10 Westerns You Need To Watch After Playing Red Dead Redemption 2

Whether or not you've reached the end of Red Dead Redemption 2, you've no doubt fallen in love with the American Old West. Rockstar's sprawling tale of an outlaw gang in decline against the onslaught of ever-encroaching capitalism and corruption is elegiac, heartfelt and nothing short of breathtaking.

That being said, a great deal of people remain under the misconception that the western is an outdated, distasteful institution full of whooping savages and colonial jingoism. They're not entirely wrong, as up until the 1960s the western was (mostly) just that.

During the sixties and seventies, however, things started to change. Opinions on America's history evolved, and the idea of "The Wild West" shifted from glorious conquest to brutal genocide, and the genre began to reflect this - whether directly or figuratively.

The Red Dead Redemption series draws inspiration from the entire spectrum of Western fiction - from the enduring classics to the more complex works of the modern day. So let's have ourselves a little look at some of the films that helped to shape Red Dead into the masterpiece that it is.

Whilst hardly a surprising entry, Sergio Leone's three-hour Civil War epic undoubtedly set the tone for westerns for decades to come.

Serving as a prequel to Leone's first two entries in The Dollars Trilogy, We follow Clint Eastwood's now legendary Man With No Name (who is actually named in all three films) on the hunt for a cache of Confederate gold buried somewhere in New Mexico. It's a sprawling masterpiece, taking our (anti)hero(es) over deserts, through volatile border towns and chaotic battlefields on their quest.

Eastwood oozes cool as Blondie (The Good), but it's Eli Wallach's deuteragonist Tuco Ramírez (The Ugly), and Lee Van Cleef as villain Angel Eyes (The Bad, predictably enough), who really shine throughout the film.

Tuco is an uncouth loudmouth with no regard for dignity or personal hygiene - of course, that's what makes him relatable. His swivel-eyed, paranoid energy is a joy to watch. Angel Eyes, on the other hand, is utterly terrifying - he tails the duo like a gathering stormcloud, dispatching everyone who stands between him and them. He feels like some nightmarish 19th century version of a T-800, and it could be argued that if he didn't have such little screen time in comparison to Blondie and Tuco, he'd have stolen the show.

Leone's direction is, as ever, stunning. Huge vistas juxtapose perfectly with his trademark use of extreme close-ups to add a palpable sense of dread to every impending moment of violence.