15 Most Underrated Western Films Of All Time

Directed by Michael Apted, this shockingly underrated contemporary western follows Val Kilmer’s by-the-book FBI rookie as he investigates a murder on Indian reservation land and, as he gradually and begrudgingly warms to the locals, uncovers a conspiracy to steal their resources by a faceless, amoral corporation.

This thoughtful and tense thriller, based on 1973’s real-life Incident at Wounded Knee, takes its time to get going, moving at a leisurely pace as the viewer is slowly integrated into life on the reservation and begins to understand the plight of the locals. Thunder Heart interrogates questions of race, nationality, and identity with grace and humour, offering an unsparing and tragically realistic depiction of modern American corporate warfare and its human cost, but saving time for a brilliant, uplifting ending.