Westerns Worldwide
Gunslingers, outlaws, tragic heroes. The Western film genre has both celebrated and interrogated the mythos of the frontier, whether made in Hollywood, Italy, or any number of countries that have elevated the genre in recent years. This list includes some of the best international Western of all time.
Bacurau
A Brazilian village is targeted by a group of armed mercenaries… who may have met their match.
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- Brazil • 2019
- Director Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles
- Cast Bárbara Colen, Udo Kier, Sônia Braga, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Wilson Rabelo
- Genre Mystery, Thriller, Western
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Nightingale
In 1829, Claire, a young Irish convict, chases a British soldier through the Tasmanian wilderness to avenge her family.
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- Australia, Canada, United States • 2019
- Director Jennifer Kent
- Cast Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Ewen Leslie, Harry Greenwood, Baykali Ganambarr
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Thriller
- Available on MUBI, Shudder, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy
Aferim!
A policeman is hired to track down a Roma slave in this black-and-white historical drama.
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- Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic • 2015
- Director Radu Jude
- Cast Teodor Corban, Mihai Comanoiu, Toma Cuzin, Alexandru Dabija, Luminița Gheorghiu
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Kanopy
Slow West
A 17-year-old Scottish boy teams up with a mysterious gunman to find the woman he loves.
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- United Kingdom, New Zealand • 2015
- Director John Maclean
- Cast Michael Fassbender, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius, Rory McCann, Brooke Williams
- Genre Drama, Romance, Thriller, Western
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, FlixFling, Kanopy
Western
When darkness descends upon two border towns, a cowboy and a lawman must face a new and threatening reality.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, United States • 2015
- Director Bill Ross, Turner Ross
- Cast
- Genre Documentary, Western
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
A lonely vampire preys on the depraved residents of Bad City — but finds love in another tortured soul.
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- Iran, United States • 2014
- Director Ana Lily Amirpour
- Cast Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò, Dominic Rains, Rome Shadanloo
- Genre Horror, Romance, Western
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Unforgiven
(許されざる者)
Jubei vowed to never again pick up a sword, but poverty gives him no choice, and he must become a bounty hunter.
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- Japan • 2013
- Director Lee Sang-il
- Cast Ken Watanabe, Koichi Sato, Akira Emoto, Yuya Yagira, Shiori Kutsuna, Eiko Koike
- Genre Action, Crime, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
The Good, the Bad, the Weird
(좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈)
The story of three outlaws in 1930's Manchuria and their dealings with the Japanese army and Chinese and Russian bandits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Korea • 2008
- Director Kim Jee-woon
- Cast Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Jung Woo-sung, Yoon Je-moon, Song Young-chang, Lee Chung-ah
- Genre Action, Adventure, Comedy, Western
- Available on AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video, The Roku Channel
The Proposition
Captain Stanley gives Charlie Burns 9 days to kill his older psychopathic brother, or else they'll hang his mentally challenged younger brother.
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- Australia, United Kingdom • 2005
- Director John Hillcoat
- Cast Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Emily Watson, Danny Huston, David Wenham, John Hurt
- Genre Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Crackle, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
After his ranch hand is murdered by a Border Patrol officer, Pete Perkins remembers a promise he made a long time ago.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United States • 2005
- Director Tommy Lee Jones
- Cast Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, Dwight Yoakam, January Jones, Melissa Leo, Julio Cedillo
- Genre Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Western
- Available on fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, The Roku Channel
Tears of the Black Tiger
(ฟ้าทะลายโจร)
The son of a peasant becomes the gun-slinging outlaw "Black Tiger” after his love is stolen from him.
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- Thailand • 2000
- Director Wisit Sasanatieng
- Cast Chartchai Ngamsan, Suwinit Panjamawat, Stella Malucchi, Supakorn Kitsuwon, Arawat Ruangvuth, Sombat Metanee
- Genre Action, Comedy, Romance, Western
- Available on Microsoft Store
They Call Me Trinity
(Lo chiamavano Trinità...)
Trinity and Bambino send the bad guys packing with humor instead of excessive violence, saving the day.
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- Italy • 1970
- Director Enzo Barboni
- Cast Terence Hill, Bud Spencer, Steffen Zacharias, Dan Sturkie, Gisela Hahn, Elena Pedemonte
- Genre Action, Comedy, Western
- Available on Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
(Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo)
A silent gunslinger, a renegade Mexican bandit, and an evil hitman hunt for 200,000 dollars in Confederate gold.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, Spain, West Germany • 1966
- Director Sergio Leone
- Cast Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè, Luigi Pistilli, Rada Rassimov
- Genre Western
- Available on MGM Plus, fuboTV, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Epix Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV
Seven Samurai
(七人の侍)
Seven samurai answer a village's request for protection after they lose their masters and fall on hard times.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1954
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Katô
- Genre Action, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube