Top 50 FAQs

What is the WesternClassicMovies.com Top 50 List?

The Top 50 Western Movie List is a list of movies that we believe are the best classic western films available today.
They westerns cover a variety of film types in the western genre (i.e. classic, spaghetti, western, comedy) and span over a seventy year period from 1925-1999. They are interesting, entertaining and educational movies that showcase western talent in a way that we believe represents the best of the bunch.

What was the selection criteria?

To be considered for the Top 50 List, the westerns had to meet the following criteria:

• Released before the year 2000. This means that the film has been around long enough for it to have some staying power.
• Available now on DVD through purchase or rental. The goal is to have a list of movies that people can see. There are some great classic movies that are not currently available to the public. We would have put them on the list, but this would defeat the purpose of having a list where the goal is to get people to see and enjoy westerns.
• Won an award, highly-acclaimed, or milestone film. Many of the films have won awards, such as the Oscar. Although having won an award is important, this wasn’t the only criteria. There are some films on the list that haven’t won awards, but are important for other reasons because they represent particular milestones in western filmmaking.
• Rated R or Better. Any film that would be given a rating of X or considered an explicit Adult movie was not included on the list.

How were the movies selected?

Based on the selection criteria, careful research was done to narrow the list of movies down to fifty. Newspapers, magazines, the internet and anything else related to western films and the film industry were all used as sources for the research. We also used critic reviews and fan reviews. We not only wanted award-winning, critically-acclaimed westerns but also films that western fans have expressed their pleasure with as well.

What if I believe that you missed a movie that should be on the list?

We are open to suggestions for movies to include in future versions of the list. If you have a movie that you would like to suggest that meets our selection criteria, please Contact Us.