If you count the two actors that played the Ford's there were 4 sets of brothers in the movie. To me using actor brothers to play brothers is what makes this movie.
As an unusual Millennial-aged female, whose favorite movie genre IS Classic Westerns, it is such a joy to have found this video and be able to read 400 other comments from people who love classic Western movies, too. I revel in our shared dorkiness of the love of Western films! 🤠🍻
Long Riders was also very authentic in its portrayal of the lives of James/Younger gang,the uneven look of glass,the way a body moved when struck by a bullet. Walter Hill did an excellent job.
AGREED! GREAT movie. Also liked Kevin Costner as Wyatt Earp-who wasn't the squeaky clean hero of myth and legend...and don't forget the great 'Mini Series', Hatfields and McCoys again, with Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton
'The Gunfighter' is an underappreciated gem. I watched it for the first time on TCM earlier this year. It's a wonderful character study; Gregory Peck is excellent as always. So many films and TV Westerns have inaccurately portrayed legendary figures over the years, even to the point where the actors look nothing like the characters they're portraying. Thank you for this great list! 7:30
The Gunfighter bore no resemblance to a real historical figure. The main character portrayed by Peck is “Jimmy Ringo” a married gunslinger trying to settle down, meet his son and convince his schoolmarm wife he’s changed! The real historic John Ringo died outside of Tombstone, AZ (reputedly) by his own hand! Still a great movie and maybe good accurate costumes etc. but not even close in accuracy.
I'm happy that you didn't include Young Guns in this list even though you showed a picture of that movie in the intro. That movie was totally ridiculous as far as authenticity goes in every aspect.
I'm a fan of Sergio Leone. He delivered great attention to detail. In the movie "Once upon a time in the west" he was asked where he got the idea to use dusters for the horsemen, as it appeared to be uncommon at the time in other westerns. His reply was, "American History Books".
Props for the Culpepper Cattle Company, a gritty, marvelous and much unappreciated film from an era of vast experimentation, including westerns (Monte Walsh, Will Penny, Soldier Blue - kinda, Ballad of Caleb Hogue, Little Bog Man and others). I would add Open Range.
Sergio Leone said of this film: "People wouldn't buy it. Why? Because they didn't find in it what they were looking for: the fable." He knew very well that westerns were about the myth, not reality.
The Coen Brothers paid great attention to detail in "True Grit", to both the novel and the historical accuracy. Great accuracy in "Last of the Mohicans" -- eastern New York state "western"??
@@spikespa5208 Exactly. The word 'frontier would be better than 'western'. I like to think of the "Western" genre of literature and movies as beginning at the end of the Civil War, and is very much a result of that war. What's interesting is that when the genre began, they were *contemporary* stories set in some faraway exotic place called "The West". Over the years, they became stories of the past. The "Wild West" was a fantasy from the very beginning.
@@shaggybreeks I think the "West"ern frontier was wild. A place where one could easily get killed and no one else would ever know about it. Not that "civilization" in those days (or today, for that matter) was all that safe either.
I too noticed many of these things you pay attention to. I study film I don’t just watch it. Last of Mohicans grabbed me hard the first and 25th time I’ve watched it. Its the details that grab me. I marvel at the accuracy and textures chosen for wardrobe often. And nowadays I really enjoy an old western movie that has been re-touched meticulously. Just last night I was in awe of The Man from Laramie and the detail in the costumes. Also, the acting or not acting of Jimmy Stewart.. bring us more.. And yes Geronimo was spectacular.. you picked some real goodies..
I agree with your selections! However, I would add “Open Range” for the costuming sets and dialogue and the final shoot out! Just my opinion! Lee Marvin’s “Monte Walsh” is a great choice! Even though Moms Cass’s music was a modern song if captured the feeling of the movie!
Well, if you ignore Costner firing 14 shots from a 6-shot revolver, Open Range is excellent. Also, love the sound when both barrels of the shotgun go off in the bar. It would be about that loud in real life, although more than a few people in that bar would have been holding their ears, lol.
@@majorsynthqed7374 Very good points! Hollywood has an allergy to reloading without script significance! Maybe Costner, who is very firearm savvy was paying tribute to all those old westerns? Nice “talking” to you!
I liked the scene where Jack Palance was clerking in his new wife's hardware store and played the gentleman with a female customer. (People on the frontier were often reinventing themselves...)
The Searchers is based upon the true-life story of Cynthia Ann Parker. Not only that, my great great great great grandmother was taken by the Delaware Indians. Finally, several hostages were re-taken, so families went to claim them. It had been so long that my great great great great great grandmother could not identify her. Then a girl started singing a song. It was the song her mother had sung to her many years earlier. So, she was brought back to her family.....and I'm here to prove it!
@@murphy13295 The last home Ben Johnson lived in is about 1/2 mile from where we live. We ride our bikes by there several times a week, and always yell "Hi Ben!" He was great, and one reason is what you said: He was a real cowboy. And he had such a nice manner to him.
Wes Studi was perfect for his Indian roles in The Last of the Mohicans as well as his starring role as Geronimo. Speaking of The Last of the Mohicans, Daniel Day Lewis was excellent as Hawkeye.
Wes Studi should be better known as an actor. You could say he was most responsible for finally making the portrayal of Native Americans realistic in film after decades of cartoonish portrayals. He avoided both the "Savage Red Skin" and the "Noble Red Man" cliches for more rounded and subtle portrayals.
Wes Studi remains one of my favorite "villains" which he was not. Just a leader looking after his people and dishes out some FAFO to his enemies. You see his humanism when he reaches out to stop the girl from killing herself. I read the book several years prior to the movie which was beautifully done. I picked up the book in a used bookstore around 1985 with an inscription written from a father to his son some time abound 1862. The book was pretty well preserved and the penmanship of the inscription is absolutely beautiful.
From the comments, it must be comforting to know how many folk are invested enough in your video to offer thoughts as to how to improve it. It rather reminds me of the scientific method. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to learn by sharing!
@bravehome4276, your point of view is a good way to look at feedback. It's easy enough to review Hollywood hype, but it's harder and more worthwhile to emphasize the reality of the West and this support education. 😊
@@kenhoyer8601 Bruce Dern was one of the best of the villains. Without him the good guys wouldn't have looked so good. He made a lot of money playing bad guys.
Paint Your Wagon is a fairly good picture of a goldrush mining camp as well as a fun musical. The 2004 Alamo is the best version but it assumes the de La Pena diary is accurate about David Crockett's death -- Billy Bob Thorton's Crockett is a human and realistic portrayal.
That's basically what I said above about the Alamo remake. Col de la Pena had chronic Maliaria attacks, the de la Pena papers were written in five different hands. At the time of "dictating" those papers, the colonel wasn't in his own mind. The remake was nothing but an early attempt to rewrite history.
The wrangler for Tombstone said that the director listened and adjusted everything he identified as period to the times. He said that rarely happened in all the films he had done. Also of note, the beginning of the remake of True Grit looked like it came right out of an old photograph. I also appreciate the look and craziness of Ft. Worth in the series 1883.
When discussing Ulzana’s Raid you seem to refer to Al Sieber as a literary creation. He was a real person, depicted in Geronimo by Robert Duvall (although his death in a saloon gunfight is inaccurate) and by John McIntyre in Apache (1954) which is a true story that Hollywood should revisit.
Correct, I just brought that up in a post that I could have saved myself some typing had I noticed your's first, I even mentioned Duvall's portrayal of him in Geronimo: An American Legend and the fact that the portrayal of his death in that movie is incorrect, it's been a while since I read about him but I'm pretty sure he eventually retired and lived to be an old man. He was also an immigrant that was born in Germany and I believe came to America as a youth when his parents immigrated to the States, he might even have participated in the Civil War.
Last of the Mohicans isn't really a western in the classic sense, but damn that scenery in the Blue Ridge Mountains (where it was actually filmed) is beautiful. Also, what a musical score!
Thank you for not drooling all over Tombstone the way people do, pretending it’s in any way accurate!!! Entertaining and enjoyable to watch, certainly!!!
Tombstone is accurate in one respect… the last duel… in real western life, the shootout were usually very close. Unlike the perfect last duel of the Great Leone’s The Good the bad and the ugly, were they would have missed 9 times out of ten.
Most accurate in makeup, and dress than ANY 'Hollywood type' cowboy movie ever made, win by mustaches alone! Selleck as Quigley 2nd most accurate lookin cowboy of the 1800s, (80% had mustaches back then, was the style.) Hollywood never got it right until tombstone of how they dressed, And wore their hats ,and type of hats worn
Once read an eye witness account of the O.K. Corral shootout. It lasted 38 seconds by the man's watch and the Earp side used sawed of shotguns to open the dance. A miracle all the Cowboys weren't killed in the first blast.
Good job. Your appreciation of "money and pain" Pudgy McCabe refreshes hope that "the little guy" can still survive the relentless onslaughts of big corporations. Aloha, Lahaina.
Good list. I like westerns with historically accurate dress, including hats worn. I cannot watch a western with modern western hats portrayed in an 1800’s time period. But I would recommend the movie “Appaloosa” and Lonesome Dove should be on the list.
Good call on these movies. Some of us do appreciate it when they get it right with weapons, clothing, decor. Most of the times they get some of it correct and rarely do they check all the boxes. Monte Walsh is one of them. They do a good job on the bunkhouse scenes in Yellowstone. I watch Tombstone every time it is on but Wyatt Earp is an intelligently executed movie. Both actors playing Doc Holliday did fantastic work capturing the character. The Shootist did a fine job capturing the change in the West. It has been a while since I last saw it but Lonely are The Brave is one of my all time favorite "western".
Check out "Old Henry". In my opinion this is one f the most accurate portrayals of the last of the old-west outlaws. Extremely accurate gun fights. An excellent watch overall.
I watch The Gunfighter every few months. Little Big Man,Monte Walsh,man you've inspired me to watch a few that I haven't seen for awhile. Thanks. Mcabe and Mrs Miller incredible.
Ride With The Devil is grossly inauthentic for showing Colt and Remington pattern revolvers with brass frames. Those manufacturers never made their revolvers with brass frames, but used steel for its long wearing properties. After the War of Southern Treason broke out, the South was desperate for arms. It did make very small numbers of revolvers with brass frames, but even then they were rarely encountered. This movie also shows felt or paper wads evident in the chamber as the revolver is pointed. It could be lubricant such as lard, but such a practice was nearly unknown in the Old West. Soldiers, explorers and others who depended upon their revolver to fire when called upon most often used candle tallow or beeswax dripped in a thin seal around the bullet, not so much for lubricant but to ensure moisture didn't enter the chamber and damage the powder. After percussion caps were seated, candle tallow or beeswax were applied over the caps, but only a small amount, again to seal against moisture. Cap and ball revolvers remained in regular use beyond their replacement with cartridge revolvers in the early 1870s. Scrap lead, percussion caps and a fine-grained powder could keep these old revolvers running, whereas cartridges were manufactured at plants on the east coast and had to be shipped by freight trains, ship, or trains. Cartridges might reach St. Louis or San Francisco, but if you lived in a small town off the beaten track they were difficult to find. It took years for roads and train tracks to be improved enough for the regular, reliable shipments of cartridges to arrive at distant towns and outposts. I suspect that cap and ball revolvers were in regular use into the 1880s. Their popularity waned until the mid 1950s and 1960s, when the approaching 100th anniversary of the War Between the States was on the horizon, and finally arrived. They remain popular today. If well made, they can be more accurate than most 9mm semi-autos.
I have always noticed that in many of those westerns from the 50’s and 60’s the male actors had modern hair cuts and were clean shaven. If you’re a cowboy out on the range how do you get a haircut and a shave so frequently. Also in many of those movies people get hit with one arrow or stabbed once with a knife and die instantly. Personally although it was a TV series not a movie I think that Deadwood was very realistic in its characters, costumes and how they cut throats from behind in Al’s Saloon and feed them to the hogs to get rid of the corpse.
Shane was released in 1953 not 1951. 1951 was when it began filming. It wrapped within the same year and director George Stevens spent a year and a half in post-production.
What's wrong with: Paint Your Wagon, Blazing Saddles, Evil Roy Slade, The Three Amigos, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, Support Your Local Sheriff, or Shanghai Noon? They should be on this list somewhere, surely?
I have difficulty enjoying westerns like "Tombstone", because I spend all my time wondering, "Damn, who does their tailoring and laundry out there on the plains?"
Great list :-) Just keep in mind that NO movie can be historically accurate, it can only be "inspired by". There are more reasons for this; 1. movies are made for Entertainment! - not as history lessons, 2. Movies typically only show perceptions of the truth based on the point of views of the filmmakers (producers, directors and actors) ... just add a few reasons.... Having said that - I agree with your list and I would also add How the West was Won (1962) and Young Guns (1988) - not for the portraits of events and individuals, but for how the period is visualised.
Not an expert on this subject but I did see an episode of the late 50's western TV series called 'Wanted Dead Or Alive'. I note that in the episode the time frame was six years after the civil war which I believe put it at around 1871. Just about all the characters were carrying 1873 Colt SAA revolvers they got from their time in the Army. Correctly, they should have had Colt 1860 Army or Colt 1851 Navy cap and ball revolvers or Remington variants. Possibly even 1858 conversion models.
What was more insane about that show was the cut down rifle was a 44-40 and he carried 45-70 rounds which although looked cool ( the reason they were on his belt ), the rifle even if chambered for those long rounds would have been limited to 2-3 rounds in the tubular mag at best.
Not really sure how historically accurate this westerns are, but I’d put Once Upon A Time In The West, Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid(1973) and Rio Bravo in any western list😅✌️
Great video and while a good movie 'Bad Company' is not really correct when it comes to its revolvers. The boys, outlaws and posse all have cartridge revolvers which would of been extremely scarce and expensive during this time period. Also most cartridge revolvers at this time would of been rim or pin fired cartridges that were smaller calibers and not .45 Colt shown in the movie which used center fire cartridges.
What's inaccurate about that film is that are virtually no references to Morgan Freeman's character being black. Surely he'd have suffered appalling racial abuse.
My understanding is Clint Eastwood didn't allow the women to wear any makeup, and the women would make sure none of the others were wearing any either.
My fav westerns and 'hollywood cowboy' movies, Shane, searchers, union pacific, dodge city, elpaso, tombstone, lonesome dove, dig actors john wayne, Randolph Scott, and Errol Flynn as hollywood cowboys
Clearly the early 70s was enjoying a Western revival, mostly because of Leone's movies and the fact that directors were fond of using the genre as a metaphor for the Vietnam War: case in point, the severely underrated "Ulzana's Raid". Another underrated film from later was Ang Lee's "Ride with the Devil". This may be the only survey I've seen that speaks well of it. Jewel can't act, but check it out anyway.
5:50 Combat during the Plains Indian Wars was pretty much summed up in that kind of long patrol. It was rare for an Indian war party to number more than 10-15. They were usually young men who, most often, were just out to get a reputation as a fighter and for loot in the form of horses and guns rather for a politically motivated creed. Trying to track them down was the main problem as, if they got caught or just tired and hungry from having been chased long enough, they'd usually surrender and get escorted back to their tribe. That's one of the reasons Geronimo earned the grudging respect of the Americans as he fought a dedicated campaign to preserve his tribe's territory. It's also why he was also deeply hated because of the killings of isolated farmers and ranchers he'd committed over the years. But, as the old military saying goes, never say never and never say always. Some of the biggest failures of the US Army in the west, including the Battle of Little Big Horn, happened when the entire tribe's fighting force turned out rather than the equivalent of the tribe's gang bangers.
In Ride with the Devil they used brass frame 1858 Remington New Army revolvers and brass 1851 Navy's guns that never existed. I know a historical advisor who tried to tell the director that but was over ruled.
The makeup for "LIttle Big Man" was provided by the little-known, by today's standards, Dick Smith. He is considered the Godfather of Makeup Effects by Tom Savini, Stan Winston, Rick Baker, etc. Also many Native American's say their portrayals in many of these films are historically inaccurate. I suggest readers watch documentaries as well as movies. And Black Cowboys are very rarely mentioned.
Good list of movies - but I think you’ve got a scene from “The Spikes Gang” mixed in with your segment on “The Culpepper Cattle Company.” Both were “realistic” westerns starring Gary Grimes, who was excellent in both. He didn’t come off nearly as well in “Cahill, United States Marshal” with John Wayne, probably due to an inferior script and direction.
Al Seiber was not a literary figure, he was a real life scout for the Army, although I believe his death as portrayed by Robert Duvall in Geronimo: An American Legend is incorrect he was indeed involved with the tracking down and capture of Geronimo after he fled the reservation he was forced to live on. Just as a note, the clip of actors Lee Marvin and Gary Grimes shooting it out with each other at the end of the bit where you talk about The Culpepper Cattle Company isn't from that movie, it's from The Spikes Gang which is a severely under rated mid 70's (1974) western that also starred a young Charles Martin Smith the year after being brought to the attention of the public for his portrayal of Toad in American Graffiti.
I can’t accept that two men shooting each other repeatedly at such close range didn’t stop either one from continuing. I know it can happen, but those 45 slugs just pulverized flesh. Not to mention the shock. Again, those things have happened, but it is extremely rare. 99.9% of people would be knocked unconscious by the force at that range. Not to mention, they wouldn’t be shooting each other in the shoulder and arms and such. At that distance even those guns back then could easily hit a man in the head. Also, the black powder smoke was MUCH thicker than shown in almost any movie. My brother inlaws father was around back then, and heheh said even at ten feet away they had to step to the side to see if they had hit the other guy. In a small room like that one or two shots would have clouded the air to the point that you couldn’t see a thing. He showed us an 1868 revolver that two boys, 11 and eight used to kill a real gun for hire the railroad company had hired to kill their father after he did the killing.
Ditto Rode Withe Devil, another marvelous depiction of one of the darkest parts of a dark War Between the States. I remember Robert F. Maxwell;s review (director of Gettysburg and God and Generals) noting the pinpoint accuracy of the langues of the era. Awesome cast.
@@tudyk21 It shows his versatility as an actor.I found him completely believable in the role of a teenager swept into this brutal conflict. The entire cast is excellent
At that time, they weren’t called “Texans”. They called themselves “Texians”. Only later did residents of the State of Texas refer to themselves as “Texans”.
SEE LIST THAT FOLLOWS I'm no pro at authenticity, but no expense was spared for the 1883 series (Yellowstone prequel) - the producers had an amazing death grip on authenticity and a big enough budget to make it all happen. Authentic covered wagons - not recreations. Native American consultants for each of the tribes encountered on the Fort Worth to Oregon wagon train journey. Bundles spent on period-perfect costumes - one scene featuring over 400 extras and no CGI. Also have to mention Westward The Women, Wagon Master, and the B-movie The Outrider for it's wagon train river crossing. Surprised The Revenant didn't make the list, along with Jeremiah Johnson, A Man Called Horse, The Ox-Bow Incident, The Long Riders, Hombre, Heartland and Unforgiven. Probably not accurate enough, but looking good: Tombstone, Quigley Down Under, Open Range and Once Upon A Time In The West.
At 1:41 Gregory Peck has his gun in his left hand but his empty holster is on his right hip. Also what about "Will Penny"? Really showed the itinerant lifestyle of cowboys as they drifted from one ranch to the next looking for work. Then there is "Cheyenne Autumn" or "A Man Called Horse".
I have a video on the 'A Man called Horse' trilogy in my channel. Will Penny is in a couple videos like Charlton Heston Westerns video. Cheyenne Autumn also mentioned in James Stewart Westerns video
But was Peck left-handed in other scenes? You're right about the cross-draw. It was faster than a same-side draw because it could be done in a single move.
A cross draw is slower than the strong side draw, but can be done from a sitting position that makes a strong side draw difficult. I myself use a cross draw as in a shoulder holster when CC. Many people criticize the cross draw because you "sweep" anyone to the drawing side as you draw the gun from the holster, the same criticism when using a shoulder holster. I take very extra care when drawing the gun and keep the muzzle down and twist it prior to presenting it to the target. @@jeromepudwill
I'm glad you left out Unforgiven! It was praised for being so realistic, but it wasn't, because cowboys didn't treat women like that. Still a good movie.
There are surely a lot of fantastic films on this list. But “Assassination of Jesse James” towers above them all. I’m glad you saved that for #1. You really know your stuff.
I agree with all, though I don't know if I would call Last of the Mohicans a western. Great movie, don't get me wrong, I just wouldn't classify it as western.
I always liked "The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid". Haven't seen for a while, but as I remember it the costumes seemed realistic, and the cowboys looked dirty.
I have seen most of the ones on here. I agree and shall endeavor to watch the ones I have not. The first movie I saw that I thought was close to realistic was The Little Big Man. I LOVED that movie and still do. Another not mentioned was Jeremiah Johnson. I don't claim to be an expert of the time or costumes, but I would think it was pretty close. Another that comes to mind for me is Will Penny. If I am gonna watch a period piece, like a Western, by God I want it to be as real as possible. Thank you. Great list here!
I think Mattie Ross’ dialogue with the horse trader is great. The land lady charges her a nickel for a sack to put her Father’s gun in…The undertaker says it would be alright to sleep in the mortuary and to kiss the corpse… Great acting and dialogue all around.
I’ve only seen Shane but you got me interested in the last two The Alamo & TAoJJ&tCRF. Should of included True Grit (2010)with Jeff Bridges/Matt Damon. Seemed pretty authentic.
thanks for including shane i'm named after alan ladd, even have the cap gun from the movie, with alans name on it. the scenery and the soundtrack of the film are unrivaled, in my opinion.
Storyyline accuracy notwithstanding, Tombstone and Wyatt Earp seem to me to capture the mood and place, particularly the "mixed usage zoning" of the town of Tombstone in Wyatt Earl with its tent saloon. It's been a while since I've watched them, time to do another back-to-back viewing and argue over who was the best Doc Holiday.
Will Penny is a 1968 American Western film written and directed by Tom Gries and starring Charlton Heston, Joan Hackett and Donald Pleasence. Not listed in video.
Another great list focusing on Westerns ... my favorite out of this bunch is Ulzana's Raid ... I'm still going through your video library , liked your Aussie western reviews , been trying to find some of the 'bush ranger' films on dvd ...I recently got a copy of 'The Legend of Ben Hall' on dvd , great movie ... have you done a compilation of comedy westerns yet ? Keep the Westerns alive , keep up the good work !
