Best Revisionist Westerns of All Time - Results from 96 websites

Scene from The Searchers (1956) the top ranked revisionist western movie.

Welcome to our Reel Fives pre-launch movie rankings for the best revisionist Westerns of all time. Our rankings of best Westerns cover a broader spectrum of the genre. The best Western rankings are based on 96 published rankings. All of the rankings found were aggregated into definitive rankings of the top 89 Westerns of all time. Of those 89 Westerns, 37 were revisionist Westerns and they are ranked below. The original sources of rankings on top Westerns include rankings created by movie experts as well as Western movie rankings from polling sites, such as ranker.com.

Revisionist Westerns, also known as modern Westerns, challenge the genre’s foundations. While classic Westerns tend to show Native Americans as aloof savages, revisionist Westerns push back on that trope. Dances With Wolves (1990), ranked seventh, centers on Lieutenant Dunbar’s (Kevin Costner) journey into a Native American tribe. Director Kevin Costner traded in violence for understanding of Native American culture. The film portrays the humanity of Native Americans and their ability to accept white people in spite of the erasure of Native American culture by the Federal Government.

Revisionist Westerns also challenge the dichotomous good guy - bad guy concept. Gaining popularity after the 1990s, they focus on the grey areas of morality. In Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992), ranked second (also ranked the fourth best Western), Bill Munny (Clint Eastwood) comes to terms with his mortality. Munny is seen both as a hero and villain because he uses non-heroic means to become a hero, thus leaving a legendary legacy behind. This is the grey area of morality. Can heroes use villain tactics and still be a hero? Revisionist Westerns explore this concept.

Not all revisionist Westerns were produced before the 1990s. In fact, six of the top 10 films were made prior to 1990. The Searchers (1956), the all-time best revisionist Western (also ranked the second best Western), shows a change of heart from Martin Pawley, Ethan’s nephew (Jeffrey Hunter) while he helps his uncle Ethan (John Wayne) rescue his niece from Native Americans. Martin questions Ethan’s intentions, and the film shows the divide between Native American and Anglo-American culture.

Top 37 Revisionist Westerns

Percent of online top fives movies appear in shown

1 . The Searchers (1956): 38.5%

2 . Unforgiven (1992): 34.3%

3 . High Noon (1952): 32.2%

4 . Shane (1953): 19.7%

5 . Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): 18.7%

6 . True Grit (2010): 13.5%

7 . Dances with Wolves (1990): 10.4%

8 . Django Unchained (2012): 10.4%

9 . The Magnificent Seven (1960): 10.4%

10 . The Wild Bunch (1969): 10.4%

11 . Tombstone (1993): 9.37%

12 . The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962): 8.33%

13 . The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976): 8.33%

14 . The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007): 7.29%

15 . 3:10 to Yuma (1957): 7.29%

16 . High Plains Drifter (1973): 5.20%

17 . McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971): 5.20%

18 . No Country for Old Men (2007): 5.20%

19 . The Great Silence (1968): 4.16%

20 . Open Range (2003): 4.16%

21 . Bone Tomahawk (2015): 3.12%

22 (tied). The Revenant (2015): 2.08%

22 (tied). Little Big Man (1970): 2.08%

24 (tied). The Hateful Eight (2015): 2.08%

24 (tied). The Proposition (2005): 2.08%

24 (tied). Dead Man (1995): 2.08%

27 (tied). Appaloosa (2008): 1.04%

28 (tied). Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973): 1.04%

29 (tied). Broken Trail (2006): 1.04%

29 (tied). Forty Guns (1957): 1.04%

29 (tied). The Ox-Bow Incident (1943): 1.04%

29 (tied). Meek's Cutoff (2011): 1.04%

29 (tied). Ride the High Country (1962): 1.04%

34 (tied). Pale Rider (1985): 1.04%

34 (tied). The Quick and the Dead (1995): 1.04%

34 (tied). El Topo (1970): 1.04%

34 (tied). True Grit (1969): 1.04% Identifying the top movies is our mission.  www.reelfives.com https://www.facebook.com/reelfives https://twitter.com/reelfives Podcast:  https://soundcloud.com/reelfives