Few actors are more synonymous with Westerns than Clint Eastwood, a Hollywood legend whose Wild West films represent some of the best of his filmography. While audiences will be well aware of Eastwood’s work as the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to similar stories of cowboys and outlaws taking the law into their own hands. With roles that included classic Westerns, revisionist stories, and even comedic cowboy films, there are plenty of Westerns not featuring Eastwood that would still appeal to fans of his.

While Eastwood starred in some of the best Western movies of all time, there are many more classic releases or underappreciated gems that deserve viewers’ attention. With films from all-time great directors like John Ford and Sam Peckinpah to consider, the backlog of Western movies from throughout cinematic history is truly astounding. Although Eastwood fans are spoiled for choices, it’s sometimes difficult to know what to watch next, and all these incredible releases represent a great next choice for viewers to broaden their Western horizons beyond the Man with No Name.

10

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Directed by John Sturges

While Clint Eastwood became one of the most important Western stars of all time during the 1960s, at the beginning of the decade, an all-star cast of skilled outlaws also left their mark on Hollywood. The Magnificent Seven was an iconic Western that told the story of seven skilled gunfighters protecting a Mexican village from bandits. As an Old West-style remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, this story of bravery, heroism, and protection had all the tenets of a true classic.

By maintaining the appeal of Kurosawa’s original samurai story without losing any of its thematic resonance, the eternal good guys versus bad bandits narratives of this story struck a chord with viewers. With stars like Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson among the тιтular seven, The Magnificent Seven’s legacy has endured for the past six decades. While the 2016 remake featured modern stars like Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, it doesn’t hold a candle to the iconic status of the original.

9

Tombstone (1993)

Directed by George P. Cosmatos

The cult classic Western Tombstone was released just one year after Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture-winning masterpiece Unforgiven and similarly deals with the themes of morality, justice, and redemption. Based on the real outlaws Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and featuring the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Tombstone shone a light on some of the most legendary aspects of the Wild West.

With two fantastic lead performances from Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer, the characterization in Tombstone echoed the suave charisma of Eastwood antiheroes such as the Man with No Name. Kilmer, in particular, stood out with his hard-drinking and gaunt portrayal of Doc Holliday, which amounted to one of the most compelling and committed performances seen in any modern Western movie. Tombstone was truly a must-watch Western that will appeal to any Eastwood enthusiasts.

8

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Directed by James Mangold

A good Western remake is hard to pull off, and, bar a few examples like The Magnificent Seven and True Grit, it’s almost impossible for them to live up to the legacy of the original. A rare example of this was James Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma, an action-packed story about an impoverished rancher attempting to bring a notorious outlaw to justice. With great performances from Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, 3:10 to Yuma was arguably an improvement over the original 1957 film.

Clint Eastwood was the master of playing complex antiheroes who were primarily guided by self-interest, and this was echoed in Bale’s characterization of the rancher Dan Evans, a one-legged veteran with debts to pay. Evans met his match in the cunning Ben Wade, a ruthless bandit who won’t be taken in without a fight. With endless action and non-stop shootouts, 3:10 to Yuma had everything a Western fan could want from a modern remake.

7

Django (1966)

Directed by Sergio Corbucci

While Clint Eastwood became famous in the Western genre for the Dollars Trilogy with director Sergio Leone, this was not the only game in town when it came to spaghetti Westerns. Another must-watch entry in this beloved subgenre was Sergio Corbucci’s Django, an over-the-top, violent showcase of pure Western excess starring Franco Nero as the тιтular hero. Following a Union soldier-turned-drifter who becomes involved in a bitter feud against a gang of Confederate Red Shirts and a band of Mexican revolutionaries, Django was a stylish alternative to Eastwood’s most famous trilogy.

Django had plenty in common with Leone’s work, as each director used Akira Kurosawa’s samurai film Yojimbo as a loose source of inspiration, with A Fistful of Dollars narrative sharing many similarities to both films. While Eastwood’s the Man with no Name had violent impulses, this was nothing compared to the carnage enacted by Nero’s Django, a Western antihero who went on to appear in dozens of unofficial sequels, as well as one genuine follow-up, Django Strikes Again from 1987. As a direct influence on Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the impact of Django is widespread.

6

The Wild Bunch (1969)

Directed by Sam Peckinpah

While classic Western movies usually featured uncomplicated themes that told stories of heroes and villains without any real interrogation, as the 1960s progressed, the genre started to question itself more, which led to the more thoughtful revisionist Western genre. A great example of this was Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch, a film that addressed the consequences of violence in a way that highlighted its brutality. With trailblazing slow-motion shootout scenes, The Wild Bunch was a groundbreaking film both thematically and visually.

Those with a love of Clint Eastwood movies will recognize the way The Wild Bunch laid the groundwork for his later, more introspective and thoughtful Western releases, such as High Plains Drifter and Unforgiven. As a cynical look at justice and morality, the over-the-top extremities of The Wild Bunch also brought to mind the excesses of The Outlaw Josey Wales. With plenty in common with the work of Eastwood, fans who are looking for something to add to their watch list can’t go wrong with The Wild Bunch.

5

The Man Who SH๏τ Liberty Valance (1962)

Directed by John Ford

The Man Who SH๏τ Liberty Valance was an earlier revisionist Western that explored themes of mythmaking and how the legends of the Old West came to be. This was an idea similarly explored by Clint Eastwood in his Western masterpiece Unforgiven. As two films that unpack how the truth can sometimes be morphed to fit the needs and requirements of a person or society, those looking to understand the context out of which Eastwood produced Unforgiven would gain a lot from this late-career John Ford classic.

Featuring two stars who were among the few actors in 1960s Hollywood capable of living up to Eastwood’s legacy, in many ways, John Wayne and James Stewart’s characters juxtaposed one another. Tom Doniphon (Wayne) valued justice through action, and Ranse Stoddard (Stewart) wanted to follow the letter of the law. As a film that was as politically charged as it was endlessly entertaining, The Man Who SH๏τ Liberty Valance was a masterclass in storytelling that explored the reasons stories are told in the first place.

4

Shane (1953)

Directed by George Stevens

While Clint Eastwood made a name for himself playing tough and mysterious antiheroes in Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns, an earlier example of this archetype was in the 1950s classic Shane. Starring Alan Ladd as the quintessential man with a dark past trying to leave his violent ways behind, Shane aligned well with Eastwood movies about reluctant heroes unwittingly embroiled in a conflict against their better judgment.

The gunfighter Shane showcased his moral forтιтude as he stepped in to help a family of homesteaders from a ruthless baron and his hired hands, which echoed Eastwood’s many Western characters who have stepped in to save the day of innocents in need of aid. By reflecting the changing times of the Wild West, Shane showcased how settlers and outlaws’ philosophies came head-to-head as civilization began to encroach on the American frontier. As a movie that bridges the gap between traditional Westerns and the later revisionist movies Eastwood became known for, Shane is essential viewing.

3

The Searchers (1956)

Directed by John Ford

The Searchers not only stands as a defining release in the Western genre but is one of the most acclaimed movies in Hollywood history. As perhaps director John Ford and star John Wayne’s greatest achievement together, this Western duo represented an important precursor to Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood’s esteemed creative collaboration. With themes of revenge and retribution, the influence of The Searchers extends to every Wild West movie made after it.

Telling the story of a Civil War veteran who spends years looking for his abducted niece, The Searchers was one of the first Hollywood productions to present the Native Americans in a more nuanced fashion and as more than simple savages. However, Ford himself later said there was “merit to the charge that the Indian hasn’t been portrayed accurately or fairly” (via Studlar & Bernstein) in The Searchers as later films went even further in exploring the plight and unfair demonization of indigenous Americans. As a trailblazing film, without the impact of The Searchers, Eastwood’s Western movie career would have looked a lot different.

2

High Noon (1952)

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Few Westerns challenge contemporary society’s mode of thinking better than High Noon, a 1950s Western classic so divisive that John Wayne actively hated it. As the story of a town marshal (Gary Cooper) whose sense of duty is tested when a gang of killers rolls into town and threatens his life, the moral dilemma at the heart of this story was whether to stay and fight or if it was better to flee town. While Will Kane did stay and face his foes, his moral quandary and lack of immediate action made him the anтιтhesis of a classic hero.

As a politically charged film that held extra relevance in the age of McCarthyism, High Noon laid the groundwork for complex heroes who weighed the pros and cons of violence before acting. With this in mind, Eastwood’s characterization of William Munny in Unforgiven echoed the same ideas of personal duty versus self-preservation as Will Kane. With a narrative that unfolded in real time, High Noon was a trailblazing Western that had a lot in common with the kind of stories Eastwood would later embrace within the genre.

1

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Directed by Sergio Leone

There’s an alternate world in which Once Upon a Time in the West was a Clint Eastwood movie, as director Sergio Leone originally offered him a leading role, which eventually went to Charles Bronson. As a sprawling, near-three-hour Western epic, Leone made this film as his follow-up to The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and was the first in a new trilogy that also included Duck, You Sucker! and Once Upon a Time in America. With the same visual and stylistic sensibilities that made the Dollars Trilogy so iconic, any Eastwood fan worth their salt should have this one on their watch list.

Once Upon a Time in the West was Leone’s definitive statement on the spaghetti Western genre, and it took everything he had learned working on his previous trilogy with Eastwood and packed it into one film. With a classic Ennio Morricone score, Once Upon a Time in the West is the closest audiences can get to watching a Clint Eastwood Western without him actually being in it.

Source: Studlar & Bernstein