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 Claim

1. The Claim

Drama Romance Western Tragic Drama Passionate Romance
6.3
20002h

Overview

A prospector sells his wife and daughter to another gold miner for the rights to a gold mine. Twenty years later, the prospector is a wealthy man who owns much of the old west town named Kingdom Come. But changes are brewing and his past is coming back to haunt him. A surveyor and his crew scouts the town as a location for a new railroad line and a young woman suddenly appears in the town and is evidently the man's daughter.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Deception in deals, Wealth vs community, Family wealth conflict, Progress vs tradition, Displacement and migration

Available on

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

Shanghai Noon

2. Shanghai Noon

Adventure Action Comedy Western Globetrotting Adventure
6.6
20001h 50min

Overview

Chon Wang, a clumsy imperial guard, trails Princess Pei Pei when she's kidnapped from the Forbidden City and transported to America. Wang follows her captors to Nevada, where he teams up with an unlikely partner, outcast outlaw Roy O'Bannon, and tries to spring the princess from her imprisonment.

Themes

Frontier justice, Duty vs desire, Belonging and loyalty, Cross-cultural alliance, Honor among outlaws, Power and autonomy

Available on

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

Ride with the Devil

3. Ride with the Devil

Drama War Romance Western
6.7
19992h 18min

Overview

Ride with the Devil follows four people who are fighting for truth and justice amidst the turmoil of the American Civil War. Director Ang Lee takes us to a no man's land on the Missouri/Kansas border where a staunch loyalist, an immigrant's son, a freed slave, and a young widow form an unlikely friendship as they learn how to survive in an uncertain time. In a place without rules and redefine the meaning of bravery and honor.


Ravenous

4. Ravenous

Adventure Western Horror Comedy
6.9
19991h 41min

Overview

Upon receiving reports of missing persons at Fort Spencer, a remote Army outpost on the Western frontier, Capt. John Boyd investigates. After arriving at his new post, Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.


Purgatory

5. Purgatory

Fantasy Western TV Movie
6.8
19991h 34min

Overview

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.


Last Man Standing

6. Last Man Standing

Crime Action Western
6.4
19961h 41min

Overview

John Smith is a mysterious stranger who is drawn into a vicious war between two Prohibition-era gangs. In a dangerous game, he switches allegiances from one to another, offering his services to the highest bidder. As the death toll mounts, Smith takes the law into his own hands in a deadly race to stay alive.


Cannibal! The Musical

7. Cannibal! The Musical

Comedy Western Thriller
6.9
19961h 37min

Overview

Heading through Colorado Territory in search of gold and women, Alferd Packer and his group of bemused companions find themselves lost, starving and musically inspired by the obstacles they confront along the way, including a die-hard Confederate cyclops, a trio of surly trappers, a tribe of Japanese-speaking "Indians," and ultimately, each other.


Dead Man

8. Dead Man

Drama Fantasy Western
7.5
19952h 1min

Overview

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.


Last of the Dogmen

9. Last of the Dogmen

Adventure Mystery Thriller Western
6.9
19951h 58min

Overview

A Montana bounty hunter is sent into the wilderness to track three escaped prisoners. Instead he sees something that puzzles him. Later with a female Native Indian history professor, he returns to find some answers.


The Quick and the Dead

10. The Quick and the Dead

Western Action Drama Romance Thriller
6.5
19951h 47min

Overview

A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.