Kalmia Records Blog

Cowboy Movies

Cowboy movies used to dominate the silver screen in America. There was a time when small towns had multiple theaters, and one of those theaters would be devoted to showing nothing but westerns.

In another generation, men like John Wayne, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry built whole careers on their cowboy roles. Even actors known for their roles as leading men or dramatic roles in other genres turned up in westerns. Gregory Peck starred in The Big Country, Gary Cooper in High Noon, and James Stewart in Shenandoah, just to name a few.

Even later, Clint Eastwood got fame for his gunslinger characters, whether it was in the Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960’s and 1970’s, or even earlier as Rowdy Yates on the tv show Rawhide.

Speaking of television cowboys, the small screen was also dominated by western cowboys and gunfighters. Gunsmoke was one of the longest-running tv series ever, while programs like The Lone Ranger, Bonanza, The Rifleman, and Maverick were all big hits.

But we’re talking about great cowboy films, so let’s get to listing some of the best westerns to ever show in theaters.

Stagecoach (1939) - This movie made John Wayne a star, though he had been in B-movie cowboy flicks for the better part of ten years. An early team-up with John Ford.

The Searchers (1956) - My parents will tell you this is the best cowboy film ever made, perhaps the best movie ever made. When his niece is abducted by Comanches, John Wayne and a small band start off a years-long search. But is Wayne searching for his niece to rescue her, or shoot her down like the “injun” she’s become (in his mind)?

The Magnificent Seven (1960) - This adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai translates perfectly to the American Old West. When Mexican peasants can no longer pay the bandits to leave them alone, they make one last desperate ploy to pay seven gunfighters to protect them from the small army of bandits, instead.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly (1966) - This is the quintessential Spaghetti western. This Clint Eastwood film is about morally gray men and their intrigues to make off with a bunch of gold. Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach also star.

There are so many great westerns, it’s hard to list them all. Be sure to check out the films listed below, which are also worthy of their listing.

More Cowboy Movies to Watch

• Rio Bravo
• The Wild Bunch
• High Noon
• 3:10 to Yuma (original)
• Dances with Wolves (Costner)
• Wyatt Earp (Costner again)
• High Plains Drifter
• Pale Rider

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One of the more absurd movies of the decade, Napoleon Dynamite nonetheless manages to be a hilarious comedy in its own right. Featuring a unique brand of alienated-teenage humor, the film relies more on its well-timed pauses and character body language than on zinging one-liners. If you enjoy its subtle humor, then Napoleon Dynamite is a film you’ll find utterly hilarious. Otherwise, it might cause boredom or outright confusion. The film has a near non-existent storyline, but what it lacks in plot, it makes up for with its witty and hilarious comedy sequences…

Jon Heder plays the title role of Napoleon Dynamite, an estranged and nerdy high school youth living with his grandmother and older brother, Kip (Aaron Ruell), in Preston, Idaho. Sporting a clueless, unchanging facial expression throughout the movie, Napoleon simply glides through life, getting kicked around, pushed into lockers, and watching life pass by. When a Spanish student named Pedro (Efren Ramirez) moves into town, Napoleon befriends the social outcast. The two drone on and on about myriad subjects, such as who to take to the upcoming dance. Fellow socially-challenged student Deb (Tina Majorino) becomes the object of their affections.

Meanwhile, Kip trolls the Internet chat rooms in search of women, and Napoleon’s Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) moves in with the boys while their grandmother is away. Uncle Rico’s own exploits add to the hilarity of a film with little in the way of substance, at least until Pedro decides to run for class president against the school’s most popular girl, Summer (Haylie Duff). Now, Napoleon and Pedro must work against all odds to win the school election…

The true strength of Napoleon Dynamite is its clan of outrageous characters, characters that are so outrageously ridiculous that every viewer can point out the mirror image of that character from his own high school yearbook or current life experience. The arrested social development of Napoleon and his friends are amplified for effect within the film’s context, drawing the viewer into a Lord of the Flies world of Darwinian adolescence. The humor is sometimes subtle, and Napoleon Dynamite is not to be confused with an Academy Award winning drama. But if you like stupid movies such Dumb And Dumber, then this is the film for you.

Napoleon Dynamite is a unique comedy which pushes the boundaries of plot-challenged, immature filmmaking. In short, you’ll love it. Most of the characters are so pathetic, you’ll find yourself laughing at them simply because they exist. One of the biggest surprises of 2004, Napoleon Dynamite is an oddball comedy that definitely ranks as a must-see movie…

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Napoleon Dynamite (DVD).