Western Films: 1980-1990 - Page 2

This list is derived from the shortest and final chapter of The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: The Western. edited by Phil Hardy. Woodstock: The Overlook Press, 1995. Hardy mentions but denies an entry to Alien Outlaw in his entry for The Dark Power. Another horror-Western, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989) is omitted, as is the obscure family Western, Mountain Charlie (1982). He describes Tin Star Void/Death Collector as a hybrid with science fiction, but doesn't include it in his SF book. He notes that there were over 140 Westerns made in 1940 alone and attributes the 1980s dearth to Hollywood making fewer films in general. The decade began with sombre films like Heaven's Gate, The Long Riders, and Tom Horn and gimmicky films like Zorro, the Gay Blade that decreased box office appeal. He notes the epic scope of Lonesome Dove on TV, the Oscar for Dances with Wolves, and the success of Young Guns and Back to the Future Part III as paving the way for a resurgence.