The Western genre is one of the oldest and cherished film genres to ever enter the landscape of cinema and successfully transitioned into the Talkies, only growing immensely popular among movie goers. With a monumental legacy and array of classics such as , and, , the western genre continues to thrive today, inspiring current filmmakers such as and the , who have kept the iconic genre at the forefront of cinema.

Throughout the years, there have been countless notable Westerns that have entertained and thrilled audiences, but some, including , , and , reign as spectacular contributions to the western genre. Out of all the noteworthy titles, such as and , the following are 12 Western films that are credited by many as genuine masterpieces.

' is a signature Western classic, featuring an ensemble cast including , , and , and follows a gripping story of self-preservation and redemption. When a small town is taken over by a ruthless outlaw, Calvera (Wallach), and his men, the townspeople resort to hiring a group of skilled gunmen to run him out of town and end his reign of terror.

The Magnificent Seven is an American remake of 's 1954 film, , with a Western backdrop, deeming it to be a unique work of cinema. Unlike Kurosawa's film, . Between the vivid backdrop of the desolate desert and the collection of exceptional performances, The Magnificent Seven ranks as a marvelous entry in the Western genre.

Western icon, , stars as a no-nonsense sheriff, John T. Chance, who locks up a gunslinger, Joe Burdette ( after killing a man. When word reaches Burdette's brother () about his arrest, he arrives with a group of men, threatening to break Joe out. With the help of a former sharpshooter (), a baby-faced cowboy () and a wily elderly man (), Chance fights to defend the jail until reinforcements arrive.

' classic Western, , has , relying on the characters' personal growth to move the story along instead of action. Despite not being an overly saturated action Western, Rio Bravo stands out for its character development and riveting performances, as well as its memorable scene of Martin and Nelson's musical number, "."

is a vital classic of the Western genre starring as a marshal, Will Kane, who is about to retire when he learns that an outlaw who he put behind bars has been released and plans on taking his revenge on the marshal. Despite his plans, Kane's sense of duty and loyalty keeps him from leaving and decides to face the outlaw even if he has to do it alone.

High Noon is. The movie is also noted for introducing the now-common theme of the man-alone as Cooper's character fails at recruiting any of the townspeople to help him, setting High Noon even further apart from the traditional Western. High Noon went on to receive seven Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, including Best Song, Best Film Editing, and Best Actor for Cooper.

's goes beyond . The film opens with a U.S. Senator, Ransom Stoddard (), arriving in the town of Shinbone to attend the funeral of his friend, Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). When the towns' reporters press Stoddard about his connection to Doniphon, the Senator recalls when he first arrived in town as a young lawyer and his encounter with a notorious outlaw, Liberty Valance ().

The Man Who Liberty Valance is a gripping Western with an unusual non-linear story structure and a riveting cast which also includes ,, and . The film went on to makeOscar history by being one of the few Westerns to earn a nomination for Best Costume Design for the infamous designer, . Film critic, Roger Ebert, gave The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance four out of four stars, claiming it to be Ford's most thoughtful and pensive Western.

The neo-Western, No Country for Old Men, is a homage to the classic Western with a sinister touch and one of the best Western villains played by . stars as Llewelyn Moss who, while out hunting, comes across a drug deal gone bad and a bag of unclaimed cash. When Moss tries to take off with the loot, he is unaware that a sadistic madman (Bardem) is hot on his tail, with a dedicated lawman () not too far behind them.

No Country for Old Men is a highly intense game of cat and mouse that keeps audiences on high alert and entirely invested from start to finish. The film is No Country for Old Men earned eight Academy Award nominations, winning four Oscars, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Supporting Actor.

Quentin Tarantino's 2012 revisionist Western, Django Unchained, is a compelling tribute to the spaghetti Western genre but isn't without the director's traditional use of violence and bloodshed. stars as the titular character, a slave who is acquired by a German bounty hunter, Dr. King Schultz (), who agrees to help Django find his wife in exchange for helping him bring in some of the West's most wanted outlaws.

Django Unchained went on to become Tarantino's highest-grossing film of all time and is noted for its bold style and dark humor, solidifying it as a modern Western masterpiece. Most might think Django Unchained is just a violent film set in the South, but with an array of intriguing characters and an insightful plot, making the film so much more than just a bloody visual spectacle.

's 1939 Western classic, , is primarily known for launching John Wayne's film career as a leading man, but. The film follows a group of passengers traveling in a stagecoach from Arizona to New Mexico and must cross through dangerous territory. Their journey becomes more treacherous when Ringo Kid (Wayne) escapes from prison, forcing a U.S. Marshal to accompany the stagecoach and find the outlaw before it's too late.

Stagecoach was a massive hit, earning praise for Ford's masterful direction and Wayne's mesmerizing performance that would change the course of his career forever. Today, the film is regarded as one of the most influential films of all time and, according to by Welles and , Welles stated that he watched Stagecoach every night for over a month in preparation for his feature debut, . "It was almost like going to school."

is the first installment of 's trilogy and features two of Hollywood's biggest stars, and , in triumphant against-type roles. The film is set in an old Western town, Flagstone, where there's only one piece of property with water on it, and when a railroad baron desires the land, he sends a gunslinger, Frank (Fonda) to scare the property owner off. Meanwhile, a mysterious stranger (Bronson) soon arrives in town with a score to settle with Frank, setting a wheel of revenge and greed into unsettling motion.

Initially, Once Upon a Time in the West earned mixed reviews, but in recent years, it has gained immense support and is considered to be a vital cult classic of the spaghetti Western genre. Fonda and Bronson are an absolute force and significant duo, delivering riveting performances that are the core appeal of this classic. and has been claimed to be one of the director's finest films.

is a thrilling Western with an all-star cast including John Wayne, , and , and features a pair of two unlikely characters who go out in search of justice and redemption. takes on the role of 14-year-old Mattie who, after her father is murdered by a hired hand, Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), hires a wily U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn (Wayne), to track Chaney down in dangerous territory.

In 2010, the Coen Brothers remade True Grit with as Cogburn and while it is one of the best remakes to date, it can never surpass the impact of the original film. Wayne ultimately breathes life in Cogburn, giving the character distinguishing characteristics of charm and grit and a menacing presence that only the Duke could achieve on the silver screen, earning the star the Oscar for Best Actor. True Grit is celebrated for its unpredictability and moments of amusement and sentiment, ultimately deeming it to be a vital Western masterpiece.

Unforgiven is a gripping Western directed by and starring , who ranks as one of the most iconic stars of the Western genre. Eastwood stars as a former gunslinger, William Munny, who learns of a hefty bounty on the heads of two men who brutally attacked a woman, permanently disfiguring her. Munny and his friend, Ned () decide to do one more job and set out for the town of Big Whiskey, where they receive far from a warm welcome from the town's corrupt sheriff ().

Unforgiven is a beautiful summary of Eastwood's talents both behind and in front of the camera, as well as a fitting nod to the traditional Western tale. . Unforgiven is one of the few Westerns to dominate the Academy Awards, winning four of its nine nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Supporting Actor for Hackman.

John Ford's The Searchers is . John Wayne stars as a war veteran, Ethan Edwards, who, after his family is brutally murdered by Native Americans, sets out to find his nieces who are rumored to still be alive and being held captive. Along the way, Edwards spirals into a darkness haunted by obsession and loneliness that becomes more of a threat to him than the unpredictable wilderness surrounding him.

The Searchers is without question one of the best Westerns to ever grace the silver screen and is noted for Ford's exceptional on-location shots and striking cinematography. While the film as a whole was groundbreaking in the craft of cinema, the role of Ethan Edwards has been immortalized as one of the most compelling portraits of a man whose own worst enemy is himself. In 2008, the American Film Institute ranked The Searchers as the number one best Western film of all time, earning its spot on this definitive list of Western masterpieces.

Clint Eastwood reprises his iconic role as the Man With No Name in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which was the third and final installment of Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. The film opens with Eastwood's character, who has formed a profitable partnership with an outlaw, Tuco (Eli Wallach), but when Blondie (as Tuco calls him) almost leaves the man for dead, the two decide to part ways. Before they separate, they find a dying Confederate soldier who tells them about a fortune buried in a graveyard. When Tuco learns the name of the graveyard and Blondie learns the name of the grave, the two are forced to stay together and must get to the gold before a ruthless mercenary, Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), gets there first.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, is undeniably one of the best and most influential spaghetti Westerns in cinema history. It is celebrated for its vivid cinematography, exhilarating performances, and a hauntingly beautiful musical score composed by Ennio Morricone. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is also known for its iconic final scene, which features the trio in a suspenseful stand-off in the graveyard, riddled with quick close-up shots panning between each character, leading up to one of the most climatic finales in any Western film.

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