Traditionally, the western genre has presented a romanticized image of a particular time period in north american history. The frontier society, somewhere between mid and late 1800s, has been portrayed as the basis of contemporary north american civilization, a place where values like honour, loyalty and justice go a long way. Nevertheless, it is widely accepted that this depictions of the old west couldn’t be further from the truth. During the 60s and 70s, in the midst of great social unrest and political turmoil, a new subgenre of Western arised, which would shed a light and put into question all the myths and legends that the classic westerns of old championed. This current would be known as the revisionist western, also known as late or even anti-western (I previously touched upon this subject in my essay On Classic, Anti and Neo Westerns). Whereas previously the heroes and villains were easily distinguishable and traditional values and individualism always thrived over unfairness and cinicism, now the wild west is painted in a much more ambiguous light. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at ten examples of this category and their revisionist aspects. Note: I’m only including american revisionist westerns, that means that Spaguetti/Italo Westerns such as the ones from Leone and Corbucci don’t really qualify, not because they aren’t revisionistic in their own right (they are and very much so), but because I’m interested in the american perspective towards their own history and legends for this piece.

10. High Plains Drifter (Clint Eastwood, 1973)

A film that puts a spin on the classic western plot of a stranger riding into town and joining forces with the townspeople to stop a band of bandits. Its directed by and stars Clint Eastwood as the mysterious drifter, who the people of the town see as their only salvation. Yet, it soon becomes clear that Eastwood’s character is no saint, his actions are far from righteous and he’s driven by a twisted sense of revenge. Eastwood causes more trouble instead of solving it, and the film really shows how this trope of the stoic stranger coming to save the town hides a huge amount of egoism. While the film does ask a little too much of our suspension of disbelief, it is a very well crafted picture and its revisionism hits the nail on the head.

9. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974)

The one film on this list that’s actually light-hearted and a comedy in essence, it doesn’t openly criticize depictions of the old west as much as it satirizes them. It stars Cleavon Little as Bart, the very first black sheriff in the town of Rock Ridge, and Gene Wilder as Jim, also known as the Waco Kid, the only person in town who accepts him initially. The pair go through lots of over the top adventures and ultimately have to stop the attorney general, who plans to destroy the town so a railroad can be built. This film really fits into the postmodern tradition, constantly engaging in meta humour and breaking every fourth wall in sight. Its revisionism stems from the limited portrayal of black communities in classic westerns, an issue they handled with great charm and wacky situations.

8. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)

Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as the infamous outlaw pair Butch Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh, a.k.a. the Sundance Kid, a couple of criminals on the run from the law after a series of train robberies. The two title characters are legends of the west, so the film goes on to deconstruct what makes them legends in the first place. They are supposed to be celebrated gunmen, yet they reject gun violence. When engaged in duels they resort to trickery and conniving, methods that in the classic westerns of old would be considered as dishonourable. Then there’s the famous “Raindrops” scene, which shows a very innocent side to two supposedly hardened criminals. In a very anti-western fashion, the outlaws become the heroes and the law is the corrupt villain.

7. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (Sam Peckinpah, 1973)

In the first and certainly not the last film directed by Sam Peckinpah you’ll see on this list, James Coburn stars as Pat Garrett, the sheriff of Lincoln County, who is assigned to track down his old friend Billy the Kid, played by Kris Kristofferson. The conflict between these two men and their ideologies lie in the center of the film, and through this we see a very gritty and cruel wild west, where ideals like friendship and loyalty are rendered irrelevant through a corrupt legal system. The amazing soundtrack was composed by Bob Dylan, who also stars in the film as a member of the Kid’s gang, yet, while the scene featuring “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” is one of the most iconic scenes in film history, seeing Dylan in the film was kind of distracting and it broke with the immersion, his character doesn’t add much to the story and I think he’s better off as a musician as an actor. However, this shouldn’t detract from the film’s overall quality and its thought provoking material.

6. The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)

Certainly the newest film on this list, you might think that the title reveals everything you need to know about this film, but in truth the story is so rich and nuanced that you have to pay close attention to grasp everything that’s going on. Brad Pitt stars as outlaw Jesse James and Cassey Affleck stars as Robert Ford, a young man whose obsession with the western hero turns deadly. The film is a slow burn, one of the slowest for a western film, yet by the end it becomes clear that Jesse James was not the Robin Hood-type of hero he is made out to be, and Robert Ford is not a coward by any means. A huge staple of the revisionist western subgenre is the deconstruction of legends, and even if this film came out way after the initial wave of anti-westerns, it certainly fits the bill.

5. Ride the High Country (Sam Peckinpah, 1962)

A film that can be considered somewhat of an early late-western, this was one of Peckinpah’s first incursions into wild west territory. While aesthetically it differs to most of the later films that fall into this category, thematically it would pioneer many of the issues that would be explored in later years. It tells the story Steve Judd (Joel McCrea), an ex-lawman, Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott), a once legendary sharpshooter, and Heck Longtree (Ron Starr), Gil’s young apprentice, as they are hired to carry a shipment of gold through the mountains. Along the way they meet a young girl named Elsa (Mariette Hartley), run into trouble and incur into moral debates as to what they should do with the gold. Beyond its portrayal of morally ambiguous heroes, the film tackles a subject characteristic of the late-western: that of aging heroes that cannot cope with the new state of the world.

4. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992)

Clint Eastwood’s second entry in this list and probably the greatest western he ever directed. Eastwood stars as Will Munny, an aging former outlaw who takes on a last job to earn a huge amount of money. He’s assisted by Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman), and they’ll cross paths more than once with sadistic sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett (Gene Hackman). As with the previous entry, this film deals with an aging western “hero” that struggles to come to terms with the current state of the west. Munny isn’t a fast shooter, his hands are shaky and struggles to mount a horse, thus is the idea of the gunslinger (popularized by Eastwood himself) demystified. The main representative of the law in the film is Daggett, a psychopathic figure that’s nonetheless a god-fearing citizen. Logan is a pacifist and doesn’t revel in violence. The film takes a number of classic western tropes and ideals and subverts them, painting a much more grounded picture that the ones we may find in the westerns of the 40s and 50s.

3. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)

The case of this film is particularly interesting, since its directed by John Ford, the man who practically edified many of the tropes and conventions that revisionist westerns would seek to subvert and criticize. It tells the story of Ranse Stoddard (James Stewart), a senator who arrives at a frontier town which is being terrorized by bandit Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin); the only man who stands up to him is Tom Doniphon (John Wayne). After a reluctant start, both men will work together to bring Valance down. Much like the aforementioned “Ride the High Country”, this film might be best described as an early late-western: it plays out in a somewhat traditional fashion, yet by the end the central legend is demystified and, perhaps more importantly in its message, it presents in Stewart’s character the idea of a civilized society that works in accordance with a centralized form of government.

2. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)

Robert Altman famously said once that he despised the western genre, so when he set out to make this film it was no surprise that it would run against all conventions. In the center of the movie is John McCabe (Warren Beatty), a gambler and self-described business man who comes to a frontier town to open a brothel. While his business is doing all right, he meets Constance Miller (Julie Christie), an experienced prostitute who teaches him more than a few things on how to run and expand his business. The pair starts doing pretty well, until a big mining company wants to buy them off. This is probably the film that differentiates itself the most from the rest: its not about outlaws and sheriffs, it doesn’t concern banks or train robberies, nor is it about legends and gunfighters. Instead, it is a film that talks about the economic state of America and how big businesses crush the little man. It is bleak and gritty, yet the cinematography is visually striking and Leonard Cohen’s soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful. I firmly believe that only Altman could’ve pulled off a film like this.

1. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

Peckinpah’s masterpiece and a masterstroke in western revisionism, 1969’s “The Wild Bunch” concerns an aging group of outlaws, who are forced to flee to Mexico after a railroad robbery goes horribly wrong when a former member of the bunch sets them up. It deals with the classic theme of old heroes struggling with the modernized world that surrounds them and has ots to say about the modernization of western society. On one side of the frontier they face a corrupt railroad owner who wants them dead, a sign of the rising corruption in corporate America, and on the other side they face Mapache, a corrupt leader of the mexican army who also wants them dead, a sign of the corruption of institutions. Peckinpah’s aesthetic tackles violence in a very raw and sterilized fashion, putting into question the whole glorification of violence that the westerns of old championed as necessary for society’s progression. The bunch are relics of a much simpler past, yet they refuse to go down quietly and instead choose to fight against this new corrupt world order until their last breath. Aesthetically accomplished, narratively compelling and thematically very thoughtful, Peckinpah’s film is most likely the revisionist western par excellence.

Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it. I recently had to write a paper for university on the subject and learned lots of new perspectives on the matter. There’s certainly many other films that I’ve missed or that I haven’t seen, so feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments. Also, if there’s a good response I could do a similar list for Italowesterns in the future, so do tell me if you might be interested. Anyway, if you could share this with your friends, family or anyone you know that might be interested I would deeply appreciate it, and don’t forget to hit the follow button to stay up to date with this blog’s contents. Until next time!