10 Under-Appreciated Westerns To Watch While You Wait For Red Dead Redemption 2

It's not all Dollars and True Grit...

Westworld Cowboy Ed Harris
HBO

Fads are funny old things aren't they? Remember when everyone played Pokemon Go. Or had a Tamagotchi. Or considered Donald Trump a funny reality TV star...?

The same rings true for the Western then; once the most popular Hollywood genre, its popularity diminished over the years before two revivals (the second of which we're in the midst of).

What goes around comes around and some of the biggest gaming news of the year saw Rockstar Games see the light and realize they could just print money by developing a new instalment in the Red Dead series. It seems to have slipped in quite comfortably amidst positive reviews from both audience and critics alike for Westworld and the box office success of Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven.

So, now's the perfect time to dive back into the Old West. But nobody needs to be told to watch Unforgiven, The Dollars Trilogy or The Searchers, because any self-respecting fan has seen them all. It's better instead to help everyone discover classics they might not have found already.

After all, how will you discover new classics if you just stick to the oft repeated ones? Here are the dusty gems of the Western genre you need to watch to get hyped for Red Dead Redemption...

10. Tombstone

Westworld Cowboy Ed Harris
Entertainment Film

Brought to you by the same writer/director combo who brought us Rambo First Blood Part II, 1993’s Tombstone highlights events in the life of Wyatt Earp and his brothers who arrive in Tombstone in the hope of settling down.

The peaceful lifestyle of the Earps wouldn’t make for an interesting two hours however so thankfully there’s plenty of confrontations with a group of outlaws and the films antagonists, The Cowboys. Tombstone is a gripping ride that incorporates developing relationships, confirming friendship, loyalty, brotherhood and includes the infamous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

Looking at Tombstone’s cast almost reads like a who’s who of early 90’s cinema. Wyatt Earp is played by action movie favourite Kurt Russell and his brothers Virgil and Morgan played by Sam Elliot and Bill Paxton respectively.

The show may be stolen though by the portrayal of Doc Holliday expertly played by Val Kilmer whose wry humour in the face of potential death may make him your favourite character in the film. Other notable names include Dana Delaney, Powers Boothe, Stephen Lange, Michael Rooker and Michael Biehn and that’s not even the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this film.

Not to be confused with Kevin Costner’s ‘Wyatt Earp’ (who coincidentally had originally been attached to this version) as unlike this film, feels every bit of its running time. Oh and an added bonus, all those glorious moustaches are real. Fantastic.

Contributor
Contributor

Forever cursed with having one t in Matthew due to an error made by his parents on his birth certificate; young Mathew made a pact with the devil to absorb as much useless pop culture trivia he could in exchange for a social life. He now vows to use that knowledge to at least some use by contributing articles to WhatCulture...