Sitting through an old Western* can sometimes be tougher than a two-dollar steak. After all, historical myths — often glorifying lawlessness and gunfire — get baked right into the storytelling.
But the further we get away in time from the Old West, and the more willing we are to consider these stories from the other side of the fence, the more complicated cowboy culture becomes. Still, no matter which side of the moral compass you come down on, there is one thing we can all agree on: The best Western films are iconic.
Ahead, the greatest sagebrush cinema you can rent or stream right now. From 1952’s “High Noon” to Netflix’s “The Harder They Fall,” the following 20 films are some of the best Westerns from the past 70 years. So hitch your horse to the fence post and light up a metaphorical bonfire. It’s time to rustle up some adventure.
*We should note that Westerns, perhaps more than any other film genre, represent both the cultural values of the time in which they were made and portraying. Therefore, the on-screen attitudes toward Native Americans and Black Americans might be found offensive. Viewer’s caution is recommended.
‘High Noon’ (1952)
A town’s marshal is about to give up the job for married life when a gang of killers descends on the town — and he ends up deserted and alone to fight their leader, someone he sent to prison years earlier.
Stream it on Paramount+
‘Shane’ (1953)
Set against the American West in the late-19th century, a gunslinger named Shane holsters his guns and makes nice with a family of homesteaders — until a range war draws him back into conflict.
Rent it on YouTube
‘The Magnificent Seven’ (1960)
When Mexican villagers need a hand freeing themselves from bandits, they hire seven gunfighters for the job. In 2016, John Sturges’ classic got an update — this time with a young widow who needs her own private army.
Stream the original on Tubi; rent the remake on YouTube
‘Cat Ballou’ (1965)
When a young woman’s father is murdered by a ruthless gunman over a land grab scheme, she turns outlaw and hires her own posse that includes a look-alike of the killer.
Stream it on Peacock
‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966)
The final entry in the “Dollars Trilogy” (following “A Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More”), “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” stars Clint Eastwood and was directed by Sergio Leone. Referred to as a “spaghetti Western,” even though most of the series’ filming took place in Spain, this stripped-down classic with little dialogue and lots of squinting is funner than a barrel race at the county fair. Max is currently hosting the entire trilogy.
Stream it on Max
‘True Grit’ (1969)
Marshal Rooster Cogburn is drunk occasionally and difficult always, but he joins up with a Texas Ranger to aid a precocious teen in tracking down her father’s murderer. The Coen brothers remade the film in 2010, and it was nominated for 10 Oscars.
Stream the original on Pluto; stream the remake on MGM+
‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969)
It’s the late 1800s, and a band of outlaws led by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are on the run after a train robbery goes bad. A four-time Oscar winner, this classic will turn “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” into an earworm.
Rent it on YouTube
‘Buck and the Preacher’ (1972)
A trail guide who tries to protect former slaves joins forces with a con man dressed as a preacher to fight bounty hunters hired to roust homesteaders back into the South.
Rent it on YouTube
‘Blazing Saddles’ (1974)
Hoping to ruin a town in the West, a politician hires a Black sheriff, who turns out to be more competent than he expected in this comedy from Mel Brooks.
Stream it on Netflix
‘Tender Mercies’ (1983)
A middle-aged country singer down on his luck gets remarried and tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter in this ’80s tale that won two Oscars, including one for star Robert Duvall.
Rent it on YouTube
‘Silverado’ (1985)
Old West cowboys arrive in a small town to make their fortune, but end up in trouble with local leaders and former enemies.
Rent it on YouTube
‘Dances With Wolves’ (1990)
In this seven-time Oscar-winning film, a union soldier sent to man a remote outpost makes friends with a local Sioux settlement and begins to rethink his purpose in life.
Stream it on The Roku Channel
‘Unforgiven’ (1992)
An Old West gunslinger emerges from retirement to take one last job with his old partner and a young newcomer. The film won four Oscars. A same-name 2013 remake reimagines the story in late-1800s Japan.
Stream the original on Tubi; rent the remake on Vudu/Fandango
‘Tombstone’ (1993)
A group of famous Western outlaws and lawmen converge at the O.K. Corral in Arizona in the 1880s, setting the stage for Wyatt Earp to face off with the notorious Cowboys gang.
Stream it on MGM+
‘The Quick and the Dead’ (1995)
A woman gunslinger arrives in an Old West town that’s run by an outlaw-turned-preacher in time for a fast-draw, single-elimination shooting tournament.
Stream it on Pluto
‘Wind River’ (2017)
A wildlife officer teams up with an FBI agent to investigate the murder of a woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation, all while dealing with his own demons, in this thriller from writer-director Taylor Sheridan (“Yellowstone”).
Stream it on Amazon Freevee
‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ (2018)
Six short stories are presented by the Coen brothers and follow a singing gunslinger, a bank robber, a traveling concert organizer, an old prospector, a wagon train and some bounty hunters.
Stream it on Netflix
‘The Harder They Fall’ (2021)
An outlaw and his gang aim to take down a ruthless crime boss and their sworn enemy — who’s just been released from prison.
Stream it on Netflix
‘Old Henry’ (2021)
An injured man carrying a bag of cash is taken in by a farmer. When a posse shows up for the dough, the man is forced to choose a side, revealing a secret he’d rather keep hidden.
Stream it on The Roku Channel
‘Surrounded’ (2023)
Post-Civil War, a former Buffalo Soldier disguised as a man travels west to lay claim to a gold mine but journey is interrupted when she’s pitted against the dangerous bandit leader of a gang.
Stream it on Amazon
The linked locations of the films and their availability to rent or stream are subject to change.