A Glean movie guide
Essential Westerns
Saddle up for a cinematic journey.
From gritty classics to modern masterpieces, explore the best of the American frontier.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
This iconic Spaghetti Western features a legendary score and a high-stakes hunt for buried gold.
While the Civil War rages on between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hitman, and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.
- 02
Unforgiven
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this deconstruction of the mythic outlaw archetype.
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.
- 03
The Searchers
John Ford’s definitive classic follows a Civil War veteran on a relentless, years-long quest.
As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.
- 04
True Grit
The Coen Brothers deliver a sharp, modern adaptation of a classic tale of vengeance and justice.
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.
- 05
High Noon
This suspense-driven film unfolds in real-time as a lone marshal prepares to face a gang of killers.
Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.
- 06
Tombstone
A star-studded ensemble brings the legendary story of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday to life.
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.
- 07
Once Upon a Time in the West
Sergio Leone’s visual masterpiece is celebrated for its deliberate pacing and atmospheric tension.
As the railroad builders advance unstoppably through the Arizona desert on their way to the sea, Jill arrives in the small town of Flagstone with the intention of starting a new life.
- 08
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Paul Newman and Robert Redford shine in this legendary buddy-comedy about two outlaws on the run.
As the west rapidly becomes civilized, a pair of outlaws in 1890s Wyoming find themselves pursued by a posse and decide to flee to South America in hopes of evading the law.
- 09
3:10 to Yuma
A tense psychological standoff drives this gripping remake about a rancher guarding a captured outlaw.
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the "3:10 to Yuma", a train that will take the killer to trial.
- 10
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
This contemplative biographical drama is renowned for its haunting atmosphere and stunning cinematography.
Outlaw Jesse James is rumored to be the 'fastest gun in the West'. An eager recruit into James' notorious gang, Robert Ford eventually grows jealous of the famed outlaw and, when Robert and his brother sense an opportunity to kill James, their murderous action elevates their target to near mythical status.