov using the Carpathian Mountains as a stand-in. The debut of part one drew record-breaking ratings for History channel and some of the highest numbers in cable TV history. Over 13 million viewers tuned into the first episode, making it the ...

Longmire (2012–2017) is an American neo-Western crime drama that first aired on June 3, 2012, on the A&E network. Developed by John Coveny and Hunt Baldwin, it is based on the Walt Longmire mysteries novels by Craig Johnson. The show follows the story of Walt Longmire, a sheriff in Wyoming who investigates major crimes within his jurisdiction with the help of his staff, friends, and daughter. Played by Robert Taylor, Longmire is the sheriff of Absaroka County in ...

Django Unchained (2012), a Quentin Tarantino production, takes us to 1858 Texas where two brothers, Ace and Dicky Speck, are seen driving enslaved men and women. One of these slaves is Django, who has been torn apart from his wife Broomhilda von Shaft – an English and German-speaking house slave. The group is stopped by Dr. King Schultz, a former dentist turned bounty hunter, who is looking to buy Django for his knowledge on the notorious Brittle brothers. When Ace refuses to cooperate, Schultz takes matters into his own hands by killing him and using Dicky’s horse as leverage. He then advises the rest of ...

In the animated Western comedy Rango (2011), directed by Gore Verbinski and written by John Logan, a theatrically-minded pet chameleon finds himself stranded in the Mojave Desert of Nevada when his owners’ car accidentally loses his terrarium. Seeking refuge, he meets a nine-banded armadillo named Roadkill, who is on a quest for the ‘Spirit of the West’ and tells him about a town called Dirt where water mysteriously appears every Wednesday. With no other options, the chameleon sets out into the desert but not before narrowly escaping being preyed upon by ...

The American Western film True Grit (2010) was directed, written, produced, and edited by the Coen brothers. While traveling to Fort Smith, Arkansas, fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross’s father is killed by hired hand Tom Chaney. Upon arriving in town to collect her father’s body, Mattie learns that Chaney has most likely escaped with “Lucky” Ned Pepper and his gang into Indian Territory, where the local sheriff has no jurisdiction. Wanting to bring Chaney to justice, Mattie seeks out a Deputy U.S. Marshal and receives three recommendations from the sheriff. Ultimately, she chooses Rooster Cogburn due ...

Premiering on March 16, 2010, on the FX network, Justified (2010–2015) is an American neo-Western crime drama TV series developed by Graham Yost. Based on Elmore Leonard’s stories about the character Raylan Givens, notably ‘Fire in the Hole’, the show follows Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens as he navigates modern times with a 19th-century-style of enforcing justice. His unconventional methods often make him a target for criminals and a challenge for his superiors in the U.S. Marshals Service. Following his controversial quick-draw shooting of mob ...

Baz Luhrmann’s epic adventure drama, Australia (2008), follows Lady Sarah Ashley as she travels to her husband’s faltering cattle station, Faraway Downs. It is 1939, just before the start of World War II, and Lady Sarah hopes to make her husband sell the station and save their marriage. However, upon arriving in Australia from England, she learns that her husband has been murdered by an Aboriginal elder known as ‘King George’. The vast Faraway Downs spans across Western Australia and the Northern Territory, reaching all the way to the Timor Sea. In order to secure control of the station for ...

Directed by James Mangold, 3:10 to Yuma (2007) is an American Western action drama film. It is the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 1953 short story Three-Ten to Yuma, following the 1957 film of the same name. Set in Arizona in 1884, it tells the story of Dan Evans, a poor rancher and Civil War veteran who is in debt to wealthy Glen Hollander. Following Hollander’s warning by burning down his barn and scattering his cattle, Evans and his two sons set out to find their lost herd. They come across Ben Wade and his gang robbing an armored stagecoach ...

No Country for Old Men (2007), an American neo-Western crime thriller film directed and written by Joel and Ethan Coen, is based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel with the same name. In 1980, Anton Chigurh, a hitman, is arrested in Texas but manages to escape by strangling a sheriff’s deputy. He then steals a car using a captive bolt pistol to kill the driver. Meanwhile, Llewelyn Moss is hunting pronghorns in the desert when he stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong. Among the scene are several dead men, a wounded ...

The American epic revisionist Western film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), is a retelling of the events leading up to the titular killing. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik and based on Ron Hansen’s novel of the same name, it portrays the relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford. In 1881, a starstruck young man named Robert ‘Bob’ Ford seeks out Jesse James while the James Gang plans a train robbery in Blue Cut, Missouri. Despite his brother Charley being a member of the gang, Bob’s attempts to join are unsuccessful. The robbery is not as successful as hoped and Frank James leaves while Jesse ...

Seraphim Falls (2006) is an unconventional Western movie helmed by David Von Ancken, known for his work in television. The film is set in 1868, deep within the Ruby Mountains, where Gideon enjoys a meal of roasted hare over a crackling fire. Suddenly, he is ambushed and hit in the left arm. Grabbing what he can, he makes a frantic descent down the mountain. Meanwhile, Colonel Morsman Carver and his team consisting of Pope, Hayes, Parsons and the Kid emerge to investigate his abandoned campsite. Carver has hired them to track down Gideon. Determined to survive, Gideon removes the bullet from his arm with a Bowie knife ...

Into the West (2005) is a TV Miniseries, produced by Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. The six two-hour episodes (including commercials) were first broadcast in the U.S. on Turner Network Television (TNT) over six consecutive Fridays in June and July of 2005. It was also shown in the UK on BBC2 and BBC HD from November 4, 2006, as well as on CBC Television in Canada. In the U.S., AMC aired the series during both summer and fall seasons in 2012. With a setting spanning from the 1820s to 1890, the miniseries follows two families – one white American and one Native American – whose lives become intertwined ...

The Australian-British film Ned Kelly (2003) is based on the 1991 novel Our Sunshine by Robert Drewe. Directed by Gregor Jordan, the adapted screenplay was written by John Michael McDonagh. As a child, Ned saved a young boy from drowning and was awarded a ‘hero sash’. Growing up in Victoria, where he was born, the Catholic Irish settler lives with his widowed mother Ellen, younger brother Dan, and sisters Kate and Grace. At their house, Ned’s friend Joe and Dan’s friend Steve are frequent ...

Directed by Ron Howard, The Missing (2003) is a gritty American Western. Starring Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett, the film is adapted from Thomas Eidson’s novel The Last Ride, published in 1996. Set in late 19th-century New Mexico, the story follows Samuel Jones as he seeks to reconcile with his daughter Magdalena ‘Maggie’ Gilkeson, after leaving her and her mother many years ago. However, Maggie refuses to forgive him for causing her ...

Open Range (2003) is a film set in Montana during the late 1800s. It was directed and co-produced by Kevin Costner, with a screenplay by Craig Storper based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine. The story follows ‘Boss’ Spearman and his hired hands, Charley Waite, Mose, and Button, as they drive a herd of cattle across the country. While Boss is an experienced rancher, Charley carries heavy guilt from his time as a soldier in the Civil War. When Boss sends Mose to nearby Harmonville for ...

The film Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) tells the story of El Mariachi, who is recruited by CIA officer Sheldon Jeffrey Sands for a mission. He must take down General Emiliano Marquez, a corrupt Mexican Army officer working for drug lord Armando Barillo. Barillo plans to assassinate the President and overthrow the government during a time of civil unrest in Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa. Years ago, El Mariachi’s wife and daughter were killed by Marquez in retaliation for a previous confrontation. Along with El Mariachi, Sands enlists retired FBI agent Jorge Ramírez to kill Barillo, who had also killed his former partner Archuleta. AFN operative Ajedrez is ...

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), an American animated western film produced and distributed by DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Pictures, follows the story of a Kiger mustang colt named Spirit. As he grows into a stallion, Spirit becomes leader of his herd in the 19th-century American West. One night, he discovers tied-up horses and sleeping wranglers near his herd. Despite being captured by these men from a US cavalry fort, Spirit continues to resist their attempts at breaking him. In retaliation, the Colonel orders him to be tied to a post without food or water for three days. At the same time, a Lakota Native American named Little Creek is brought into ...

All the Pretty Horses (2000), directed and produced by Billy Bob Thornton, is an American Western film based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. After his family’s ranch is sold in 1949, cowboy John Grady Cole becomes homeless and implores his friend Lacey Rawlins to join him on a journey to Mexico for work. Along the way, they befriend a strange boy named Jimmy Blevins before parting ways. In their travels, they meet Alejandra Villarreal, an aristocrat’s daughter who captures Cole’s heart. The two become hired hands for Alejandra’s pleased father, but her wealthy aunt disapproves ...