# The best westerns of all time

The American Film Institute's top 10 westerns, led by The Searchers, plus the Italian and later westerns that top critics' and audiences' lists.

- 258 votes · 14 items
- Sep 2, 2023 · T. Martin
- https://even.best/en/l/549/the-best-westerns-of-all-time

## Top 14

1. **The Searchers** (28 · ▲30 ▼2) — John Ford, 1956. John Wayne's obsessive search for his niece; AFI's number one western.
2. **High Noon** (27 · ▲29 ▼2) — Fred Zinnemann, 1952. Gary Cooper alone against the outlaws, in real time.
3. **Unforgiven** (19 · ▲21 ▼2) — Clint Eastwood, 1992. An ageing killer's last job; four Oscars, including Best Picture.
4. **Shane** (16 · ▲18 ▼2) — George Stevens, 1953. A gunfighter defends a family of homesteaders: 'Come back, Shane!'
5. **Red River** (16 · ▲17 ▼1) — Howard Hawks, 1948. John Wayne and Montgomery Clift on a cattle drive; the biggest western on AFI's list.
6. **The Good, the Bad and the Ugly** (13 · ▲17 ▼4) — Sergio Leone, 1966. Three men, a buried treasure and Morricone's score.
7. **McCabe & Mrs. Miller** (13 · ▲13 ▼0) — Robert Altman, 1971. Warren Beatty and Julie Christie in a muddy mining town, with Leonard Cohen songs.
8. **The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance** (13 · ▲13 ▼0) — John Ford, 1962. James Stewart and John Wayne: 'When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.'
9. **Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid** (12 · ▲13 ▼1) — George Roy Hill, 1969. Paul Newman and Robert Redford as charming outlaws.
10. **The Wild Bunch** (11 · ▲12 ▼1) — Sam Peckinpah, 1969. A revisionist western soaked in violence.
11. **Stagecoach** (10 · ▲12 ▼2) — John Ford, 1939. The film that made John Wayne a star and Monument Valley iconic.
12. **Once Upon a Time in the West** (8 · ▲14 ▼6) — Sergio Leone, 1968. Claudia Cardinale, Henry Fonda and the harmonica.
13. **Rio Bravo** (7 · ▲11 ▼4) — Howard Hawks, 1959. A sheriff, a drunk and a kid hold a jail against a gang.
14. **Cat Ballou** (7 · ▲9 ▼2) — Elliot Silverstein, 1965. A western comedy; Lee Marvin won the Oscar for his double role.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.