Westworld: 10 Key Offbeat Westerns To Watch Next
5. Outland
Barely-remembered sci-fi action thriller Outland may appear as far from the Western genre as it's likely to get. It plays out on Jupiter's moon Io and stars a Scotsman, Sean Connery. But it may surprise you to learn the film is a loose remake of cowboy staple High Noon.
Using corporate misdeeds as a replacement for the cattle baron or tobacco-spitting outlaw, the story positioned Connery's Federal Marshal at the centre of a conspiracy to boost miner productivity with drugs, overseen by corrupt boss Peter Boyle.
Boyle despatched hired killers to bump off Connery, mirroring the position of Gary Cooper in the Fifties source material.
Director Peter Hyams opted for deep space when his true ambition to make something about the Old West was met with a less than enthusiastic response from studio backers. He cleverly saw the similarity between the lawless frontier of the past and uncharted territory of the future.
It didn't set the box office alight, yet Outland remains a fascinating sidestep in the Western's history.