Is the Western dead? Look beyond the 'Horizon' debacle for some great, recent cowboy films

The lack of interest in theaters for Kevin Costner's epic 'Horizon: An American Saga', a costly failed gamble, appears to have put another nail in the coffin of the cowboy film. Can the genre be saved or is Hollywood done with the Western?

After the success of the series ‘Yellowstone’, Costner hoped that the world had fallen in love again with the West. He is a big fan of the Western genre and even mortgaged his homes to fund the ‘Horizon’ saga.

Image: New Line Cinema

The film, the first one of a trilogy, ticks all the boxes: beautiful landscapes, silhouettes of men with guns, and glorious sunsets. However, the script isn’t good enough, and the film is slow. It offers nothing new and even makes you think that this nostalgic view of the Old West just doesn’t sit well in modern society.

Image: New Line Cinema

As Rolling Stone wrote in their review, "The problem is that none of these stories are able to stand up on their own, much less as parts of some visionary cinematic mural."

Against a $100 million budget, the movie flopped at the box office. 'Horizon's final worldwide box office tally ended up at $31.4 million, as Forbes tells us.

We have had some modern Western classics in the 21st century, but a lack of quality films has made it a no-go in Hollywood. Is the public tired of the genre or do we prefer our on-screen heroes to fly? Let's take a look at a few good reasons (from this century) to keep the campfire burning.

Written and directed by Jane Campion and based on the 1967 novel by Thomas Savage. It’s a story about 2 bachelor brothers, who live and work on a ranch, and the events following one’s marriage. This modern classic was nominated for 12 Oscars.

Image: Netflix

Quentin Tarantino’s bloody and violent revenge western is about a freed slave who becomes a bounty hunter and tries to liberate his wife from the brutal owner of a plantation (Leonardo DiCaprio) with the help of the brilliant Christoph Waltz. 

Photo: The Weinstein Company

Four men set out to rescue some townsfolk after a bandit leads a gang of cann1bal1st1c savages into a peaceful western town. The following quest takes them on a journey straight into hell. This Western crosses the genre into horror at some points, because the violence is so brutal.

Image: RLJE Films

This film explores the life and times of outlaw Jesse James, delving into his relationship with Robert Ford who ultimately betrays him. Starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, it's a slow train but worth the ride.

Image: Warner Bros.

A story about honor, revenge, love, and freedom in this beautifully-shot film with an outstanding cast. This movie has a real cowboy feel, as the good guys stand up to a bully.

Image: Touchstone Pictures

The movie revolves around a gold prospector, Hermann Kermit Warm, who's being chased across one thousand miles of 1850s desert to San Francisco by the notorious assassins Eli and Charlie Sisters. All of them are starting to doubt their career choices.

Image: Annapurna Pictures

When his hunting team leaves him for dead, legendary and also injured frontiersman Hugh Glass must use his survival skills to find a way back home and track down John Fitzgerald, the former colleague who betrayed and abandoned him.

A remake of the 1969 film starring John Wayne. A 14-year-old girl hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can to track down and bring to justice the men who murdered her father. With just one catch, she wants to come along for the ride.

Image: Paramount Pictures

A group of men tracking a fugitive across Nevada for over two weeks, realize that the hunted man is more than just a civilian on the run. After shooting and wounding him, they let him get away, but the hunt is far from over. An entertaining film with a great cast and impressive scenery.

Image: Netflix

This is more than just a Western, it is a tragic love story and the conflict of revenge and forgiveness, The female lead is a strong and passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in a cruel world dominated by ruthless men and corruption.

Image: Shout! Studios

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