16 April 2020
9 wild western movies to stream
These movies on Showmax, Netflix and Prime Video will transport you back in time to the Wild West where cowboys, pistol duels and saloons are the order of the day.
1
The Sisters Brothers (2018) – Showmax
John C Reilly is better known for his slapstick comedy but he’s dour and more serious in this black comedy opposite Joaquin Phoenix. The pair play outlaw assassin brothers Eli and Charlie Sisters who’re hunting down a pair of prospectors during the Gold Rush for their final job as hitmen.
But each step of their journey is fraught with danger, be it from spiders, grizzly bears and even their mother who demands to know what her baby boys have been up to.
Want more Joaquin?
2
A Million Ways To Die In The West (2014) – Showmax
Seth MacFarlane’s 2014 comedy mixes pop culture into the Wild West in an incredibly inventive way. His sheep farmer character Albert Stark goes about his normal life, unaware of the trouble walking into town: crack-shot gunslinger Anna (Charlize Theron).
But falling for Anna is a problem for cowardly Al, because she’s married to a jealous outlaw named Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson) who shoots anyone that even looks at Anna. The cast list is filled with stars (Amanda Seyfried, Neil Patrick Harris, Jamie Foxx, Ryan Reynolds and more), the comedy is typical Seth, and scripting is genius to combine the modern world with 1882 Arizona.
Want more Seth MacFarlane?
3
Brimstone (2016)
Mute midwife Liz (Dakota Fanning) and her new family move west in search of pastures new in this 2016 western drama. Everything is going well until a new church minister arrives in town – the sound of his voice sends shivers down Liz’s spine, who can’t tell anyone who the man is or why she’s terrified of him.
Turns out she’s on the run, having been falsely accused of a terrible murder and the new pastor wants to absolve her of her sins with a long drop and a short stop (he wants to hang her).
Want more about priests and popes?
4
Django Unchained (2012) – Netflix
Quentin Tarantino has mixed genres like a master with this 2012 action drama western, throwing comedy in at every turn. His lead character Django (Jamie Foxx) is released from slavery by bounty hunter Dr King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), who needs help that only Django can give: the location of a trio of extremely cruel slave traders.
In return for Django’s help, King will help him find his slave wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). The cast list alone is worth the watch – Leo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson, Walton Goggins and loads more add to the incredible – but graphic and violent – screenplay.
Want more with Walton Goggins?
5
The Quick and the Dead (1995) – Netflix
Sharon Stone was a big deal in 1995 and she strapped in and cocked her revolver for this role as western gunslinger Ellen. Starring opposite Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and Leo DiCaprio, Sharon’s character takes part in a duel tournament in the small town of Redemption, gleefully killing the men – in fair competition – who lewdly hit on her. FYI: this isn’t a remake of the 1987 western of the same name with Sam Elliot.
Want more Sharon Stone?
6
The Revenant (2015) – Netflix
This is the 2015 move that won Leo DiCaprio his Best Actor Oscar. He plays Hugh Glass, a tracker in 1823 who guides a group of British trappers through Dakota. Along the way, the group are ambushed by a Native American war party who’re searching for their chief’s kidnapped daughter. During their escape, Hugh is attacked by a grizzly bear and left for dead, except he isn’t – and he wants revenge for his son’s murder.
Want more Leo?
7
Last Of The Mohicans (1992) – Netflix
This historical drama from 1992 is one of the most iconic dramas ever and very much a western despite the lack of cowboys. Set in 1757 and with Daniel Day Lewis in the lead, an adopted Native American is dragged into a feud between his family’s tribal enemies and a group of British citizens who’re ambushed on the way to their fort. Unable to let the slaughter continue, young Hawkeye (Daniel) steps in and steps up to defend his family and the travellers.
Want more classic 90s films?
8
The Ridiculous 6 (2015) – Netflix
Adam Sandler has recruited a motley crew of co-stars (Terry Crews, Nick Nolte, Will Forte, Luke Wilson, Danny Trejo, David Spade, Vanilla Ice and more) in his 2015 western action comedy. Adam takes centre stage as White Knife, who was raised by a Native American tribe and his wedding is ruined when his bank robber estranged dad who tries to buy peace with his son using stolen money. Things get messy though when an outlaw gang come looking for the cash. If you’re a Sandler fan, you’ll love it – and it’s so not worth the biased score of 0% from Rotten Tomatoes.
Want more kooky comedy?
9
No Country For Old Men (2007) – Prime Video
This isn’t your typical western because it’s set in the early 1980s but the Coen Brothers have directed the 2007 movie in the style of Anthony Mann and Sam Peckinpah with “western classicism”.
Javier Bardem’s hitman character Anton Chigurh is hunted through Texas by Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) after murdering a deputy sheriff and the man whose car he steals. Chigurh has been hired to find money from a drug deal gone bad and the way it plays out changes everything Anton knew about himself – he has principles and determines if people will die based on flipping his lucky coin.
Fun fact: according to psychologists, Anton is the most perfectly evil character in entertainment history. Javier also won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this.
