After the death of John Wayne in the late ’70s, the Western genre was never the same. Clint Eastwoodwas moving away from the horse opera himself, only making Pale Rider in the ’80s, and with its popularity having waned after the failure of Heaven’s Gate, the Western was no longer in the saddle as Hollywood’s biggest moneymaker. Nevertheless, the genre persevered throughout the 1980s, and although they’ve been largely forgotten, there are several Western movies worth revisiting.
From biopics and adventure movies to Western tales from down under, these ’80s Westerns may not be Silverado or Young Guns, but they’re certainly worth their salt. If you’re looking for a night in as you travel back to the Old West, give these Westerns a try. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your next favorite?
Advertisement
5
‘Barbarosa’ (1982)
Gary Busey and Willie Nelson in ‘Barbarosa’ (1982)Image via Universal Pictures
Willie Nelson and Gary Busey are probably not a duo that you would come to expect to see on the screen together, but when you toss them into the Western genre, it somehow just makes sense. Barbarosa follows a young farm boy (Busey) as he finds himself paired with the title outlaw (Nelson) in an adventure that puts them both on the run. If you’ve never seen this picture before, here’s your sign to give it a shot. With a quick 90-minute runtime, Barbarosa makes for a great evening watch for those looking for some solid Western fare.
From Australian director Fred Schepisi, Barbarosa is a buddy comedy with great characters played by an unlikely pair with phenomenal on-screen chemistry. If not for the fact that it’s a bit unconventional at times, it’s the Nelson and Busey team-up that makes this horse opera special. As far as revenge Westerns go, it’s among the most entertaining, even if it is a bit outlandish at times.
Advertisement
4
‘Tom Horn’ (1980)
Steve McQueen as Tom HornImage via Warner Bros.
You’ve seen him as Josh Randall on Wanted: Dead or Alive and as part of an ensemble in The Magnificent Seven, but Steve McQueen once again reminds us he can command a Western all on his own with Tom Horn. Playing the famed mountain man of the same name, McQueen wrestles with his own mortality in high fashion as he wanders the American West. An older McQueen offers a more nuanced performance than we’re used to from the “King of Cool,” and as his penultimate film appearance it stands out as among his best.
As the sun was fading on McQueen’s own life and career, so too is the case of Tom Horn, and the parallels between them are staggering. Directed by William Wiard in his only feature film production, Tom Horn is an intimate portrayal of how the hardened career of a longtime cowboy ultimately plays out — and considering it was based on the real-life Horn’s own firsthand accounts, there’s a lot of great material to chew on. As McQueen’s swan song to the Western genre, Tom Horn is not a film to be forgotten or ignored.
Advertisement
3
‘The Man From Snowy River’ (1982)
Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson) rounds up some horses in the snow in ‘The Man from Snowy River’Image via 20th Century Studios
Moving from the Old West to a land Down Under, The Man From Snowy River is a familiar Western tale that trades the typical Rocky Mountains in America for the “Snowies” of Australia. Directed by George T. Miller (who is not to be confused with Mad Max director George Miller), the picture follows young Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson) as he fights to make a name for himself while coming of age in the wilderness. As one of the most underrated Western movies out there, don’t let the international setting fool you — this picture feels about as traditional as it gets.
Even better, Western legend Kirk Douglasplays dual roles as estranged brothers, Harrison and Spur, each of whom plays a direct part in Jim’s story. Based on the popular Australian poem of the same name, The Man From Snowy River is a brilliant coming-of-age style and the immaculate scenery on display in Australia’s High Country. It’s also full of fine romance and expert horsemanship that one cannot help but get swept away in as the drama unfolds. It’s a great story, one made even greater by Douglas’ fine performances.
Advertisement
2
‘Billy the Kid’ (1989)
Billy (Val Kilmer) walks down the street in ‘Billy the Kid’Image via TNT
Okay, Billy the Kid is technically a made-for-TV movie that some may consider more on the B-picture side of things, but considering it was Val Kilmer‘s first foray into the Western genre, it deserves a spot here. Several years before he would decide to tackle the story of Doc Holliday in Tombstone, Kilmer played the wide-eyed outlaw who took Lincoln County by storm. Covering the famed conflict between the Tunstall and Murphy-Dolan factions of the “Lincoln County War,” William H. Bonney (Kilmer) finds himself caught right in the middle.
Written by Gore Vidal and directed by William Graham, Billy the Kid had the unfortunate happenstance of airing on TNT only a year after Young Guns solidified Emilo Estevez as the care-free gunslinger. But even if Billy the Kid doesn’t quite live up to those high standards, Kilmer nails the role by perfectly embodying the youthful charm that “The Kid” was most famous for. If not simply to see Kilmer in another Western production, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t give Billy the Kid a go — it’s only 96 minutes.
Advertisement
1
‘Walker’ (1987)
Ed Harris as William Walker in ‘Walker’Image via Universal
Not to be confused with the Chuck Norris series Walker, Texas Ranger, this 1987 Western featured a young Ed Harris as the real-life William Walker, a man who in the 1850s fought to make himself the leader of Nicaragua. Harris is enrapturing as Walker, and the film’s interesting (if not somewhat unsettling) satirical take on the true story — not to mention American imperialism at large — is what sets Walker apart as quite unique compared to most Westerns at the time. But that’s not even the strangest part.
Walker could technically be considered a “Weird Western” for the surreal way that the picture ends. Director Alex Cox pushed every single boundary that one might construct for a typical historical biopic to turn Walker into a strange social commentary on United States foreign policy. Although Roger Ebert hated the final product, many consider Walker to be a fascinating feature that defies expectation and forces the audience to consider the past in light of our present. Whether you agree with those results, Harris is great.
Advertisement
Collider Exclusive · Action Hero Quiz Which Action Hero Would Be Your Perfect Partner? Rambo · James Bond · Indiana Jones · John McClane · Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
Five legends. Five completely different ways of getting out alive — with style, with muscle, with charm, with luck, or with a plan so intricate it probably shouldn’t work. Ten questions will reveal which action hero was built to have your back.
🎖️Rambo
🍸James Bond
🏺Indiana Jones
🔧John McClane
Advertisement
🎭Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
01
You’re dropped into a dangerous situation with no warning. What do you need most from a partner? The first few seconds tell you everything about who belongs beside you.
Advertisement
02
You have to get somewhere dangerous, fast. How do you travel? How you get there is half the mission.
Advertisement
03
You’re pinned down and outnumbered. What does your ideal partner do? This is when you find out what someone is really made of.
Advertisement
04
The mission is paused. You have one evening to decompress. What does your partner suggest? Who someone is when the pressure drops is who they actually are.
Advertisement
05
How do you prefer your partner to communicate mid-mission? Good communication is the difference between partners and a liability.
Advertisement
06
Your enemy is powerful, well-resourced, and has the upper hand. How should your partner approach them? The approach to the enemy defines the partnership.
Advertisement
07
Things go badly wrong and you’re captured. What do you trust your partner to do? Who someone is when you need them most is the only thing that matters.
Advertisement
08
What does your ideal partner bring to the table that you couldn’t replace? A great partner fills the gap you didn’t know you had.
Advertisement
09
Every partnership has a cost. Which of these can you live with? No one comes without baggage. The question is whether you can carry it together.
Advertisement
10
It’s the final moment. Everything is on the line. What do you need from your partner right now? The last question is the most honest one.
Advertisement
Your Partner Has Been Assigned Your Perfect Partner Is…
Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.
Rambo
Advertisement
Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.
James Bond
Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.
Advertisement
Indiana Jones
Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.
Advertisement
John McClane
Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.
Ethan Hunt
Advertisement
Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login