Comedies have realized the potential of the almost silly seriousness of these tough cowboys, and even horror filmmakers see opportunities for scary stuff taking place in the dusty Wild West. It is no longer only Clint Eastwood who runs the game, it has become a genre with many new players, and with many new innovative plays on the genre.

Indeed, the genre is more alive than it has been for decades.

Whoever thinks that the Western is long dead, is terribly wrong. Related: Best new War & Military movies in 2023 & 2022 (Netflix, Prime, Hulu & Cinema List) Sam Kelly, a middle-aged Aboriginal man, works the land of a kind preacher. It’s 1929 on the vast, desert-like, Eastern Arrernte Nation lands that are now known as the Central Australian outback. Sweet Country DIRECTOR: Warwick Thornton CAST: Bryan Brown, Luka Magdeline Cole, Shanika Cole, Matt Day Well, it’s not too hard to imagine what great things Tarantino can create with these ingredients. King Schultz, which is another magnificent (and Academy Award winning role) by Christopher Waltz. He’s helped by a peculiar bounty hunter named Dr. Django is a former slave determined to revenge his former owners and to free his enslaved girlfriend. (Remember Inglorious Basterds’ brilliant opening scene?) The story is simple. Django Unchained is his first proper Western, although many of his earlier films borrowed a fair amount of the genres’ features. But that doesn’t say it’s only a gimmick. Known as a cinephile extraordinaire, he pays homage to dozens of genres, films and directors within his work. The word ‘pastiche’ almost seems to be invented for Quentin Tarantino’s films. Read moreĭjango Unchained DIRECTOR: Quentin Tarantino CAST: Jamie Foxx Tommy Lee Jones established himself as one of Hollywood’s most interesting directors with this outstanding feature film. The Homesman is stunningly shot and succeeds wonderfully at shifting between hilarious, dark comedy and truly gripping drama. Jones himself plays an opportunistic claim jumper who accompanies Marry Bee after a weird twist of faith. Hillary Swank, in an impressive lead, is Mary Bee Cuddy, a somewhat quaint young unmarried woman who takes the task of escorting three mentally ill women through the vast and dangerous plains to the nearest asylum. The genre suits Jones, so to say, as The Homesman is one of the most interesting films of 2014, and the definitely the best western of 2014 I’ve seen so far. In 2005 actor-turned-director Tommy Lee Jones surprised friend and foe with the surprisingly strong neo-Western The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. The Homesman DIRECTOR: Tommy Lee Jones CAST: Tommy Lee Jones

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