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

You might need a bit of a comfy chair for this one but trust me when I tell you that 'The Big Country' is well worth the watch and upon my first viewing, the time flew by. Opening with a theme you might recognize off a McDonalds advert, The Big Country tells the tale of James McKay (Gregory Peck) as he acclimatizes himself with the ways of the American West and is both awestruck and horrified at what he discovers around him.

McKay is thrust between a bitter feud involving a rich ranch owner,whose daughter he is engaged to and a poor ranching clan. He falls in love with the country around him finding it truly breathtaking but disapproves of the behavior around him such as needling from a growling Charlton Heston who plays a ranch hand and the growing tensions between the two factions.

McKay ultimately attempts to play peacekeeper but attempts end in heartache, greed and eventually casualties. The cinematography is simply staggering here as you appreciate what McKay sees around him and Peck plays the hero as only he can in epics such as these.

Fun fact: Some of the lines uttered in the film by Burl Ives are recaptured in Ren & Stimpy during the infamous 'Happy Happy Joy Joy' song, which certainly adds a new layer of depth to that ditty.