The 10 Best Modern Westerns You Need to Watch Right Now
Everyone knows what a western is. But what happens when you take away the horses and saloons and replace them with wide-bodied cars and sleazy bars? The modern western (or neo-western) isn't just set in modern times, it's also transported the philosophy, archetypes, and thematic concerns of the classic westerns to a new era. It's often an exciting clash of ideas and aesthetics, as established by "No Country for Old Men," which is turning ten years old and arguably set the gold standard for modern westerns. In celebration of "No Country for Old Men's" accomplishments, here are the very best modern westerns.
'Assault on Precinct 13' (1976)
Rio Bravo," which shares a similar setup and stoic characters. Carpenter would get close to making a straight-up western many years later, but nothing compares to his initial foray.
'Lone Star' (1996)
One of the more explicitly western films on the list, Lone Star" reveals layers of what those stories meant and what kind of men they were actually idealizing.
'Heat' (1995)
Usually the lines in the sand are drawn pretty clear in westerns, between cowboys and Native Americans or good guys and bad rustlers. All you'd have to do is look at the color of their hat to figure out which was which. In "Michael Mann's sprawling crime epic, men are drawn with all the toughness and stoicism of classic western heroes and villains, and the lines between good and evil (in this case bank robbers and the detectives trying to stop them) are drawn with an extra thick sharpie.
'Hell or High Water' (2016)
2016's surprise Oscar contender "Jeff Bridges) and his Native American sidekick (Gil Birmingham). That could have been the description of any dusty old western. But it's been fabulously designed for contemporary times. The bank robbers have been screwed over by an unjust bank and are victims as much as they are villains. The Texas setting goes a long way, too.
'Red Hill' (2010)
There have been a number of parallels drawn between Texas (the setting for so many classic westerns) and Australia. So it makes sense that one of the best modern westerns in recent memory would take place Down Under. In "Patrick Hughes has had a tepid career in the mainstream, but "Red Hill" offers some agreeably hardcore thrills.
'Kill Bill: Volume 2' (2004)
Kill Bill Vol. 2" movie so fun is Thurman's transformation from samurai to gunslinger.
'Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia' (1974)
In Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" out.
'Brokeback Mountain' (2005)
Talk about a movie that deliberately subverts the conventions of the genre and creates something new and wholly unique. "Brokeback Mountain," based on the acclaimed short story that was adapted by "Lonesome Dove" creator Larry McMurtry, took the iconography of the American cowboy and gave it depth, secrets, and contours that had evaded much of the genre up until that point. Setting the movie in the early 1960's, at a time uneasy with the sexual awakening, added a lot of power to the tale of two manly men who secretly craved one another.
'Desperado' (1995)
Desperado," but there are elaborately orchestrated set pieces of major firepower, beautiful women every bit as tough as the men, and a clear moral com.
'Logan' (2017)
The swansong for the beloved Wolverine character eschewed typical super-heroics for a pared back tale of a man attempting to get across the border with little more than a hope and a prayer. "Hugh Jackman brings pain and pathos to what was an otherwise two-dimensional role. In "Logan," he's the gunslinger who's run out of bullets.
