Western backdrop

Western movies

Tales of the American frontier, outlaws, and lawmen, set against the rugged backdrop of the Wild West.

Subgenres include: Classic Western, Revisionist Western, Spaghetti Western.

The Homesman

1. The Homesman

Western Drama Revisionist Western Historical Drama
6.6
20142h 2min

Overview

When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.

Themes

Trauma and resilience, Violence and survival, Authority and betrayal, Gendered duty, Prairie isolation, Frontier independence

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Sweetwater

2. Sweetwater

Western Thriller Revisionist Western Revenge Thriller
6.2
20131h 36min

Overview

In the late 1800s, a fanatical religious leader, a renegade Sheriff, and a former prostitute collide in a blood triangle on the rugged plains of the New Mexico Territory.

Themes

Frontier justice, Uneasy alliance, Religious fundamentalism, Coercive authority, Pursuit of vengeance, Remote isolation

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Unforgiven

3. Unforgiven

Action Crime Drama Western
7.0
20132h 15min

Overview

An old swordsman, his former comrade and a young braggart are hired by prostitutes to track down bandits who mutilated one of the women.


The Lone Ranger

4. The Lone Ranger

Action Adventure Western Classic Western Epic Action
6.4
20132h 29min

Overview

The Texas Rangers chase down a gang of outlaws led by Butch Cavendish, but the gang ambushes the Rangers, seemingly killing them all. One survivor is found, however, by an American Indian named Tonto, who nurses him back to health. The Ranger, donning a mask and riding a white stallion named Silver, teams up with Tonto to bring the unscrupulous gang and others of that ilk to justice.

Themes

Memory and guilt, Betrayal and loyalty, Vigilante justice vs law, Frontier mythmaking, Greed behind expansion, Resilience through alliance

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Ain't Them Bodies Saints

5. Ain't Them Bodies Saints

Crime Drama Romance Western Organized Crime
6.4
20131h 36min

Overview

Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie, an impassioned young outlaw couple on an extended crime spree, are finally apprehended by lawmen after a shootout in the Texas hills. Although Ruth wounds a local officer, Bob takes the blame. But four years later, Bob escapes from prison and sets out to find Ruth and their daughter, born during his incarceration.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Duty versus affection, Imprisonment and escape, Family bonds under strain, Deception within relationships, Pursuit and capture

Available on

AMC Plus Apple TV Channel
AMC+ Amazon Channel
AMC+
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Django Unchained

6. Django Unchained

Drama Western Revisionist Western Tragic Drama
8.5
20122h 45min

Overview

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

Themes

Deception under pressure, Racial hierarchy, Wealth and dominance, Violence in the south, Loyalty under power, Freedom versus coercion

Available on

Amazon Video
Google Play Movies
YouTube
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lawless

7. Lawless

Crime Drama Western Organized Crime Historical Drama
7.2
20121h 55min

Overview

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia, run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business — bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest is the brain of the operation; older Howard is the brawn, and younger Jack, the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Violence as control, Corruption and bribery, Prohibition era crime, Front business deception, Transition to legitimacy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Cowboys & Aliens

8. Cowboys & Aliens

Action Science Fiction Thriller Western Epic Action
6.0
20111h 59min

Overview

A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde, he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival.

Themes

Frontier violence and law, Outsider loyalty and belonging, Resource extraction and resistance, Memory and identity formation, Alliance against shared threat, Indigenous agency and sovereignty

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Rango

9. Rango

Animation Comedy Family Western Adventure
7.3
20111h 52min

Overview

When Rango, a lost family pet, accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt, the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Resource scarcity dynamics, Outsider adaptation, Performative leadership, Communal vigilance, Frontier justice and authority, Water politics

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

True Grit

10. True Grit

Drama Adventure Western Revisionist Western Adventure Epic
7.6
20101h 50min

Overview

Following the murder of her father by a hired hand, a 14-year-old farm girl sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find—a man with 'true grit'—Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn.

Themes

Loss and resilience, Legacy and memory, Betrayal and shifting loyalties, Brittle alliances under pressure, Frontier justice dynamics, Alcoholism and decision making

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.