Our first Thai Western film on this list, “Tears of the Black Tiger” by Thai Chinese director Wisit Sasanatieng is a true triumph of Eastern cinema. It took seven years for the film to be premiered in America, but when it did, Western fans went wild.
Starring Chartchai Ngamsan as Dum, a common man in love with a rich woman named Rumpoey. Their love becomes forbidden when Rumpoey’s father wants to marry her off to Police Captain Kumjorn. Dum is then forced to be the outlaw Black Tiger.
Jeremiah Johnson (Sydney Pollack, 1972)
Robert Redford stars as a rugged mountain man who has turned his back on humanity in this existential Western by Sydney Pollack.
It's a real visual stunner filled with a brilliant cast.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 1949)
This technicolor Western starring John Wayne that takes place on Monument Valley bursts with picturesque imagery. The story follows the journey of a retired cavalry officer. it's certainly Wayne's most subtle performance of his career.
The landscapes are striking in this 1949 John Ford classic.
The Homesman (Tommy Lee Jones, 2014)
Tommy Lee Jones (who also directs) and Hilary Swank give incredible performances in this underrated Western about a woman named Mary Bee Cuddy escaping farm life to move to Iowa. She hires a low-life drifter to assist her and her female companions on the difficult journey.
The film follows the troubled characters on their picturesque but harsh journey across the Nebraska terrain. It's a beautiful film filled with psychological hardships.
Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)
This drama follows a saloon owner and gunslinger turned guitar player who defies the unruly townsfolk led by Emma Small. The film features one of the most epic showdowns in history.
It starred Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, Mercedes McCambridge, Ernest Borgnine, and Scott Brady and was adapted from the Roy Chanslor novel.