Every week at SiftPop.com, we challenge our writers to come up with their favorite answer to a movie-related prompt tied to a recent release. This week, with the release of Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1, we’re discussing some of our favorite Western heroes! Let us know your favorites @SiftPop!
Blazing Saddles may seem incredibly intolerant and racist to modern audiences, with frequent use of racist terms throughout the film. However, that would be missing the point that the real hero of this comedy Western from Mel Brooks is the Black Sheriff Bart (Cleavon Little). The target of all the jokes is the white authoritarians and their insufferable idiocy and incompetence. Bart is the clever hero who manages to save the town of Rock Ridge with a Magnificent 7 plot and drive (yes, drive) off into the sunset as the only real hero of the film. Blazing Saddles is completely quotable, filled with great gags and total silliness, but also sneaky throwaway lines and great sight gags. (Adam Ritchie)
Between the two dueling ‘90s Wyatt Earp biopics (and with apologies to the man who inspired this list), Tombstone undoubtedly has the more lasting legacy when it comes to protagonists — and it’s not even the main character that’s the most memorable. Sure, Kurt Russell’s Wyatt Earp may be the “main” protagonist, but it’s Val Kilmer’s portrayal of his friend, Doc Holliday, that steals the show. While Earp certainly has his moments (“Hell’s coming with me,” confronting Billy Bob Thorton, walking on water, etc.), Holliday effortlessly steals every scene. There are few movies I can quote better than this one, and most of the lines come from Holliday. He may be a bit of a questionable character, but he does it all so charmingly, it’s impossible not to love. (Jake Bourgeois)
Was there a cooler portrayal of a cowboy than the one played by the one and only Clint Eastwood in the Man with No Name Trilogy, often referred to as the peak of Spaghetti Western? No, I don’t think so. What makes him cooler than cool is not only Eastwood’s sheer charisma, but also the approach Sergio Leone chose for these films. You don’t learn much about this man; he barely speaks in the movies, yet his presence is unforgettable. What I always liked was that he wasn’t a straight-up good guy; he just has his moral code, and if you find yourself on the opposite side of his gun, well, it was good knowin’ ya. Everything from his look with the hat and poncho to his demeanor draws you in, and when the legendary score of one Ennio Morricone kicks in, and everything is directed by one of the best storytellers to have ever been born, you are in for an excellent time. Although A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More are both great films, it is The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that stands the test of time and arguably is the best Western ever made, with the best hero of them all. “You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.” (Luke Burian)
When talking movie cowboys, there is one name at the top of my list no contest… John Wayne. An actor almost synonymous with Westerns, he’s played his fair share of gritty, rugged, bad guy brawling ranchers throughout his career. For me, one role stands out from the herd… George Washington McLintock. GW is everything a cowboy should be. Businessman, rancher, peacekeeper, protective father, and defender of the town he calls home. I think what makes Wayne’s role in McLintock so memorable is that he’s the perfect blend of serious cattle rancher with just a touch of quirk and whimsy. Mud wresting with half the town, negotiating peace between the different factions in the area and the eclectic staff at his home and ranch, and especially the provocation of domestic disputes with his wife (Maureen O’Hara) all serve to show GW is the most well rounded of westerners. McLintock! is a fun watch and a great introduction to Westerns if you prefer a little humor without getting full on Bob Hope in Pale Face. There’s conflict and issues, but enough fun and firth to keep it light and interesting. (Patrice Downing)
Who is the most dangerous man in the whole West? You probably won’t realize it from watching most of Unforgiven, but the easy answer is Clint Eastwood’s Will Munny. A murderer. A killer of men… women… and children. His reputation is known across the West, and by everyone. Eastwood wanted to tell this story so badly that he bought the rights in the ‘70s and waited to age into the part. That is how compelling Munny is. At the beginning of the film, he is a pig farmer (failing miserably) and trying to raise his two young children as a widower. But a young man piques his interest to collect a bounty on two men who cut up a sex worker. We see an aged man who has grown from his marriage and, of course, age. But when he is done wrong, and people close to him are hurt, all bets are off. The climax of Unforgiven is one of the most intense and badass sequences in Westerns, and the entire history of film. Munny has the capacity to be a good man and do the right thing, but he still has the capacity to go scorched earth on anyone who crosses him. He will go down as one of the most complex and compelling characters in the genre, and Eastwood brought him to life with all his heart and soul. (Shane Conto)
While Josh Brolin’s portrayal of Llewelyn Moss, the stoic protagonist of No Country for Old Men, may feel like the more obvious choice for a Western hero, it is Tommy Lee Jones as the world-weary Sheriff Bell who truly embodies the nuanced perspective of the film. In attempting to find and capture the demonic hitman, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), Bell is forced to reckon with the ever-changing landscape of an increasingly apathetic and lawless world. His very presence in the film serves as a potent metaphor for the perspective shift that naturally occurs as you age. Despite feeling lost and confused about the grim direction his world seems to be taking, Bell eventually comes to an acceptance that his feeling of overwhelm and fear is nothing new — it is simply the natural way of the world. Generations come and go, and an evolving sense of morality along with it. The best that Sheriff Bell — or any of us, for that matter — can hope to do is to light a torch for each successive generation in the hopes that they can get an incrementally better handle on the world than the generation before. (Foster Harlfinger)
Any time a Gene Wilder character fits a category, it’s a safe bet I’m going to try and pick it, and that is especially true for Jim, the Waco Kid, in Blazing Saddles. This is a top-tier Mel Brooks movie and a top-tier character in a Brooks movie, with the only true competition being Young Frankenstein and its protagonist Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (which I honestly tried to type as Froderick. If you’ve seen it, you get it). The Waco Kid shines with Wilder’s inherent charm. He’s a drunk with a heart of gold and is the only ally to Sheriff Bart amid a town of period-appropriate racists. His self-awareness, wit, and snide remarks drive the movie. Beyond that, he’s also an awe-inspiring cowboy with the skills to steady his shaky hand and take on 10 men at once. Sheriff Bart also deserves honorable mention for his creative problem solving and his resolve amid an impossible situation. (Jason Mack)