5 Best Western War Movies Of All Time, Ranked

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Few genres have proven as enduring throughout cinema history as the Western, which dominated the first century of film. Almost as popular is the war movie, as directors of all generations have dramatized the conflicts that have plagued America throughout its young history. So it stands to reason that the Western war movie would be some kind of magical combination.

Of course, these films are somewhat limited to the American Civil War, as many of the U.S.'s foreign entanglements don't exactly lend themselves to stories of men on horseback. When done right, these can be among not only the best war movies of all time, but also qualify as one of the Westerns you need to see before you die. In that way, they represent the very best dad cinema has to offer.

In making our picks of the best Western war movies, we selected films that could fit on best-of lists for either Western or war movies, then decided which five encapsulated the best of both. In ranking them, we factored in Rotten Tomatoes scores, but also tried examining each film's legacy. We asked ourselves three questions: (1) How often is it replayed on television and streaming?; (2) How likely are you to rewatch it?; and (3) How effectively does it blend its two distinct genres? So buckle up, cowboy ... or soldier ... or cowboy soldier?

• Cast: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
• Director: Kevin Costner
• Runtime: 181 minutes
  
• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
  
• Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV
  

Fearing he will lose his leg, Union Army 1st Lieutenant John J. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) attempts suicide on the battlefield, and inadvertently creates an opening for a victory against the Confederacy. In recognition of his service, Dunbar is granted a transfer to a remote outpost in the Western frontier. Completely cut off from the Union, Dunbar befriends the local Lakota tribe, bonding with their medicine man, Kicking Bird (Graham Greene), and romancing his adopted white daughter, Stands With A Fist (Mary McDonnell). He is given the name Dances with Wolves, yet his friendship is threatened by the arrival of U.S. troops who view the Lakota as enemies.

Today, "Dances with Wolves" is best remembered as the movie that beat "GoodFellas" at the 1990 Academy Awards, and it's generally ranked low on lists of 1990s best picture Oscar winners. Yet it's better than that reputation would suggest. Certainly its white savior narrative raises eyebrows today, but its sympathetic portrayal of Indigenous Americans remains commendable, and there's no denying its pictorial beauty and majestic scope. A stirring throwback to epics from Hollywood's golden age and one of Costner's best movies, it became a huge box office success, and took home seven Oscars including best picture and director for Costner.

• Cast: John Wayne, Joanna Dru, John Agar
• Director: John Ford
• Runtime: 104 minutes
• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%
• Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

In 1876, aging Captain Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) is looking forward to his retirement from the U.S. Cavalry. Before he can ride off into the sunset, the widowed Capt. Brittles must first calm relations with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, who are rightly angered by the Sioux massacre during Custer's last stand. The conflict jeopardizes Brittle's final assignment: transporting his commanding officer's wife, Mrs. Abby Allshard (Mildred Natwick), and her niece, Olivia Dandridge (Joanna Cru), to safety on an eastbound stagecoach. When Brittles fails to deliver the women to their destination, he arranges a meeting with Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree) in the hopes of avoiding an all-out war.

Released in 1949, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" is one of John Wayne's best movies, and the best of the unofficial Cavalry trilogy he made with director John Ford, the other two being "Fort Apache" and "Rio Grande." Playing significantly older than he was at the time, Wayne is surprisingly effective at channeling the insight, wisdom, and regret of a man looking back on his life. Although he was Oscar-nominated that same year for "Sands of Iwo Jima," his performance as Captain Nathan Brittles is the undoubtedly superior role.

• Cast: Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke
• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Runtime: 135 minutes
• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 91%
• Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV 

When his wife and child are murdered by Union Army Captain Terrill (Bill McKinney) and his gang, Missouri farmer Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood) joins the Confederacy, intent on revenge. Although the war ends with the Confederacy's defeat, Wales refuses to surrender, and watches as his fellow soldiers are massacred by Terrill. Wales takes out some of Terrill's henchmen before they can turn their guns on him, and flees to Texas. Here he finds friendship with aging Cherokee, Lone Waite (Chief Dan George), and falls in love with Laura Lee Turner (Sondra Locke). Yet the bounty on his head makes it difficult for Wales to settle down.

One of the best Clint Eastwood Westerns, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" pulls off the unthinkable: making a Confederate soldier sympathetic without making you root for the South. Released in 1976, the star-producer took over directing duties after firing original helmer Philip Kaufman with filming underway. This resulted in the Directors Guild to institute the Eastwood Rule that strictly prohibits such actions. Yet Eastwood's decision ultimately turned out to be the right one. On the surface a rousing Western adventure, "Wales" is also a thoughtful examination of how war can corrupt men on either side of the conflict.

• Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman
• Director: Edward Zwick
• Runtime: 122 minutes
• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%
• Where to watch: Netflix, MGM+, Prime Video

After getting injured during the Battle of Antietam, Captain Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is promoted to Colonel and placed in charge of the Union Army's first all-black military regiment. He asks his friend, Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes), to help him recruit members for the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Their members grow to include escaped slave Trip (Denzel Washington), freed slave Thomas Searles (Andre Braugher), and former gravedigger John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman). The soldiers are at first assigned to menial labor, speaking to how even the Union Army views them as lesser. Yet when called upon for the assault on Fort Wagner, they rise to the occasion.  

Released in 1989, Edward Zwick's "Glory" was one of the first major Hollywood films to dramatize the African American contribution to America's Civil War. That it does so through the lens of a white protagonist is perhaps to its detriment, yet Kevin Jarre's script takes great care to create fully realized Black characters who dominate the story. The film is also truly effective, thanks to some stirring battle sequences set to James Horner's rousing score. "Glory" was nominated for five Oscars and won three: best supporting actor for Denzel Washington, best cinematography, and best sound.

• Cast: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
• Director: Sergio Leone
• Runtime: 178 minutes
• Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%
• Where to watch: Prime Video, Roku, Tubi

As the American Civil War rages on, ruthless mercenary Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef) is in search of a Union soldier who stole a treasure trove of Confederate gold. Meanwhile, bounty hunter Blondie (Clint Eastwood) and Mexican bandit Tuco Ramírez (Eli Wallach) pull off double-crosses throughout the Southwest: Blondie turns Tuco in, saves him from the noose, then they split the reward money. When one of their schemes goes awry, Tuco exacts revenge by stranding Blondie in the desert. They set their differences aside when they learn about the stolen treasure, and try to find it before Angel Eyes or the Union Army can beat them to it.

The capper to Sergio Leone's Man with No Name trilogy (preceded by "A Fistful of Dollars" and "For a Few Dollars More"), "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is a spaghetti Western of epic proportions. While best remembered for the famous Mexican standoff between its three unsavory protagonists, the film also features an astonishing battle sequence, as Blondie and Tuco find themselves stuck in the middle of a war much greater than the one they're personally waging. It's Leone's ability to place his story within the context of a larger historical event that makes this 1966 masterpiece one of the best-rated Westerns of all time on Letterboxd.