It was back in the 50s and 60 when the Western was a major force on the big screen. In more recent decades, we have seen this genre begin to disappear... but over the last ten years, we have seen a real resurgence.
The Salvation
This week sees The Salvation released as Mads Mikkelsen teams up with director Kristian Levring for a brand new Western drama - it promises to be one of the movies not to miss this weekend.
We take a look back over the last decade and pick out some of the outstanding movies in this genre.
- Brokeback Mountain (2006)
Brokeback Mountain may not be your classic cowboys vs Indians Western movie, but it remains a real powerhouse film in this genre in recent years.
While Brokeback Mountain was a love story, there were some strong Western themes of loyalty and honour running throughout. Directed by Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain was based on the short story by Annie Proulx.
The movie starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal as two cowboys who embark on a secret and forbidden romance. Brokeback Mountain was one of the most talked about and praised movies of 2006 - thanks to the sensitive way in which this story was told and the terrific central performances from Ledger and Gyllenhaal.
This epic Western was a smart and touching exploration of relationships as well as a fascinating character study of the two men at the centre of it and how this relationship impacted on their lives.
Brokeback Mountain remains one of the best movies to hit the big screen in the last decade, and is one of the greatest Westerns during that time. The movie was nominated for eight Oscars - including Best Picture. It won Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score.
- The Proposition (2006)
The Proposition hit the big screen back in 2006 and is one of the most brutal and unflinching Westerns in recent years.
John Hillcoat was in the director's chair for the film, while Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, and Emily Watson made up the impressive cast list.
Of all of the Westerns over the last ten years, The Proposition is perhaps the film that conveyed the danger and the violence of the frontier in the most powerful and visceral way.It really is an unflinching movie that is packed with action.
This movie was set out in the Australian outback but this didn't make it any less a Western and Hillcoat really did embody everything you expect to see in this genre in this movie.
Pearce and Winstone excel in this gritty drama and both deliver two powerhouse performances. Notorious outlaw Charlie Burns (Pearce) is given nine days to and kill his older brother, or his younger brother will be executed - they are both on the run from the law for rape and murder.
The movie was a critical hit when it was released back in 2006, and remains one of the finest examples of the modern day Western.
- 3:10 To Yuma (2007)
3:10 To Yuma is one of my favourite Western movies in recent years, and was a remake of the 1957 film of the same name. This time James Mangold was in the director's chair, while Russell Crowe and Christian Bale took on the central roles of outlaw Ben Wade and former soldier Dan Evans.
3:10 To Yuma is a terrific character study of two men - the upstanding Evans who struggles to make a living and the outlaw Wade who is being taken to Yuma to board a train for court.
This is a movie that does explore the difficulties of the frontier - Evans is on the mission to get Wade to Yuma in a bid to save his family and his ranch from the railroad. Both men lead tough lives - and it is this common ground that brings them together.
The dual like nature between the two men is maintained throughout the whole film and is a riveting aspect of this remake - made all the better by terrific performances from Bale and Crowe.
Throw in some gunfights and a beautiful dusty backdrop, and you have a Western that is back with action and fascinating characters. This movie went on to top the U.S. box office and show that there was a real appetite for this genre with cinemagoers.
- True Grit (2011)
I have been a fan of Joel and Ethan Coen for many years, and their remake of True Grit remains one of my favourite films of theirs.
Released back in 2011, the movie saw Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon take over the roles of Rooster Cogburn and LaBeouf, while we were introduced to Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross - she is just terrific in the film and was nominated for a Supporting Actress Oscar.
True Grit is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best Westerns to hit the big screen in many a year as it is an action packed tale as well as being filled with some terrific performances and interesting characters.
While it is perhaps not the most violent and hard-hitting Western we have seen in recent years, it is still a story about honour and battling against evil. The Coen's have put their own stamp on this tale and it is thankfully not a shot for shot remake of the second. It is always interesting when two movies adapt the same book and deliver a completely different interpretation.
Bridges, Damon, and Steinfeld thrive in these complex roles and together, they make a formidable and funny acting team. The banter between them brings to life some of the best dialogue by the Coens.
True Grit was a critical smash and went on to be nominated for ten Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Bridges - sadly, the movie left empty handed.
- Django Unchained (2013)
One of the most recent Westerns to hit the big screen came in 2013 and courtesy of writer and director Quentin Tarantino.
Starring Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz in the central roles, the movie followed a freed slave and a German bounty hunter as they set out to free Django's wife from a brutal plantation owner.
Django Unchained is the first time that Tarantino had really tackled as Western as a filmmaker and he delivered a bold, violent and very stylised movie that was just terrific.
Of course, it is the blood bath that we have come to expect from Tarantino, and yet it is a cleverly written and very entertaining movie. Tarantino doesn't shy away from the violence associated with this genre or the violence with which slaves were treated - this can, at times, make Django Unchained a rather uncomfortable watch.
Tarantino puts his own stamp on the Western genre with Django Unchained, while Foxx, Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio all excel and give great central performances.
The movie was both a critical and commercial hit - it remains the most successful film for Tarantino at the box office. The movie was nominated for five Oscars - including Best Picture - and won Best Supporting Actor for Waltz and Best Original Screenplay for Tarantino.
Other great Westerns of recent years include No Country For Old Men, Appaloosa, Dead Man's Burden, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.