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.

Wyatt Earp

1. Wyatt Earp

Western Drama Action Adventure Revisionist Western
6.7
19943h 11min

Overview

From Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp is taught that nothing matters more than family and the law. Joined by his brothers and Doc Holliday, Earp wages war on the dreaded Clanton and McLaury gangs.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Violence as social currency, Frontier law and family obligation, Romantic entanglements and stigma, Frontier authority legitimacy, Survival and mobility in harsh landscapes

Available on

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

Maverick

2. Maverick

Action Adventure Comedy Drama Western
7.0
19942h 7min

Overview

Bret Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them, and needs an additional $3k in order to enter a winner-takes-all poker game beginning in a few days. He joins forces with a woman with a marvelous Southern accent, and the two try and enter the game.


8 Seconds

3. 8 Seconds

Drama Romance Western
6.6
19941h 45min

Overview

This film chronicles the life of Lane Frost, 1987 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion, his marriage and his friendships with Tuff Hedeman (three-time World Champion) and Cody Lambert.


Tombstone

4. Tombstone

Western Action Revisionist Western Epic Action
7.8
19932h 10min

Overview

Legendary marshal Wyatt Earp, now a weary gunfighter, joins his brothers Morgan and Virgil to pursue their collective fortune in the thriving mining town of Tombstone. But Earp is forced to don a badge again and get help from his notorious pal Doc Holliday when a gang of renegade brigands and rustlers begins terrorizing the town.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Power and legitimacy, Illness and mortality, Frontier law and order, Mob justice vs law, Vendetta and violence

Available on

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

Geronimo: An American Legend

5. Geronimo: An American Legend

Western History Action Drama
6.5
19931h 55min

Overview

The Apache Indians have reluctantly agreed to settle on a US Government approved reservation. Not all the Apaches are able to adapt to the life of corn farmers. One in particular, Geronimo, is restless. Pushed over the edge by broken promises and necessary actions by the government, Geronimo and thirty or so other warriors form an attack team which humiliates the government by evading capture, while reclaiming what is rightfully theirs.


Unforgiven

6. Unforgiven

Western Revisionist Western
8.2
19922h 10min

Overview

William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.

Themes

Duty vs violence, Revenge and consequences, Frontier justice, Corruption of authority, Legacy of violence, Protecting family under threat

Available on

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

Far and Away

7. Far and Away

Adventure Drama Romance Western
6.6
19922h 20min

Overview

A young couple escapes Ireland, dreaming of a new life during the land giveaway in Oklahoma. As they struggle to survive against betrayal and harsh winter conditions, they must fend off her parents who are determined to bring her back home.


An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

8. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West

Animation Family Western Adventure Comedy
6.5
19911h 15min

Overview

Some time after the Mousekewitz's have settled in America, they find that they are still having problems with the threat of cats. That makes them eager to try another home out in the west, where they are promised that mice and cats live in peace. Unfortunately, the one making this claim is an oily con artist named Cat R. Waul who is intent on his own sinister plan.


City Slickers

9. City Slickers

Comedy Western
6.8
19911h 54min

Overview

Three New York businessmen decide to take a "Wild West" vacation that turns out not to be the relaxing vacation they had envisioned.


Quigley Down Under

10. Quigley Down Under

Western
6.9
19901h 59min

Overview

American Matt Quigley answers Australian land baron Elliott Marston's ad for a sharpshooter to kill the dingoes on his property. But when Quigley finds out that Marston's real target is the aborigines, Quigley hits the road. Now, even American expatriate Crazy Cora can't keep Quigley safe in his cat-and-mouse game with the homicidal Marston.