This post was provided by Leighton and I think it’s a great topic. I think it’s a good list… There might be a few movies that I think might have made my own personal top 10 Westerns that aren’t Westerns movie list, Star Wars, Star Trek, many, many Sci-Fi’s. But I like the fact that his list doesn’t have too many on there, as mine would almost totally consists of them.

Please visit his letterboxd if you like Leighton’s list!

1. Straw Dogs (1971)

Although it concerns a timid American mathematician and his young wife in a 1970’s Cornish village, the overall theme and feel brought to it by acclaimed director Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid etc) makes it a sort of Western.

2. Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)

John Carpenter’s contemporary action thriller was partly inspired by the Howard Hawks Western film ‘Rio Bravo’ (1959).

3. Tears of the Black Tiger (2000)

With ‘Django Unchained’ we’ve seen Quentin Tarantino’s take on the genre. This film is what might happen if QT made a Western, in Thailand, on drugs!

4. Serenity (2005)

A continuation of Joss Whedon’s cancelled TV show ‘Firefly’. This a Western except it’s set in space, in the 26th century…

5. Westworld (1973)

Written and directed by Michael Crichton this is basically a Western version of his later ‘Jurassic Park’. Bonus points for casting Yul Brynner as the ‘Gunslinger’ android with his appearance based on his character from ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960).

6. The Proposition (2005)

Written and co-scored by Nick Cave this is every inch a Western – except it takes place in a very different frontier; the Australian outback in the 1880’s.

7. Gran Torino (2008)

Directed by  and starring Clint Eastwood, a veteran of the genre, this is a contemporary Western relocated to urban America.

9. Witchfinder General (1968)

Although a British horror set in the 17th century during the English Civil War, this cult film has a very ‘Western’ feel to it. This is helped by a hanging scene, shots of the landscape, and a quest for revenge.

10. The Valley of Gwangi (1969)

A Western with dinosaurs? This unusual mix of Western and Fantasy is inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s 1912 book ‘The Lost World’ and the original film of King Kong, helped along with creature effects provided by the legendary Ray Harryhausen.