20 Greatest Westerns in History, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
When it comes to the dusty, gritty, and sometimes downright grimy world of Westerns, there's a whole corral of films that have tried to capture the essence of the Wild West, but only a few have managed to lasso the hearts of critics and audiences alike.
Thanks to Rotten Tomatoes, we've got our hands on the list that's more sought-after than a bounty hunter's final catch – the 20 greatest Westerns in history, ranked and ready for your viewing pleasure.
20. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%
A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene, bringing a deadly confrontation.
19. "Django Unchained" (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
A freed slave teams up with a German bounty hunter to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner, blending sharp dialogue, graphic violence, and a revisionist approach to the Western genre.
18. "3:10 to Yuma" (2007)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
A desperate rancher takes on the dangerous job of transporting a notorious outlaw to justice, leading to a psychological battle of wills and a deadly journey towards a fateful train to Yuma.
17. "The Magnificent Seven" (1960)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Seven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits, leading to a heroic and sacrificial battle against overwhelming odds.
16. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
Two charismatic outlaws, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, lead a band of bank robbers in a series of daring heists before fleeing to Bolivia to evade the law.
15. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" (1976)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
A Missouri farmer becomes a vengeful outlaw after his family is murdered during the Civil War, embarking on a journey of redemption and finding a new kind of family along the way.
14. "The Wild Bunch" (1969)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
An aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border at the dawn of the modern age plots a final score, leading to a brutal and elegiac conclusion marked by a notorious final shootout.
13. "For a Few Dollars More" (1965)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
Two bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a Western outlaw, leading to a tense and deadly partnership in this classic Spaghetti Western.
12. "The Searchers" (1956)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
A Civil War veteran embarks on a long and obsessive quest to rescue his niece from the Comanche tribe, revealing his own racial prejudices and complex morality.
11. "High Noon" (1952)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
A town marshal, abandoned by the fearful townspeople, faces a gang of deadly outlaws alone in real time, as the clock ticks towards the climactic noon showdown.
10. "True Grit" (2010)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
A tough, independent 14-year-old girl enlists the help of a hard-drinking, trigger-happy U.S. Marshal and a Texas Ranger to track down her father's murderer in hostile Indian Territory.
9. "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
A senator, famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed, revealing a tale of law, order, and the taming of the West.
8. "Unforgiven" (1992)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
A retired Old West gunslinger reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man, leading to a violent and reflective confrontation with his own past.
7. "Rio Bravo" (1959)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a cripple, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
6. "Once Upon a Time in the West" (1969)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
A mysterious stranger joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad in this epic Western.
5. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (1966)
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Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
In the Southwest during the Civil War, a mysterious gunman, a mercenary, and a bandit compete to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery, leading to alliances, betrayals, and epic confrontations.
4. "Shane" (1953)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
A mysterious and charismatic gunslinger enters a small Wyoming valley and becomes embroiled in a conflict between homesteaders and a ruthless cattle baron, ultimately defending the homesteaders in a series of climactic confrontations.
3. "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge, in the film that launched Clint Eastwood's iconic "Man with No Name" character.
2. "Stagecoach" (1939)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
A diverse group of strangers traveling through dangerous Apache territory on a stagecoach must rely on each other to survive, while dealing with their personal conflicts and prejudices.
1. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" (1948)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Two down-on-their-luck Americans in Mexico join an old prospector to mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains, where greed and paranoia quickly set in.