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The Western is a genre
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
in the
American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...
and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as
Northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( es, el Norte de México ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California ...
and Western Canada. It is commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West" and depicted in Western media as a hostile, sparsely populated frontier in a state of near-total lawlessness patrolled by outlaws, sheriffs, and numerous other
stock In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
"gunslinger" characters. Western narratives often concern the gradual attempts to tame the crime-ridden American West using wider themes of
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, freedom, rugged individualism,
Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...
, and the national history and identity of the United States. Within the larger scope of the Western genre, there are several recognized subgenres. Some subgenres, such as spaghetti Westerns, maintain standard Western settings and plots, while others take the Western theme and archetypes into different supergenres, such as Neo-Westerns or Space Westerns. For a time, Westerns made in countries other than the United States were often labeled by foods associated with the culture, such as spaghetti Westerns (Italy), meat pie Westerns (Australia), ramen Westerns (Asia), and masala Westerns (India).


Acid Western

Film critic
Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for ''The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008, when he retired. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has ...
refers to a makeshift 1960s and 1970s genre called the
acid Western Acid Western is a subgenre of the Western film that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s that combines the metaphorical ambitions of critically acclaimed Westerns, such as ''Shane'' and ''The Searchers'', with the excesses of the Spaghetti Westerns and ...
, associated with
Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...
,
Jim McBride Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...
, and
Rudy Wurlitzer Rudolph "Rudy" Wurlitzer (born January 3, 1937) is an American novelist and screenwriter. Wurlitzer's fiction includes '' Nog'', ''Flats'', ''Quake'', ''Slow Fade'', and ''Drop Edge of Yonder''. He is also the author of the travel memoir, ''Hard ...
, as well as films such as
Monte Hellman Monte Hellman (; born Monte Jay Himmelbaum; July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021) was an American film director, producer, writer, and editor. Hellman began his career as an editor's apprentice at ABC TV, and made his directorial debut with the ho ...
's ''
The Shooting ''The Shooting'' is a 1966 American Western film directed by Monte Hellman, with a screenplay by Carole Eastman (using the pseudonym Adrien Joyce). It stars Warren Oates, Millie Perkins, Will Hutchins, and Jack Nicholson, and was produced by ...
'' (1966),
Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films '' El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his wor ...
's bizarre experimental film '' El Topo ''(''The Mole'')'''' (1970), and
Robert Downey Sr. Robert John Downey ( Elias Jr.; June 24, 1936 – July 7, 2021) was an American filmmaker and actor. He was known for writing and directing the underground film ''Putney Swope'', a satire on the New York Madison Avenue advertising world. Accordi ...
's ''
Greaser's Palace ''Greaser's Palace'' is a 1972 American Western film written and directed by Robert Downey Sr. It stars Allan Arbus as Jesse, a man with amnesia who heals the sick, resurrects the dead and tap dances on water on the American frontier. A para ...
'' (1972). The 1970 film ''El Topo'' is an
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
Western and
underground film An underground film is a film that is out of the mainstream either in its style, genre or financing. Notable examples include: John Waters' ''Pink Flamingos'', David Lynch's ''Eraserhead'', Andy Warhol's ''Blue Movie'', Rosa von Praunheim's ''Ta ...
about the eponymous character, a violent black-clad gunfighter, and his quest for
enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. The film is filled with bizarre characters and occurrences, use of maimed and
dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
performers, and heavy doses of
Christian symbolism Christian symbolism is the use of symbols, including archetypes, acts, artwork or events, by Christianity. It invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. The symbolism of the early Church was characterized by bei ...
and
Eastern philosophy Eastern philosophy or Asian philosophy includes the various philosophies that originated in East and South Asia, including Chinese philosophy, Japanese philosophy, Korean philosophy, and Vietnamese philosophy; which are dominant in East Asia, ...
. Some spaghetti Westerns also crossed over into the acid Western genre, such as
Enzo G. Castellari Enzo Girolami Castellari (born 29 July 1938) is an Italian director, screenwriter and actor. Life and career Early life Castellari was born in Rome into a family of filmmakers. His father was a boxer turned film maker Marino Girolami. His uncle ...
's mystical ''
Keoma Keoma is a hamlet in southern Alberta under the jurisdiction of Rocky View County. Keoma is located approximately 35 km (21 mi) northeast of Downtown Calgary, on Highway 566, 2.0 km (1.2 mi) east of Highway 9 and 19 km (12 mi) north of the ...
'' (1976), a Western reworking of
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...
's ''
The Seventh Seal ''The Seventh Seal'' ( sv, Det sjunde inseglet) is a 1957 Swedish historical fantasy film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. Set in Sweden during the Black Death, it tells of the journey of a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of ch ...
'' (1957). More recent acid Westerns include
Alex Cox Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with ''Repo Man (film), Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since th ...
's ''
Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...
'' (1987) and
Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...
's ''
Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili Avital, an ...
'' (1995). Rosenbaum describes the acid Western as "formulating a chilling, savage frontier poetry to justify its hallucinated agenda"; ultimately, he says, the Acid Western expresses a counterculture sensibility to critique and replace capitalism with alternative forms of exchange.


Australian Western or Meat pie western

The Australian Western genre or meat pie western is set in Australia, especially the
Australian Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
or the
Australian Bush "The bush" is a term mostly used in the English vernacular of Australia and New Zealand where it is largely synonymous with '' backwoods'' or ''hinterland'', referring to a natural undeveloped area. The fauna and flora contained within this ...
. The genre borrows from US traditions. '' The Tracker'' is an archetype in this form of Australian Western, with signature scenes of harsh desert environments, and exploration of the themes of rough justice, exploitation of the Aboriginals, and the thirst for justice at all costs. Others in this category include ''
Rangle River ''Rangle River'' is a 1936 Australian Western film directed by Clarence G. Badger based on a story by Zane Grey. Synopsis Marion Hastings returns to her father Dan's cattle property in western Queensland after being away in Europe for fifteen ye ...
'' (1936), ''
Kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...
'', ''
The Kangaroo Kid ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1950),'' The Sundowners'' (1960), ''
Quigley Down Under ''Quigley Down Under'' is a 1990 western film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman, and Laura San Giacomo. Plot Matthew Quigley is an American cowboy with a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately a ...
'' (1990), ''
Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
'' (1970), ''
The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * ''The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man f ...
'' (1982), '' The Proposition'', '' Lucky Country'', and '' Sweet Country''. '' Mystery Road'' is an example of a modern Australian Western, and ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...
'' has inspired many futurist dystopian examples of the Australian Western such as '' The Rover''.


Blaxploitation Western

Many
blaxploitation Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president o ...
films, particularly ones involving
Fred Williamson Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938), also known as The Hammer, is an American actor and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s. Williamson is perhaps ...
, have incorporated a Western setting within them, with examples such as ''
Soul Soldier ''Soul Soldier'' (produced under the working title ''Men of the Tenth''; originally released as ''The Red, White, and Black''; released on home video in the United States as ''Buffalo Soldier''; released on home video in Australia as ''Blac ...
'' (1970), ''
Buck and the Preacher ''Buck and the Preacher'' is a 1972 American Western film released by Columbia Pictures, written by Ernest Kinoy and directed by Sidney Poitier. Poitier also stars in the film alongside Harry Belafonte and Ruby Dee. This is the first film Sidne ...
'' (1972), ''
The Legend of Nigger Charley ''The Legend of Nigger Charley'' is a 1972 blaxploitation Western (genre), Western film directed by Martin Goldman. The story of a trio of escaped slaves, it was released during the heyday of blaxploitation films. Filmed in Charles City, Virgin ...
'' (1972), ''
The Soul of Nigger Charley ''The Soul of Nigger Charley'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation Western film directed by Larry Spangler and starring Fred Williamson. It is the sequel to 1972's '' The Legend of Nigger Charley''. It is followed by '' Boss Nigger''. It is rate ...
'' (1973), ''
Thomasine & Bushrod ''Thomasine & Bushrod'' is a 1974 Western film directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., written by and starring Max Julien and Vonetta McGee and was released by Columbia Pictures. The title song was written by Arthur Lee and performed by his band Love. ...
'' (1974), ''
Boss Nigger ''Boss Nigger'' (also known as simply ''Boss'' and ''The Black Bounty Killer'') is a 1975 blaxploitation Western film directed by Jack Arnold, and stars former football player Fred Williamson, who both wrote and co-produced. ''Boss Nigger'' i ...
'' (1975), '' Adiós Amigo'' (1975), and ''
Posse Posse is a shortened form of posse comitatus, a group of people summoned to assist law enforcement. The term is also used colloquially to mean a group of friends or associates. Posse may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Posse'' (1975 ...
'' (1993).


Charro, cabrito, or chili Westerns

Charro Westerns, often featuring musical stars, as well as action, have been a standard feature of
Mexican cinema Mexican cinema dates to the late nineteenth century during the rule of President Porfirio Díaz. Seeing a demonstration of short films in 1896, Díaz immediately saw the importance of documenting his presidency in order to present an ideal ...
since the 1930s. In the 1930s and 1940s, these were typically films about horsemen in rural Mexican society, displaying a set of cultural concerns very different from the Hollywood metanarrative, but the overlap between "charro" movies and Westerns became more apparent in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. Some examples are
Ismael Rodríguez Ismael Rodríguez (October 19, 1917 – August 7, 2004) was a Mexican film director. Rodríguez rose to fame due to the movies he directed starring Pedro Infante, and directed many major stars, including Dolores del Río, María Félix, Tos ...
's ''Los Hermanos del Hierro'' (1961),
Jorge Fons Jorge Fons Pérez (23 April 1939 – 22 September 2022) was a Mexican film director. He belonged to the first generation of film directors of the UNAM. His short film, ''Caridad'' (1973), is still considered one of the best films in Mexican ci ...
's ''Cinco Mil Dólares de Recompensa'', and
Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...
's ''
Tiempo de morir ''Tiempo de Morir'' (Time to Die) is a 1966 Mexican Western (genre)#Film, Western film directed by Arturo Ripstein and starring Marga López and Jorge Martínez de Hoyos. Screenplay was written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Marquez and no ...
''. The most important is
Alberto Mariscal Alberto Mariscal (March 10, 1926 – April 24, 2010) was an American-born Mexican actor and film director.Agrasánchez p.159 Partial filmography * ''Su última aventura'' (1946) - Reportero (uncredited) * ''Barrio de pasiones'' (1948) * ''Corn ...
, great author of ''El tunco Maclovio'', ''Todo por nada'', ''Los marcados'', ''El juez de la soga'', and ''
La chamuscada ''La chamuscada'' ("The Charred") is a 1971 Mexican film. It was written by Luis Alcoriza Luis Alcoriza de la Vega (September 5, 1918 – December 3, 1992) was a respected Mexican screenwriter, film director, and actor. Alcoriza was born in ...
''.


Chinese Western

The Western is a popular genre in the Asian film industry.


Comedy Western

This subgenre is imitative in style to mock, comment on, or trivialize the Western genre's established traits, subjects, auteurs' styles, or some other target by means of humorous, satiric, or ironic imitation or parody. A prime example of comedy Western includes '' The Paleface'' (1948), which makes a satirical effort to "send up Owen Wister's novel ''The Virginian'' and all the cliches of the Western from the fearless hero to the final shootout on Main Street". ''The Paleface'' "features a cowardly hero known as "Painless" Peter Potter (
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
), an inept dentist, who often entertains the notion that he is a crack sharpshooter and accomplished Indian fighter". Other examples include: *'' Along Came Jones'' (1945), in which
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
spoofed his Western persona * ''
The Sheepman ''The Sheepman'' is a 1958 American Western comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Glenn Ford, Shirley MacLaine, and Leslie Nielsen. Plot Gambler Jason Sweet (Ford) wins a flock of sheep in a poker game and proceeds to take them b ...
'' (1958), with
Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...
poking fun at himself * ''
Cat Ballou ''Cat Ballou'' is a 1965 American western comedy film starring Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual role. The story involves a woman who hires a notorious gunman to protect her father's ranch, and late ...
'' (1965), with a drunk
Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alth ...
atop a drunk horse * ''
Support Your Local Gunfighter ''Support Your Local Gunfighter'' is a 1971 American comic Western film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring James Garner and Suzanne Pleshette. The screenplay was written by James Edward Grant. The picture shares many cast and crew members an ...
'' (1971) * ''
Blazing Saddles ''Blazing Saddles'' is a 1974 American satirical western black comedy film directed by Mel Brooks, who also wrote the screenplay with Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger. The film stars Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder. ...
'' (1974)


Contemporary Western or neo-Western

Contemporary Western (or neo-Westerns or Urban Westerns) have contemporary settings and use Old West themes, archetypes, and motifs, such as a rebellious antihero, open plains and desert landscapes, or gunfights. This also includes the Post-Western, with modern settings and "the cowboy cult" that involve the audience's feelings and understanding of Western movies. This subgenre often features Old West-type characters struggling with displacement in a "civilized" world that rejects their outdated brand of justice. Some Contemporary Westerns take place in the
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
and reveal the progression of the Old West mentality into the late 20th and early 21st centuries; but the genre is not limited to the traditional American West setting. ''
Coogan's Bluff Coogan's Bluff is a promontory near the western shore of the Harlem River in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries extend approximately from 155th Street and the Macombs Dam Bridge viaduct to ...
'' and ''
Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama (film and television), drama film, based on the 1965 Midnight Cowboy (novel), novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars ...
'' are examples of Urban Westerns set in New York City. Typical themes of the neo-Western are lack of rules, with morals guided by the character's or audience's instincts of right and wrong rather than by governance, characters searching for justice, and characters feeling remorse, connecting the neo-Western to the broader
Western genre The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
. Other conventions of the genre include displays of competence, which in turn is measured in acts of violence. Beginning in the postwar era, radio dramas such as ''
Tales of the Texas Rangers ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'' is a 20th century Western old-time radio and television police procedural drama which originally aired on NBC Radio from 1950 to 1952 and later on CBS Television from 1955 to 1958. Film star Joel McCrea voiced the ...
'' (1950–1952), with
Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he beca ...
, a contemporary detective drama set in Texas, featured many of the characteristics of traditional Westerns. In this period, Post-Western precursors to the modern neo-Western films began to appear, such as Nicholas Ray's ''
The Lusty Men ''The Lusty Men '' is a 1952 Western film released by Wald-Krasna Productions and RKO Radio Pictures starring Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy and Arthur Hunnicutt. The picture was directed by Nicholas Ray and produced by Jerry Wal ...
'' (1952) and
John Sturges John Eliot Sturges (; January 3, 1910 – August 18, 1992) was an American film director. His films include ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' (1955), ''Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''The Magnificent Seven'' (1960), '' The Great Escape'' (1963 ...
's ''
Bad Day at Black Rock ''Bad Day at Black Rock'' is a 1955 American neo-Western film directed by John Sturges with screenplay by Millard Kaufman. It stars Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan with support from Anne Francis, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, John Ericson, Ernes ...
'' (1955). Examples of the modern "first phase" of neo-Westerns include films such as ''
Lonely Are the Brave ''Lonely Are the Brave'' is a 1962 American black and white Western film adaptation of the Edward Abbey novel ''The Brave Cowboy'' directed by David Miller from a screenplay by Dalton Trumbo and starring Kirk Douglas, Gena Rowlands and Walter ...
'' (1962) and ''
Hud Hud or HUD may refer to: Entertainment * ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman * ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film * ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program Places * Hud, Fa ...
'' (1963). The popularity of the subgenre has been resurgent since the release of
Joel and Ethan Coen Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
's ''
No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin, the ...
'' (2007). The subgenre can also be seen in television in shows such as ''
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
'' and '' Justified''.


Dacoit Western

The
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film ''
Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), ...
'' (1975) was often referred to as a "
curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
Western". A more accurate genre label for the film is the " ''dacoit'' Western", as it combines the conventions of Indian ''dacoit'' films such as ''
Mother India ''Mother India'' is a 1957 Indian epic drama film, directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar. A remake of Khan's earlier film '' Aurat'' (1940), it is the story of a poverty-stricken village woma ...
'' (1957) and ''
Gunga Jumna ''Ganga Jamna'' (ISO 15919: ''Gaṅgā Jamunā''), also transliterated as ''Ganga Jamuna'' or ''Gunga Jumna'', is a 1961 Indian crime drama film, written and produced by Dilip Kumar, and directed by Nitin Bose, with dialogues written by Wajahat ...
'' (1961) with those of spaghetti Westerns. ''Sholay'' spawned its own genre of "''dacoit'' Western" films in Bollywood during the 1970s. The first Western films made in India – ''
Kalam Vellum ''Kalam Vellum'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language Western film produced, filmed and directed by M. Karnan. The film stars Jaishankar, Vijayakumari and Vijaya Lalitha. It revolves around a farmer who, in his quest to avenge his sister's death, ...
'' (1970, Tamil), '' Mosagallaku Mosagadu'' (1971, Telugu), ''Mappusakshi'' (Malayalam), ''
Ganga The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
'' (1972, Tamil), and '' Jakkamma'' (1972, Tamil) – were based on Classic Westerns. ''
Thazhvaram ''Thazhvaram'' () is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language western film, western thriller film directed by Bharathan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. It stars Mohanlal, Salim Ghouse, Sumalatha, Anju (actress), Anju and Sankaradi. It tells the stor ...
'' (1990), the Malayalam film directed by
Bharathan Bharathan (14 November 1946 – 30 July 1998) was an Indian film maker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan and K. G. George, in th ...
and written by noted writer
M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Nair (born 1933 July 15 ), popularly known as MT, is an Indian author, screenplay writer and film director. He is a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and is one of the masters of post-I ...
, perhaps most resembles the Spaghetti Westerns in terms of production and cinematic techniques. Earlier Spaghetti Westerns laid the groundwork for such films as ''
Adima Changala ''Adima Changala'' is a 1981 Indian Malayalam-language action-adventure film, directed by A. B. Raj and produced by R. S. Sreenivasan. The film stars Prem Nazir, Sheela, Swapna and Vishnuvardhan in the lead roles. The film has musical score ...
'' (1971) starring
Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...
, a hugely popular "zapata Spaghetti Western film in Malayalam, and ''
Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan), ...
'' (1975) ''
Khote Sikkay ''Khote Sikkay'' () is a 1974 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Narendra Bedi, starring Feroz Khan and Danny Denzongpa as part of a gang of men hired by a villager to save his village from the dacoits. The film also stars ...
'' (1973) and ''
Thai Meethu Sathiyam ''Thai Meethu Sathiyam'' () is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language Curry Western film directed by R. Thyagarajan and produced by Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar. The film stars Rajinikanth and Sripriya, with Mohan Babu, Prabhakar, Suruli Rajan, ...
'' (1978) are notable curry Westerns. ''
Kodama Simham ''Kodama Simham'' () is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language revisionist western action film directed by K. Murali Mohana Rao, starring Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu, Sonam, Radha, and Pran in pivotal roles. The film was simultaneously dubbed into Englis ...
'' (1990), a Telugu action film, starring
Chiranjeevi Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu language, Telugu, as ...
and
Mohan Babu Manchu Bhakthavatsalam, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films in lead, sup ...
, was one more addition to the Indo Western genre that fared well at the box office. It was also the first South Indian movie to be dubbed in English as ''Hunters of the Indian Treasure'' ''
Takkari Donga ''Takkari Donga'' () is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language revisionist western film produced, written, and directed by Jayant Paranjee. The film starred Mahesh Babu, Lisa Ray, Bipasha Basu, and Rahul Dev in pivotal roles. Shot entirely in the United ...
'' (2002), starring Telugu actor
Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Award ...
, was applauded by critics, but was average at box office. ''
Quick Gun Murugun ''Quick Gun Murugun: Misadventures of an Indian Cowboy'' is a 2009 Indian English-language Comedy Western film directed by Shashanka Ghosh and written by Rajesh Devraj. The film stars Rajendra Prasad as the title character alongside Rambha, An ...
'' (2009), an Indian comedy film that spoofs Indian Western movies, is based on a character created for television promotions at the time of the launch of the music network Channel in 1994, which had cult following. ''
Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam ''Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language Western comedy film directed by Chimbu Deven, starring choreographer-turned-actor Raghava Lawrence, Padmapriya, Lakshmi Rai, and Sandhya alongside an ensemble supporting cast in ...
'' (2010), a Western adventure comedy film, based on cowboy movies and paying homages to the John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and
Jaishankar Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...
, was made in Tamil.''
Laal Kaptaan ''Laal Kaptaan '' () is 2019 Indian Hindi-language epic western action drama film co-written and directed by Navdeep Singh. It was produced by Eros International and Aanand L Rai's Colour Yellow Productions. The film stars Saif Ali Khan as a ...
''(2019) is an IndoWestern starring
Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Khan ma ...
, which is set during the rise of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in India.


Documentary Western

The documentary Western is a subgenre of Westerns that explore the nonfiction elements of the historical and contemporary American West. Ken Burns' ''The West'' is an example of a series based upon a historical storyline, whereas films such as '' Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait'' provide a nonfiction portrayal of modern working cowboys in the contemporary West.


Electric Western

The 1971 film '' Zachariah'' starring
John Rubinstein John Rubinstein (born December 8, 1946) is an American actor, composer and director. Early life Rubinstein is the son of Polish parents. His mother, Aniela (née Młynarska), a dancer and writer, was a Roman Catholic native of Warsaw, the dau ...
,
Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Em ...
, and Pat Quinn, was billed as the "first electric Western". The film featured multiple performing rock bands in an otherwise
American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
setting. ''Zachariah'' featured appearances and music supplied by rock groups from the 1970s, including the
James Gang James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), and ...
and Country Joe and the Fish as "The Cracker Band". Fiddler
Doug Kershaw Douglas James Kershaw (born January 24, 1936) is an American fiddle player, singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1948, he began his career as part of the duo Rusty and Doug, along with his brother, Rusty Kershaw. He had an extens ...
had a musical cameo as does
Elvin Jones Elvin Ray Jones (September 9, 1927 – May 18, 2004) was an American jazz drummer of the post-bop era. Most famously a member of John Coltrane's quartet, with whom he recorded from late 1960 to late 1965, Jones appeared on such widely celebrate ...
as a gunslinging drummer named Job Cain. The
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
''Hate Horses'' starring
Dominique Swain Dominique Swain (born August 12, 1980) is an American actress and producer. She came to prominence playing the title character in Adrian Lyne's 1997 film adaptation of ''Lolita'', alongside her supporting role as Jamie Archer in John Woo's ''Fac ...
, Ron Thompson, and
Paul Dooley Paul Dooley (born Paul Brown; February 22, 1928) is an American character actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his roles in ''Breaking Away'', ''Sixteen Candles'', and ''Popeye''. Early life Dooley was born Paul Brown on February 22, 1 ...
billed itself as the "second electric Western".


Epic Western

The epic Western is a subgenre of the Western that emphasizes the story of the American Old West on a grand scale. Many epic Westerns are commonly set during a turbulent time, especially a war, as in Sergio Leone's ''
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'' ( it, Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo, literally "The good, the ugly, the bad") is a 1966 Italian epic spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood as "the Good", Lee Van Clee ...
'' (1966), set during the American Civil War, or Sam Peckinpah's ''
The Wild Bunch ''The Wild Bunch'' is a 1969 American epic Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond O'Brien, Ben Johnson and Warren Oates. The plot concerns an aging outlaw gang on th ...
'' (1969), set during the Mexican Revolution. One of the grandest films in this genre is Leone's ''
Once Upon a Time in the West ''Once Upon a Time in the West'' ( , "Once upon a time (there was) the West") is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone ...
'' (1968), which shows many operatic conflicts centered on control of a town while using wide-scale shots on Monument Valley locations against a broad running time. Other notable examples include '' The Iron Horse'' (1924) with George O'Brien, '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946) with
Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and ''Sabr ...
and
Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
, ''
The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...
'' (1956) with
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
, ''
Giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...
'' (1956) with
Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
and
James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He is remembered as a cultural icon of teenage disillusionment and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, ''Rebel Without a Cause' ...
, ''
The Big Country ''The Big Country'' is a 1958 American epic Western film directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charlton Heston, and Burl Ives. The supporting cast features Charles Bickford and Chuck Connors. Filmed i ...
'' (1958) with Gregory Peck and
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
, '' Cimarron'' (1960) with
Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...
, ''How the West Was Won'' (1962) with
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...
and
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...
, ''
Duck, You Sucker! ''Duck, You Sucker!'' ( it, Giù la testa, lit. "Duck Your Head", "Get Down"), also known as ''A Fistful of Dynamite'' and ''Once Upon a Time ... the Revolution'', is a 1971 epic Zapata Western film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and ...
'' (1971) with
Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
and
James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
, '' Heaven's Gate'' (1980) with
Isabelle Huppert Isabelle Anne Madeleine Huppert (; born 16 March 1953) is a French actress. Described as "one of the best actresses in the world", she is known for her portrayals of cold and disdainful characters devoid of morality. She is the recipient of sev ...
, ''
Dances with Wolves ''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1990 American epic western film starring, directed, and produced by Kevin Costner in his feature directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 novel ''Dances with Wolves'' by Michael Blake that tells the s ...
'' (1990) with
Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
, ''
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' is a 2007 American epic revisionist Western film written and directed by Andrew Dominik and starring Brad Pitt as Jesse James. Adapted from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel of the same ti ...
'' (2007) with
Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
, ''
Django Unchained ''Django Unchained'' () is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Walton Goggins, Dennis Chri ...
'' (2012) with
Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He became widely known for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biographical film '' Ray'', for which he won the ...
, and '' The Revenant'' (2015) with Leonardo DiCaprio.


Euro-Western

Euro-Westerns are Western-genre films made in Western Europe. The term can sometimes include the spaghetti Western subgenre. One example of a Euro-Western is the Anglo-Spanish film '' The Savage Guns'' (1961). Several Euro-Western films, nicknamed sauerkraut Westerns because they were made in Germany and shot in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, were derived from stories by novelist
Karl May Karl Friedrich May ( , ; 25 February 1842 – 30 March 1912) was a German author. He is best known for his 19th century novels of fictitious travels and adventures, set in the American Old West with Winnetou and Old Shatterhand as main pro ...
, and were film adaptations of May's work. One of the most popular German Western franchises was the ''
Winnetou Winnetou is a fictional Native American hero of several novels written in German by Karl May (1842–1912), one of the best-selling German writers of all time with about 200 million copies worldwide, including the ''Winnetou'' trilogy. The cha ...
'' series, which featured a Native American
Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
hero in the lead role. Also in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, only a few Western films have been made, the most notable of which could be the 1971 low-budget comedy ''
The Unhanged ''The Unhanged'' (Finnish language, Finnish: ''Hirttämättömät'') is a 1971 Finnish Western (genre), western comedy film directed by Spede Pasanen and Vesa-Matti Loiri. It is the sequel to the 1970 film ''Speedy Gonzales - noin 7 veljeksen poika ...
'', directed by, written by, and starring
Spede Pasanen Pertti Olavi "Spede" Pasanen (10 April 1930 – 7 September 2001) was a Finnish film director and producer, comedian, and inventor. During his career he directed, wrote, produced or acted in about 50 film, movies and participated in numerou ...
. Some new Euro-Westerns emerged in the 2010s, including
Kristian Levring Kristian Levring (; born 9 May 1957) is a Danish film director. He was the fourth signatory of the Dogme95 movement. His feature films as director include ''Et skud fra hjertet'', ''The King is Alive'', ''The Intended'', ''Fear Me Not'', and ''Th ...
's ''The Salvation'',
Martin Koolhoven Martinus Wouter "Martin" Koolhoven (born 25 April 1969) is a Dutch film director and screenwriter. Internationally he is most known for ''Schnitzel Paradise'' (2005), '' Winter in Wartime'' (2008) and '' Brimstone'' (2016), which was his first f ...
's ''Brimstone'', and
Andreas Prochaska Andreas Prochaska (born 31 December 1964) is an Austrian film director and editor. He directed the 2014 film ''The Dark Valley'', the 2017 miniseries Maximilian and Marie of Bourgogne, and the 2018 series ''Das Boot'', among others. He has contr ...
's ''
The Dark Valley ''The Dark Valley'' (german: Das finstere Tal) is a 2014 Austrian-German Western drama film directed by Andreas Prochaska, based on Thomas Willmann's sole eponymous 2010 novel. The film stars Sam Riley as a lone traveler who ends up in a small t ...
''.


Fantasy Western

Fantasy Westerns mixed in
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
settings and themes, and may include fantasy mythology as background. Some famous examples are
Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...
's ''
The Stand ''The Stand'' is a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novel written by American author Stephen King and first published in 1978 by Doubleday. The plot centers on a deadly pandemic of weaponized influenza and its aftermath, in which the few surv ...
'' and ''The Dark Tower'' series of novels, the
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
comics series ''
Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as a ...
'', and
Keiichi Sigsawa is a Japanese light novel author. In 2000, his work ''Kino's Journey'' was a finalist for the 6th Dengeki Novel Prize, and was subsequently serialized in '' Dengeki hp'' magazine in March of the same year, marking his debut. ''Kino's Journey'' ...
's light novel series, ''
Kino's Journey , shortened to ''Kino's Journey'', is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series follows a traveler named Kino and her talking motorcycle named Hermes, as they explore ...
'', illustrated by
Kouhaku Kuroboshi , also known as , is a Japanese illustrator and character designer. He is from the Kanagawa Prefecture and lives in the Fukuoka Prefecture. He is probably best known for his frequent collaborations with writer Keiichi Sigsawa as the illustrator/cha ...
.


Florida Western

Florida Western A Florida Western can be used to describe a small number of films and literature set in the 19th century, particularly around the time of the Second Seminole War. Not a significant number of these films have been made, as most Hollywood and other ge ...
s, also known as cracker Westerns, are set in Florida during the
Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...
. An example is ''
Distant Drums ''Distant Drums'' is a 1951 American Florida Western film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gary Cooper. It is set during the Second Seminole War in the 1840s, with Cooper playing an Army captain who successfully destroys a fort held by Sp ...
'' (1951) starring
Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...
.


Greek Western

According to the naming conventions after spaghetti Western, in Greece they are also referred to as "
fasolada Fasolada ( el, φασολάδα) or fasoulada ( el, φασουλάδα) is a Greek, Mediterranean, and Cypriot soup of dry white beans, olive oil, and vegetables. It is sometimes called the "national food of the Greeks".Λεξικό της κο ...
Westerns" (Greek: φασολάδα = bean soup, i.e. one of the national dishes of Greece). A notable example is ''
Blood on the Land ''Blood on the Land'' ( el, Το χώμα βάφτηκε κόκκινο, To homa vaftike kokkino, The earth was painted red) is a 1966 Greek western drama film directed by Vasilis Georgiadis. Its subject is conflict between landowners and agricul ...
'' (1966), which was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
.


Horror Western

The horror Western subgenre has roots in films such as ''
Curse of the Undead ''Curse of the Undead'' is a 1959 American horror Western film directed by Edward Dein and starring Eric Fleming, Michael Pate and Kathleen Crowley. Plot In an Old West town, young girls are dying of a mysterious wasting disease. Dr. John ...
'' (1959) and ''
Billy the Kid vs. Dracula ''Billy the Kid Versus Dracula'' is a 1966 American horror Western film directed by William Beaudine. The film is about Billy the Kid ( Chuck Courtney) trying to save his fiancée from Dracula (John Carradine). The film was originally released ...
'' (1966), which depicts the legendary outlaw
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
fighting against the notorious vampire. Another example is ''The Ghoul Goes West'', an unproduced
Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novel author. In the 1950s, Wood directed several low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult cla ...
film to star
Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
as
Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...
in the Old West. Newer examples include the films ''
Near Dark NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a former ...
'' (1987) directed by
Kathryn Bigelow Kathryn Ann Bigelow (; born November 27, 1951) is an American filmmaker. Covering a wide range of genres, her films include ''Near Dark'' (1987), ''Point Break'' (1991), '' Strange Days'' (1995), '' K-19: The Widowmaker'' (2002), ''The Hurt Locke ...
, which tells the story about a human falling in love with a
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
, ''
From Dusk till Dawn ''From Dusk till Dawn'' is a 1996 American action horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino from a concept and story by Robert Kurtzman. Starring Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Ernest Liu, and ...
'' (1996) by
Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...
deals with outlaws battling vampires across the border, ''
Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...
'' (1998) by
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
, which tells about a group of vampires and vampire hunters looking for an ancient relic in the west, '' Ravenous'' (1999), which deals with cannibalism at a remote US army outpost; ''
The Burrowers ''The Burrowers'' is a 2008 Western horror film written and directed by J. T. Petty. The film is based on an original short film, ''Blood Red Earth'' directed by Petty. Plot The year is 1879, and beyond the fringes of civilization a handful ...
'' (2008), about a band of trackers who are stalked by the titular creatures; and '' Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'' (2012). ''
Undead Nightmare ''Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare'' is a standalone expansion pack to the 2010 video game ''Red Dead Redemption''. It adds a non-canonical zombie horror-themed single-player campaign, two multiplayer modes, and cosmetic additions to the e ...
'' (2010), an expansion to ''
Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A spiritual successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redempt ...
'' (2010) is an example of a video game in this genre, telling the tale of a
zombie A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...
outbreak in the
Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
. ''
Bone Tomahawk ''Bone Tomahawk'' is a 2015 American Western film written and directed by S. Craig Zahler in his directorial debut. It stars Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, Richard Jenkins, Lili Simmons, Evan Jonigkeit, David Arquette, and Sid Haig ...
'' (2015) received wide critical acclaim for its chilling tale of cannibalism, but like many other movies in the genre, it was not a commercial success.
Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...
's film '' Nope'' (2022) combines horror and science fiction with a neo-Western lens. It depicts two rancher siblings attempting to capture evidence of a UFO terrorizing their remote desert ranch.


Hybrid Western

A generic term for a Western which is combined with another genre such as horror, ''
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
'' or
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
.


Martial arts Western (Wuxia Western)

While many of these mash-ups (e.g., ''
Billy Jack ''Billy Jack'' is a 1971 American action drama independent film, the second of four films centering on a character of the same name which began with the movie ''The Born Losers'' (1967), played by Tom Laughlin, who directed and co-wrote the scr ...
'' (1971) and its sequel ''
The Trial of Billy Jack ''The Trial of Billy Jack'' is a 1974 Western action film starring Delores Taylor and Tom Laughlin. It is the sequel to the 1971 film ''Billy Jack'' and the third film overall in the series. Directed by Laughlin, the film has a running time of ne ...
'' (1974)) are cheap exploitation films, others are more serious dramas such as the ''
Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...
'' TV series, which ran from 1972 to 1975. Comedy examples include the
Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...
and
Owen Wilson Owen Cunningham Wilson (born November 18, 1968) is an American actor. He has had a long association with filmmaker Wes Anderson with whom he shared writing and acting credits for '' Bottle Rocket'' (1996), '' Rushmore'' (1998), and ''The Royal ...
collaboration ''
Shanghai Noon ''Shanghai Noon'' is a 2000 martial arts western action comedy film starring Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson and Lucy Liu. The first in the ''Shanghai'' film series and marking the directorial debut of Tom Dey, ''Shanghai Noon'' was written by Alfred ...
'' (2000). Further subdivisions of this subgenre include Westerns based on
ninja A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
s and
samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
s (incorporating
samurai cinema , also commonly spelled "''chambara''", meaning "sword fighting" films,Hill (2002). denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. ''Chanbara'' is a sub-category of '' ...
themes), such as ''
Red Sun ''Red Sun'' (french: Soleil rouge, it, Sole rosso) is a 1971 Franco-Italian international co-production Spaghetti Western film directed by Terence Young and starring Charles Bronson, Toshirō Mifune, Alain Delon, Ursula Andress, and Capucine. ...
'' (1971) with
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...
,
Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; born 8 November 1935) is a French actor and filmmaker. He was one of Europe's most prominent actors and screen sex symbols in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In 1985, he won the César Award for Best Actor for h ...
, and
Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 150 feature films. He is best known for his 16-film collaboration (1948–1965) with Akira Kurosawa in such works as ''Rashomon'', ''Seven Samurai'', ''The Hidden Fortress'', ''Throne of Blood'', and '' ...
.


Musical

There have been many
musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...
s with a Western setting and many musicians have appeared in Western films, sometimes in non-musical roles. Singers
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
and
Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer, known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s and in the CBS tel ...
worked together in ''
Calamity Jane Martha Jane Cannary (May 1, 1852 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, sharpshooter, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits she was known for being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok. Late ...
'', a huge success on release which remains one of the most popular Western musicals. On the other hand, crooner
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
and pop singer
Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...
played the parts of gunfighters in ''
Rio Bravo Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...
'', which is not a musical, although they did combine to sing a couple of songs in the middle of the film while they were guarding the jailhouse.


Narco Western

A subgenre that highlights Mexican narcoculture and portrays drug trafficking and traffickers (real or imagined). Narco Westerns are typically set in
Northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( es, el Norte de México ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California ...
, the Southwest United States, or
on the border ''On the Border'' is the third studio album by American rock group the Eagles, released in 1974. Apart from two songs produced by Glyn Johns, it was produced by Bill Szymczyk because the group wanted a more rock‑oriented sound instead of the c ...
between the two. A relatively new genre, Hilario Peña states the Narco Western is the Western for the "modern age," and that "instead of a horse, the character drives a truck, and instead of fighting
Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
s, the character must defeat criminals and the
federal police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...
in the state of
Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sinaloa), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is d ...
." Examples of Narco Westerns include the American television shows
Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...
and
Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...
, as well as the films '' Miss Bala,
El Infierno ''El Infierno'' ( en, Hell) is a 2010 Mexican crime film produced by Bandidos Films, directed by Luis Estrada and following the line of ''La ley de Herodes''. The film is a political satire about drug trafficking, organized crime, and the Mexica ...
and
Heli Heli, also ''heli'', ''heli-'' may refer to: People *Heli, King of Britain (mythical) *Heli (Bible), listed as an ancestor of Jesus *Heli (name) Places * Heli, Tangyuan County (鹤立镇), town in Tangyuan County, Heilongjiang, China * Heli, Funi ...
.'' They may also come in the form of literature or ''telenovelas''. Narco Westerns often feature narratives of
personal identity Personal identity is the unique numerical identity of a person over time. Discussions regarding personal identity typically aim to determine the necessary and sufficient conditions under which a person at one time and a person at another time can ...
, usually the struggles of a cowboy-like
anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...
, while focusing on themes of life and death, love and loss, greed and desire, and hope and pain. Dry or
dark humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
is sometimes used. Most notably, Narco Westerns frequently showcase graphic portrayals of addiction, violence, and
narcoterrorism Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by t ...
.


Northern

The Northern genre is a subgenre of Westerns taking place in
Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
or Western Canada. Examples include several versions of the
Rex Beach Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American novelist, playwright, and Olympic water polo player. Early life Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, but moved to Tampa, Florida, with his family where his father ...
novel, '' The Spoilers'' (including 1930's '' The Spoilers'', with Gary Cooper, and 1942's '' The Spoilers'', with Marlene Dietrich,
Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...
, and Wayne); ''
The Far Country ''The Far Country'' is a 1954 American Technicolor Western film directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart, Ruth Roman, Walter Brennan, John McIntire and Corinne Calvet. Written by Borden Chase, the film is about a self-minded advent ...
'' (1954) with James Stewart; ''
North to Alaska ''North to Alaska'' is a 1960 comedic Western/Northern film directed by Henry Hathaway and John Wayne (uncredited). The picture stars Wayne along with Stewart Granger, Ernie Kovacs, Fabian, and Capucine. The script is based on the 1939 play ' ...
'' (1960) with Wayne; ''
Death Hunt ''Death Hunt'' is a 1981 Western action film directed by Peter Hunt. The film stars Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Carl Weathers, Maury Chaykin, Ed Lauter and Andrew Stevens. ''Death Hunt'' was a fictionalized account of the Royal ...
'' (1981) with
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war ...
; and ''
The Grey Fox ''The Grey Fox'' is a 1982 Canadian biographical Western film directed by Phillip Borsos and written by John Hunter. It is based on the true story of Bill Miner, an American stagecoach robber who staged his first Canadian train robbery on 10 Se ...
'' (1983) with
Richard Farnsworth Richard William Farnsworth (September 1, 1920 – October 6, 2000) was an American actor and stuntman. He was twice nominated for an Academy Award: in 1978 for Best Supporting Actor for ''Comes a Horseman,'' and in 2000 for Best Actor in ''T ...
.


Ostern

Ostern The Ostern (Eastern; , ''Istern''; or остерн) or Red Western was a film genre created in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc as a variation of the Western films that originated in the United States. The word "Ostern" is a portmanteau derived ...
films were Western-style films produced in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and Socialist Eastern Europe. They were popular in Communist Eastern European countries and were a particular favorite of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
. Osterns are typically divided between "Easterns", which sought to portray an Eastern European analogue to the Wild West set in frontier regions across Eurasia, and "Red Westerns", which were set in the American West but sought to subvert the ideas of
manifest destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...
and other narratives typical of Hollywood Westerns in favor of
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
ideals of
proletarian internationalism Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...
and
class consciousness In Marxism, class consciousness is the set of beliefs that a person holds regarding their social class or economic rank in society, the structure of their class, and their class interests. According to Karl Marx, it is an awareness that is key to ...
. Red Western films usually portrayed the American Indians sympathetically, as oppressed people, fighting for their rights, in contrast to American Westerns of the time, which frequently portrayed the Indians as villains. Osterns frequently featured
Gypsy The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
or Turkic people in the role of the Indians, due to the shortage of authentic Indians in Eastern Europe. Gojko Mitic portrayed righteous, kind-hearted, and charming Indian chiefs (e.g., in '' Die Söhne der großen Bärin'' (1966), directed by
Josef Mach Josef Mach (25 February 1909, in Prostějov – 7 July 1987, in Prague) was a Czech actor, screenwriter and film director. Josef Mach worked as a journalist and stage performer at the beginning of his career, then in 1938 was appointed assistant d ...
). He became honorary chief of the
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
tribe when he visited the United States, in the 1990s, and the television crew accompanying him showed the tribe of one of his films. American actor and singer
Dean Reed Dean Cyril Reed (September 22, 1938 – June 13, 1986) was an American actor, singer-songwriter, director, and social activist who lived a great part of his adult life in South America and then in East Germany. Nicknamed the Red Elvis, Reed was ...
, an expatriate who lived in
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, also starred in several Ostern films. "Eastern" films typically replaced the
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
setting with by an
Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
setting in the
steppes In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
of the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
. Western stock characters, such as "
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
s and Indians", were also replaced by
Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...
stock characters, such as
bandits Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, and murder, either as an ...
and
harems Harem (Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A hare ...
. A famous example of the genre was ''
White Sun of the Desert ''White Sun of the Desert'' (russian: Белое солнце пустыни, Beloye solntse pustyni) is a 1970 Soviet Ostern film. Its blend of action, comedy, music and drama, as well as memorable quotes, made it highly successful at the Russi ...
'', which was popular in the Soviet Union.


Pornographic Western

Pornographic Westerns use the Old West as a background for stories primarily focused on erotica. The three major examples of the porn Western film are
Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...
's
nudie-cutie In film, nudity may be either graphic or suggestive, such as when a person appears to be naked but is covered by a sheet. Since the birth of film, depictions of any form of sexuality have been controversial, and in the case of most nude scenes ...
''
Wild Gals of the Naked West ''Wild Gals of the Naked West'' is a 1962 nudie-cutie Western film written and directed by Russ Meyer and starring Sammy Gilbert, Anthony-James Ryan, Jackie Moran, Terri Taylor, Frank Bolger, and Werner Kirsch. The film is one of the few porn ...
'' (1962), and the hardcore ''
A Dirty Western ''A Dirty Western'' is a 1975 pornographic Western film directed by Joseph F. Robertson and starring Barbara Bourbon. Along with Russ Meyer's nudie-cutie ''Wild Gals of the Naked West ''Wild Gals of the Naked West'' is a 1962 nudie-cutie We ...
'' (1975) and ''
Sweet Savage Sweet Savage are a heavy metal band from Belfast, Northern Ireland, formed in 1979. Future Dio and Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell was an early member. Since forming in 1979, Sweet Savage have released three studio albums, three single ...
'' (1979). ''Sweet Savage'' starred
Aldo Ray Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Studios before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind ...
, a veteran actor who had appeared in traditional Westerns, in a non-sex role. Among videogames, ''
Custer's Revenge ''Custer's Revenge'' (also known as ''Mystique Presents Swedish Erotica: Custer's Revenge'') is an adult action game published by American Multiple Industries for the Atari 2600, first released in November 1982. The game gained notoriety owing t ...
'' (1982) is an infamous example, considered to be one of the worst video games of all time.


Postapocalyptic Western

An offshoot of the Western genre in which a future society, struggling to rebuild after a major catastrophe, is portrayed in a manner very similar to the 19th-century frontier. Examples include ''
The Postman ''The Postman'' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia science fiction novel by David Brin. It is about a man wandering the desolate Oregon countryside who finds a United States Postal Service uniform, which he puts on and then claims he is a mail carri ...
'', the ''
Mad Max ''Mad Max'' is an Australian post-apocalyptic Action film, action film series and media franchise created by George Miller (filmmaker), George Miller and Byron Kennedy. It began in 1979 with ''Mad Max (film), Mad Max'', and was followed by thre ...
'' series, The Rover, and the ''
Fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
'' computer game series.


Ramen Western

First used in the publicity of the film ''
Tampopo is a 1985 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami, and starring Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kōji Yakusho, and Ken Watanabe. The publicity for the film calls it the first "ramen western", a play on the term Spaghetti Weste ...
'', the term "ramen Western" also is a play on words using a national dish. The term is used to describe Western style films set in Asia. Examples include ''
The Drifting Avenger ''The Drifting Avenger'' is a Japanese Western film shot in Australia. It was also known as ''Koya no toseinin''. Cast Ken Takakura as Ken Kato Ken Goodlet as Marvin Judith Roberts as Rosa Kevin Cooney as Mike the boy Ronald Norman L ...
'', ''
Break the Chain "Break the Chain" is a song by Japanese rock band Tourbillon, and was the band's fifth and final single. It was released a year-and-a-half following the release of their second album ''A Tide of New Era'', and was used as the opening theme for the ...
'', ''
Millionaires Express Millionaires Express (, also known as ''Shanghai Express''; released in the Philippines as ''China Warriors'') is a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts western comedy film written and directed by Sammo Hung. The film stars Hung, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan ...
'', '' East Meets West'', Thai movies ''
Tears of the Black Tiger ''Tears of the Black Tiger'' ( th, ฟ้าทะลายโจร, or ''Fa Thalai Chon'', literally, " the heavens strike the thief") is a 2000 Thai action-adventure film written and directed by Wisit Sasanatieng. The story of a tragic roma ...
'' and ''
Dynamite Warrior ''Dynamite Warrior'' ( th, ฅนไฟบิน (modern: คนไฟบิน), Transliteration, translit. Khon Fai Bin) is a 2006 Thai martial arts film, martial arts Western (genre), Western film directed by Chalerm Wongpim and starring Da ...
'', ''
Let the Bullets Fly ''Let the Bullets Fly'' is a 2010 Chinese action comedy film written and directed by Jiang Wen, based on a story by Ma Shitu. The film is set in Sichuan during the 1920s when the bandit Zhang (Jiang Wen) descends upon a town posing as its new gove ...
'', ''
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...
'', ''
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts ''Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts'' ( id, Marlina Si Pembunuh dalam Empat Babak) is a 2017 Indonesian thriller film directed by Mouly Surya based on a story conceived by Garin Nugroho and a screenplay co-written by Surya and Rama Adi. The film ...
'', '' Buffalo Boys'', '' The Good, the Bad and the Weird'' and ''
Sukiyaki Western Django is a 2007 English-language Japanese Western film directed by Takashi Miike. The title of the film refers to the Japanese dish ''sukiyaki'' as well as Sergio Corbucci's Spaghetti Western film '' Django.'' The film was produced by Sedic Internatio ...
''.


Revisionist Western

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Western was reinvented with the
revisionist Western The revisionist Western (also called the anti-Western, sometimes revisionist antiwestern) is a sub-genre of the Western film. Designated a post-classical variation of the traditional Western, the revisionist subverts the myth and romance of the ...
. After the early 1960s, many American filmmakers began to question and change many traditional elements of Westerns, and to make revisionist Westerns that encouraged audiences to question the simple hero-versus-villain dualism and the morality of using violence to test one's character or to prove oneself right. This is shown in Sam Peckinpah's ''The Wild Bunch'' (1969). One major revision was the increasingly positive representation of Native Americans, who had been treated as "savages" in earlier films. Examples of such revisionist Westerns include ''
Ride the High Country ''Ride the High Country'' (released internationally as ''Guns in the Afternoon'') is a 1962 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Mariette Hartley. The supporting cast includ ...
'' (1962),
Richard Harris Richard St John Francis Harris (1 October 1930 – 25 October 2002) was an Irish actor and singer. He appeared on stage and in many films, notably as Corrado Zeller in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Red Desert'', Frank Machin in ''This Sporting ...
' '' A Man Called Horse'' (1970), ''
Little Big Man Little Big Man ( Lakota: Wičháša Tȟáŋkala), or Charging Bear, was an Oglala Lakota, or Oglala Sioux, who was a fearless and respected warrior who fought under, and was distant cousin to, Crazy Horse ("His-Horse-Is-Crazy"). He opposed the 186 ...
'' (1970), ''
Soldier Blue ''Soldier Blue'' is a 1970 American Revisionist Western film directed by Ralph Nelson and starring Candice Bergen, Peter Strauss, and Donald Pleasence. Adapted by John Gay from the novel ''Arrow in the Sun'' by T.V. Olsen, it is inspired by eve ...
(1970),'' ''
Man in the Wilderness ''Man in the Wilderness'' is a 1971 American revisionist Western film about a scout for a group of mountain men who are traversing the Northwestern United States during the 1820s. The scout is mauled by a bear and left to die by his companions ...
'' (1971), ''
The Outlaw Josey Wales ''The Outlaw Josey Wales'' is a 1976 American Revisionist Western film set during and after the American Civil War. It was directed by and starred Clint Eastwood (as Josey Wales), with Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Sam Bottoms, and Geraldin ...
'' (1976), ''
Dances with Wolves ''Dances with Wolves'' is a 1990 American epic western film starring, directed, and produced by Kevin Costner in his feature directorial debut. It is a film adaptation of the 1988 novel ''Dances with Wolves'' by Michael Blake that tells the s ...
'' (1990), ''
Unforgiven ''Unforgiven'' is a 1992 American Revisionist Western film starring, directed, and produced by Clint Eastwood, and written by David Webb Peoples. The film tells the story of William Munny, an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job, ...
'' (1992), '' The Quick and the Dead'' (1995), and ''
Dead Man ''Dead Man'' is a 1995 American acid western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, Gabriel Byrne, Mili Avital, an ...
'' (1995). A television miniseries, '' Godless'' (2016), also fits into this category. A few earlier revisionist Westerns gave women more powerful roles, such as ''
Westward the Women ''Westward the Women'' is a 1951 Western film directed by William A. Wellman and starring Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel and John McIntire. Plot In 1851, Roy Whitman wants to keep the lonely men who live in Whitman's Valley from leaving, so he d ...
'' (1951) starring Robert Taylor. Another earlier work encompassed all these features, '' The Last Wagon'' (1956). In it,
Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, '' Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...
played a white man raised by
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
s and persecuted by
Whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...
, with
Felicia Farr Felicia Farr (born Olive Dines; October 4, 1932) is a American former actress and model Early years Farr was born in Westchester County, New York. She attended Erasmus Hall High School and studied sociology at Penn State. Career Farr bega ...
and
Susan Kohner Susanna "Susan" Kohner (born November 11, 1936) is an American retired actress who worked in film and television. She played Sarah Jane in '' Imitation of Life'' (1959), for which she was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe award. Af ...
playing young women forced into leadership roles.


Science fiction Western

The science fiction Western places science fiction elements within a traditional Western setting. Examples include ''
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter ''Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter'' is a low-budget Western horror film released in 1966, in which a fictionalized version of the real-life western outlaw Jesse James encounters the fictional ''grand''daughter (the film's title notw ...
'' (1965) and ''
The Valley of Gwangi ''The Valley of Gwangi'' is a 1969 American fantasy Western film produced by Charles H. Schneer and Ray Harryhausen, directed by Jim O'Connolly, written by William Bast, and starring James Franciscus, Richard Carlson, and Gila Golan. Creature ...
'' (1969), the latter featuring cowboys and dinosaurs.
John Jakes John William Jakes (born March 31, 1932) is an American writer, best known for American historical and speculative fiction. His Civil War trilogy, ''North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He is also the author of The Kent Famil ...
's ''Six Gun Planet'' takes place on a future planet colonized by people consciously seeking to recreate the Old West (with cowboys riding robot horses...). The movie ''
Westworld ''Westworld'' is an American science fiction- thriller media franchise that began with the 1973 film ''Westworld'', written and directed by Michael Crichton. The film depicts a technologically advanced Wild-West-themed amusement park populat ...
'' (1973) and its sequel ''
Futureworld ''Futureworld'' is a 1976 American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and written by Mayo Simon and George Schenck. It is a sequel to the 1973 Michael Crichton film ''Westworld'', and is the second installment in the ...
'' (1976), ''
Back to the Future Part III ''Back to the Future Part III'' is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the final installment of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Stee ...
'' (1990), ''
Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...
'' (1999), and ''
Cowboys & Aliens ''Cowboys & Aliens'' is a 2011 American science fiction Western action film directed by Jon Favreau and starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde, Sam Rockwell, Adam Beach, Paul Dano, and Noah Ringer. The film is based on the 2006 P ...
'' (2011), and the television series ''Westworld'' (2016, based on the movie). '' Fallout: New Vegas'' (2010) is an example of a video game that follows this format, with futuristic technology and genetic mutations placed among the Western themes and desert sprawl of the Mojave Wasteland.


Singing cowboy Western

A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal
cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...
hero of early Western films. It references real-world
campfire A campfire is a fire at a campsite that provides light and warmth, and heat for cooking. It can also serve as a beacon, and an insect and predator deterrent. Established campgrounds often provide a stone or steel fire ring for safety. Campfires ...
side
ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
s in the
American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...
, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and dangers encountered while pushing cattle for miles up the trails and across the prairies


Space Western

The space Western is a subgenre of science fiction which uses the themes and
tropes Trope or tropes may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Trope (cinema), a cinematic convention for conveying a concept * Trope (literature), a figure of speech or common literary device * Trope (music), any of a variety of different things ...
of Westerns within science-fiction stories. Subtle influences may include exploration of lawless frontiers in deep space, while more overt influences may feature literal cowboys in outer space who use
ray gun A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon that releases energy, usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have variou ...
s and ride robotic horses. Examples include the American cartoon series ''
BraveStarr ''BraveStarr'' is an American space Western animated series that aired 65 episodes from September 1987 to February 1988 in syndication. The show was created a year after Mattel had released a line of action figures. ''BraveStarr'' was the last a ...
'' (which aired original episodes from September 1987 to February 1988), the Japanese
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series ''
Trigun is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow. ''Trigun'' was first serialized in Tokuma Shoten's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Shōnen Captain'' from April 1995 to January 1997, when the mag ...
'' (debuted in 1995), the Japanese
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series '' Cowboy Bebop'' (debuted in 1997), the American television series ''
Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...
'' (created by
Joss Whedon Joseph Hill Whedon (; born June 23, 1964) is an American filmmaker, composer, and comic book writer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and is best known as the creator of several television series: ...
in 2002), and the films ''
Battle Beyond the Stars ''Battle Beyond the Stars'' is a 1980 American space opera film produced by Roger Corman, directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, and starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, John Saxon, Sybil Danning and Darlanne Fluegel. Intended as a ...
'' (1980), which is a remake of ''
The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...
''; '' Outland'' (1981), which is a remake of ''
High Noon ''High Noon'' is a 1952 American Western film produced by Stanley Kramer from a screenplay by Carl Foreman, directed by Fred Zinnemann, and starring Gary Cooper. The plot, which occurs in real time, centers on a town marshal whose sense of ...
''; and ''
Serenity Serenity may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Serenity'' (2019 film), a thriller starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Diane Lane * Sailor Moon (character), also known as Princess Serenity and Neo-Queen Serenity, in the ' ...
'' (2005, based on the ''Firefly'' TV series). The classic Western genre has also been a major influence on science-fiction films such as the original ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...
'' movie of 1977, with 2018's '' Solo: A Star Wars Story'' and 2019's '' Star Wars: The Mandalorian'' more directly featuring Western tropes.
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...
's concept of the TV show ''
Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' was a "''Wagon Train'' to the stars".


Spaghetti Western

During the 1960s and 1970s, a revival of the Western emerged in Italy with the "spaghetti Westerns", also known as "Italo-Westerns". The most famous of them is ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly'', the third film of the
Dollars Trilogy ''Dollars Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia del dollaro), also known as the ''Man with No Name Trilogy'' ( it, link=no, Trilogia dell'Uomo senza nome) or the ''Blood Money Trilogy'', is an Italian film series consisting of three Spaghetti Weste ...
. Many of these films are low-budget affairs, shot in locations (for example, the Spanish desert region of Almería) chosen for their inexpensive crew and production costs, as well as their similarity to landscapes of the Southwestern United States. Spaghetti Westerns were characterized by the presence of more action and violence than the Hollywood Westerns. Also, the protagonists usually acted out of more selfish motives (money or revenge being the most common) than in the classical Westerns. Some Spaghetti Westerns demythologized the American Western tradition, and some films from the genre are considered revisionist Westerns. For example, the Dollars Trilogy itself has much different tropes compared to standard Westerns, demythologizing the Sheriff figure (in ''
A Fistful of Dollars ''A Fistful of Dollars'' ( it, Per un pugno di dollari, lit=For a Fistful of Dollars titled on-screen as ''Fistful of Dollars'') is a 1964 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone and starring Clint Eastwood in his first leading role, a ...
'' and ''
For a Few Dollars More ''For a Few Dollars More'' ( it, Per qualche dollaro in più) is a 1965 Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone. It stars Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef as bounty hunters and Gian Maria Volonté as the primary villain. German actor K ...
''), putting both the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
and the Confederacy in ambiguously moral positions (''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly''), and not featuring Native Americans (except for a brief mention in ''A Fistful of Dollars''). The Western films directed by Sergio Leone were felt by some to have a different tone from the Hollywood Westerns. Veteran American actors Charles Bronson, Lee Van Cleef, and Clint Eastwood became famous by starring in spaghetti Westerns, although the films also provided a showcase for other noted actors such as
James Coburn James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
,
Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and rai ...
,
Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger (; April 14, 1925July 9, 2002, aged 77) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Cited as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars," he is closely assoc ...
,
Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor, equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality. He appeared in over 130 film roles in a c ...
,
Jason Robards Jason Nelson Robards Jr. (July 26, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American actor. Known as an interpreter of the works of playwright Eugene O'Neill, Robards received two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the Cannes ...
, Gian Maria Volonte and
Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...
. Eastwood, previously the lead in the television series '' Rawhide'', unexpectedly found himself catapulted into the forefront of the film industry by Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (the first in the Dollars Trilogy).


Weird Western

The
weird Western Weird West (aka Weird Western) is a term used for the hybrid genres of fantasy Western, horror Western and science fiction Western. The term originated with DC's '' Weird Western Tales'' in 1972, but the idea is older as the genres have bee ...
combines elements of the classic Western with those of other genres, particularly fantasy, horror and science fiction. ''
The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels w ...
'' television series, television movies, and 1999 film adaptation blend the Western with
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
. The ''
Jonah Hex Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is scarred on the ...
'' franchise also blends the Western with superhero elements. The film ''
Western Religion The Western religions are the religions that originated within Western culture, which are thus historically, culturally, and theologically distinct from Eastern, African and Iranian religions. The term Abrahamic religions ( Islam, Christia ...
'' (2015), by writer and director James O'Brien, introduces the devil into a traditional Wild West setting. The ''
Old Man Logan Old Man Logan is an alternative version of the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine. This character is an aged version of Wolverine set in an alternate future universe designated Earth-807128, where the supervillains overthrew the superhe ...
'' (2008–2009) graphic novel combines the elements of superhero and post apocalyptic fiction with Westerns.


References

{{reflist Western (genre) Film genres Literary genres