The 20 Best Westerns Ever Made According to Screen Rant

Westerns have often been criticized as a genre offering the same, tired tropes and recycled stories – something that many blame for the genre's 'death' following its huge popularity from the 1930s to the late 1960s. However, while Westerns do draw from the same well of iconography to tell their stories thanks to their setting, the genre is incredibly versatile and diverse in its storytelling. Just like the greatest films of any major, foundational genre, the best Westerns ever made are a mix of conventions executed at their peak, classic tropes being subverted to break genre boundaries, and trend-setting cinematic styles. Despite the fact that it might not be as popular as it once was, the Western genre remains a big part of the movie industry and an important part of the history of cinema.