Subgenre Sampler
Rental > Western: 37 Films to Rent on VHS
- Home on the Range (2004)
- Dir. John Sanford, Will Finn
- A Disney Western–spoof, in which a herd of cows aim to track down a wily cattle rustler and forestall the closure of their 'Patch of Heaven'…
- Hi-Lo Country, The (1998)
- Dir. Stephen Frears
Feat. Billy Crudup, Woody Harrelson, Patricia Arquette
- Long left out to pasture, the male–bonding cowboy genre is saddled–up and mounted by dir. Stephen Frears (THE GRIFTERS), who honours the…
- Peace Hotel (1995)
- Dir. Wai Ka-Fai
Feat. Chow Yun-Fat
- Chow Yun–Fat stars in his last Hong Kong opus before taking the Hollywood leap. A 1920s Chinatown Western, he runs the 'Peace Hotel', a refuge…
- Last Outlaw, The (1994)
- Dir. Geoff Murphy
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Dermot Mulroney, Ted Levine…
- Kiwi director's bloody Western with Rourke as a psychopathic confederate hunting down the remnants of his white trash gang.
- Comic Strip Presents: Bad News Tour (1983) / A Fistful of Travellers' Cheques (1984)
- Dir. Sandy Johnson, Adrian Edmondson
Feat. Adrian Edmondson, Rik Mayall, Dawn French…
- Excellent 'Comic Strip' double bill that teams up Adrian Edmonson's classic headbanger's satire with the cult repertory's memorable…
- Comic Strip Presents: Fistful of Travellers Cheques, A / Gino (1984)
- Dir. Bob Spiers
Feat. Rik Mayall, Pete Richardson, Keith Allen…
- Winning 'Spaghetti Western' spoof has straw–chewing posers Rik Mayall and Peter Richardson check into the Hotel Bastardos, where they meet…
- Wild Horses (1983)
- Dir. Derek Morton
Feat. Keith Aberdein, John Bach, Bruno Lawrence…
- A Kiwi western set in Tongariro National Park, and based around real events and people associated with the wild equine inhabitants of the Central…
- Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982)
- Dir. Robert M. Young
Feat. Edward James Olmos, Tom Bower, Bruce McGill
- A young Mexican who kills a sherriff in self defence is manhunted by Texas Rangers as rumours of his notoriety become increasingly inflated.…
- Cactus Jack (1979)
- Dir. Hal Needham
Feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kirk Douglas
- A fledgling Arnie and Kirk Douglas square–up in this comic take on the Old West.
- Bite the Bullet (1975)
- Dir. Richard Brooks
Feat. Gene Hackman, James Coburn
- Gene Hackman and James Coburn are adversaries who contest a gruelling 700–mile horse race.
- Joe Kidd (1972)
- Dir. John Sturges
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Robert Duvall, John Saxon…
- An amoral Clint Eastwood gets involved in a range fued between land baron Robert Duvall and Mexican settlers. Despite a screenplay by Elmore Leonard,…
- Skin Game (1971)
- Dir. Paul Bogart
Feat. James Garner, Louis Jr. Gossett, Susan Clark…
- Beguiling comedy about a pair of con–artists who pose as master and slave to deceive unsuspecting rednecks in the post–civil war era.
- Wild Rovers (1971)
- Dir. Blake Edwards
Feat. William Holden, Ryan O'Neal, Karl Malden…
- Saddle–sore cowpunchers William Holden and Ryan O'Neal safeguard their retirement by bank robbery, then head for the Mexican border.…
- There Was a Crooked Man (1970)
- Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda
- Prison inmate Kirk Douglas matches wits with warden Henry Fonda in an attempt to escape. Curious mix of black comedy and melodrama.
- Charro (1969)
- Dir. Charles M. Warren
Feat. Elvis Presley, Ina Balin, Victor French
- An Elvis curiosity which (mis)casts him in a dramatic Western. An unintentional hoot.
- Few Dollars for Django (1966)
- Dir. Leon Klimovsky
Feat. Antonio De Teffe, Gloria Osuna, Frank Wolff
- Imitation spaghetti–Western, several times removed from the Sergei Leone/Clint Eastwood model, let alone Franco Nero's original 'Django'.…
- Duel at Diablo (1965)
- Dir. Ralph Nelson
Feat. Sidney Poitier, James Garner
- Violent, off–beat Cowboys–and–Indians conflict successfully revives the formula. With Sidney Poitier, and James Garner in a sober…
- Outlaws Is Coming, The (1965)
- Dir. Norman Maurer
Feat. Larry Fine, Moe Howard, Joe De Rita
- In their last comic feature, the Three Stooges don cowboy hats for a slapstick romp in the Wild West.
- Two Rode Together (1961)
- Dir. John Ford
Feat. James Stewart, Richard Widmark, Shirley Jones
- Overlooked Jimmy Stewart and Richard Widmark starrer with the master of the genre at the helm.
- Sundowners, The (1960)
- Dir. Fred Zinnemann
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr, Peter Ustinov…
- Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr play a devoted couple in 1920s Australia who come to a crossroads over their gypsy lifestyle. Affectionate saga about…
- Horse Soldiers, The (1959)
- Dir. John Ford
Feat. John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers
- Set around a Yankee incursion into Rebel territory during the American Civil War, this rates about average against Dir. Ford's other action films. …
- Lone Ranger, The (1956)
- Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Clayton Moore, Jay Silverheels, Lyle Bettger…
- Modest but proficient movie spinoff from the popular 1950s TV series, with the masked one (Moore) and Tonto (Silverheels) taking on a rancher who is…
- Gunsmoke (TV Series) (1955)
- Feat. James Arness
- James Arness plays Marshal Matt Dillon protecting Dodge City from roaming gunslingers in this seminal TV show – the Grandaddy of TV…
- Violent Men, The (1955)
- Dir. Rudolph Mate
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford, Edward G. Robinson…
- Barbara Stanwyck, Glenn Ford and Edward G. Robinson transform a standard conflict of the land into a notable diversion.
- Broken Lance (1954)
- Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters…
- King Lear loosely transposed as a gripping Western melodrama with proud yet stubborn patriarch Spencer Tracy at odds with his ungrateful sons over…
- Wagon Master, The (1950)
- Dir. John Ford
Feat. Ben Johnson
- Pioneering saga starring Ben Johnson. A personal favourite of its director.
- Fort Apache (1948)
- Dir. John Ford
Feat. Henry Fonda, John Wayne, Shirley Temple
- The first film of Ford's cavalry trilogy tells of a maverick martinet (Henry Fonda) at odds with his peers and the Injuns. Followed by SHE WORE A…
- Rachel and the Stranger (1948)
- Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. William Holden, Loretta Young, Robert Mitchum
- Western 'rom–com' with husband William Holden and 'stranger' Robert Mitchum competing for the affections of Loretta Young ('Rachel') towards…
- Last of the Redmen (1947)
- Dir. George Sherman
Feat. Jon Hall, Michael O'Shea
- Economy–sized take on the Last Of The Mohicans story.
- Duel in the Sun (1946)
- Dir. King Vidor
Feat. Gregory Peck, Jennifer Jones, Joseph Cotten…
- Brothers Gregory Peck and James Cotton feud over the family ranch and legacy. Lauded by the likes of Martin Scorsese for its visual splendour, this…
- Return of Frank James (1940)
- Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Jackie Cooper
- Worthy sequel to JESSE JAMES with Henry Fonda reprising his role of Frank, now out to avenge the death of his brother.
- Westerner, The (1940)
- Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Gary Cooper, Walter Brennan
- Gary Cooper stars in accomplished Texan yarn concerning land disputes. Most impressive, though, is Walter Brennan in an Oscar–winning…
- Annie Oakley (1935)
- Dir. George Stevens
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Preston Foster, Melvyn Douglas…
- Sharpshooter Barbara Stanwyck joins Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show for friendly rivalry with resident top gun Preston Foster. A romantic–comic…
- Barbary Coast (1935)
- Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Miriam Hopkins, Joel McCrea, Edward G. Robinson…
- Set as far out west as a Western can go – San Fransisco, circa the 1850s gold–rush days. Miriam Hopkins and Joel McCrea are two…
- Cimarron (1931)
- Dir. Wesley Ruggles
Feat. Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor
- Set during the Oklahoma Land Rush of the 1880's, a charismatic newspaper editor claims a plot of land and resettles himself, along with his rather…
- Range Feud, The (1931)
- Dir. D.Ross Lederman
Feat. John Wayne, Buck Jones
- A better than B–Western with a young, gangly John Wayne as a ten–galloned Romeo framed for murder while entangled in a feud with his…
- Big Trail, The (1930)
- Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel…
- The film that elevated a young John Wayne from bit–part actor to leading man is this grand saga of a wagon trail, shot in an early form of 70mm.