10 Most Ambitious Westerns Movies Ever Made

Jim Jarmusch's self-described 'psychedelic western' is surely one of the most idiosyncratic approaches to the genre and one which pays particular attention to an accurate and especially well researched portrayal of Native American cultures, a regrettable rarity in the genre.

William Blake (Johnny Depp) finds himself wanted dead or alive after an unfortunate series of events in the mining town to which he has just arrived, not to mention the bullet in the chest he's taken. Featuring an eclectic cast of actors and musicians, with Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, John Hurt, and Crispin Glover to name just a selection, this strange, postmodern approach to the western is certainly the most unusual offering on this list.

For all its irregular and surrealistic elements, one of Dead Man's most ambitious aspects is, ironically, its commitment to realism and accuracy with regards to the depiction of Native American characters and cultures. In particular, there are untranslated conversations and in-jokes for Blackfoot and Cree speakers, as well as Farmer's scene-stealing turn as Nobody; Farmer himself is of Cayuga descent. In a genre which often resorts to the laziest stereotypes of indigenous peoples, this commitment to accuracy as well Dead Man's more eccentric elements marks it as one of the genre's most ambitious efforts.