Once Upon A Time In The West
For A Few Dollars More
The Great Silence
The Wild Bunch
The Magnificent Seven

"Silverado" was pretty entertaining
"Seraphim Falls" which is recent but very well acted.

Since no one else has said it I will:

Young Guns 1 & 2

1 is definitely superior, but they are both guilty pleasures.


And by all means please find a way to watch Deadwood, its amazing.

My recommendations:
1. The Wild Bunch
2. High Noon
3. The Man who Shot Liberty Valance
4. The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
5. Lonesome Dove
6. Shane
7. Red River
8. Little Big Man
9. The Outlaw Josie Wales
10. Once Upon a time in the West
11. 3:10 to Yuma
12. The Searchers
13. Fort Apache
14. Rio Grande
15. Stagecoach
16. Bad Day at Black Rock
17. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
18. Rio Bravo
19. High Plains Drifter
20. How the West Was Won

...that ought to keep you busy.

Top five would be:

1. The Wild Bunch
2. The Searchers
3. High Noon
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
5. Lonesome Dove

I think it's pretty good but certainly not a top western. IMO, the overall plot is comprised of fairly cliched western material... it's a very predictable movie. Also, I think Duvall is essentially reprising his character from "Lonesome Dove". Lastly, the movie is very unevenly paced and some of the scenes really drag.

Having said that, Costner is fantastic, the final gun battle is just about perfect and the cinematography is great all the way through.

Most of my top 5 have already been mentioned numerous times, with one exception:

The Big Country, with Gregory Peck and Charleton Heston. Awesome, epic cinemascope cinematography, fantastic score, story, direction, action. A great movie all around, IMO.

Others I liked: Gregory Peck again in The Bravados, Glenn Ford in The Violent Men, and I found The Comancheros (the Duke) to be great, rousing fun, and one of Wayne's more underrated westerns.

I'd consider it superior to many of the films already listed in this thread. Regarding the pacing, I didn't find it any different than most Western flicks I've seen.

The Magnificent Seven
Rio Bravo
High Plains Drifter
Open Range
Pale Rider

I really wanted to love this movie, but I completely agree with your pros and cons. I do think the shoot-out at the end may be the best on film.

Can't pick a top 5, but the DVDs I own include:

The Searchers
Unforgiven
Tombstone
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Red River
Stagecoach
High Noon
Rio Grande
Fort Apache
Magnificent Seven
Ox-Bow Incident
Hud ("modern" Westerns count?)
My Darling Clementine
Fistful of Dollars
For a Few Dollars More
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The Outlaw Josey Wales
3 Godfathers

Westerns I love but don't have on DVD include The Big Country, The Wagon Master and The Naked Spur. As for TV, nothing tops Lonesome Dove. But I also liked Duvall's Broken Trail, as well.

From a guy not very interested in westerns who hasn't seen many:

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Ox-Bow Incident
Seven Men From Now
Seven Samurai
Dead Man
Shanghai Noon

If you have the TCM channel, Randolph Scott is their Star Of The Month. I imagine there will be lots of westerns this July.

My favorite five:

1. Wild Bunch
2. Once Upon a Time in the West
3. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
4. Shane
5. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

1. Warlock (MUST See!)
2. The Searchers
3. Shane
4. The Shootist
5. Winchester '73

Once you're done with those you're ready for...

The Magnificent Seven
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Once Upon a Time in the West
Unforgiven
Open Range

...and so many more. I won't try to name them all, but the Western has become one of my absolute favorite genres over the last 4 or 5 years, and those movies are a big reason why.

Quigley Down Under, for sure. Also, while no means classic, The Quick and the Dead is always fun.

I re-watched The Searchers tonight...I had forgotten how beautiful a picture Ford painted with VistaVision. A sweeping and poetic Western if there ever was one. Plus, who could forget those opening and closing shots?

(1) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
(2) The Tall T - not on DVD yet sadly
(3) The Fastest Gun Alive - "By what name are you called?"
(4) The Arizonian
(5) The Searchers

Strong honorary mention for the mini-series of Lonesome Dove.

My Favorites:

1.) The Searchers
2.) The Wild Bunch
3.) The Outlaw Josey Wales
4.) High Plains Drifter
5.) Cheyenne Autumn

Plus, the theme song by the Sons of the Pioneers NEVER gets old.

BTW, I forgot to mention The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance on my DVD list, which ranks very high for me in the "Ford Westerns" department. I just have a tough time picking my top five overall Westerns, although Unforgiven and Searchers are definitely my top two.

And where is the love for Costner's The Postman?

I'm not a big Western fan but I picked up Once Upon a Time in the West based on some reviews and I have to say that's one hell of a flick.

1. Gene Wilder's THE FRISCO KID
2. MY NAME IS NOBODY
3. UNFORGIVEN
4. THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY
5. Raimi's THE QUICK AND THE DEAD

High Plains Drifter
Django
The Wild Bunch
Rio Bravo
The Naked Spur

This should keep you busy for awhile

Lawman
Valdez is Coming
Left Handed Gun
Little Big Man
Night Passage
Rio Conchos
The Sheepman
Chuka
Tom Horn
4 For Texas
MacKenna's Gold
The Appaloosa
Chisim
Wild Rovers
El Dorado
Gunman's Walk
Last Train From Gun Hill
Lonely Are The Brave
Hombre
The Gunfighter
Will Penny
Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean
Villa Rides
The Professionals
Gunfight at OK Corral
Garden of Evil
Breakheart Pass
Bite The Bullet
Firecreek
Bandolero

I'm surprised sundog hasn't chimed in here...

*chime* I'm flattered by your concern.

5 favorites not yet mentioned:

The Westerner (1940)
The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Man of the West (1958)
Decision at Sundown (1957)

Unforgiven
High Plains Drifter
The Searchers
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
Tombstone

Will also second The Quick & The Dead as a guilty pleasure.