10 Criminally Underrated Westerns You Must See Before You Die
When a film starring Christian Bale and Rosamund Pike gets overlooked, you know something's wrong...
There aren't many genres that can claim to be as influential - or as prolific - as the Western. Historically unique and epic in scale, these films have birthed legends, introduced cinematic techniques and, perhaps most importantly, have even served a key purpose in taking an introspective approach to American culture and history.
It's a revered genre, one pioneered by the likes of John Ford, Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, but with there being so many Western films, quite a lot have managed to slip beneath the radar - or even fall short of a much-deserved positive consensus.
These 'underrated' Westerns aren't just the unique preserve of the genre's declining years either; instead, they pervade the latter-half of the 20th century, succumbing to anonymity due to either a poor commercial response, or because - when compared to the more famous classics of the genre - they just weren't deemed all that special.
While yes, having a film get lost in the conversation because there are already so many good Westerns is a testament to the genre’s enduring nature, it’s still a shame that quite a lot of films have only found cult success, or, in the case of others, popularity without the acclaim to match.