Stretching back to the birth of movies, westerns have brought action and excitement to the masses. Hollywood’s Golden Age produced a ton of beloved classics, as well as western movie stars to go with them. Iconic screen heroes like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood are synonymous with the genre, and their films continue to inspire new generations of moviegoers.
Modern streaming has locked so many films behind paywalls, and it’s getting increasingly expensive to see them. Thankfully, platforms like Tubi, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel have made their libraries available for free (with ads, of course). There is a treasure trove of great westerns on free streaming, but these 10 films can’t be missed.
10
They Call Me Trinity (1970) – Tubi
By 1970, even the spaghetti westerns had become self-aware. They Call Me Trinity is the humorous tale of a lazy gunfighter who helps a Mormon settlement defend themselves against bandits. Though not quite an outright spoof, the Italian pseudo-comedy certainly pokes fun at many tropes found in the western genre.
Tubi currently carries the movie for free, and it’s definitely worth a watch for anyone who is already familiar with the trappings of the conventional western. However, it’s also a great introduction to westerns because it doesn’t take itself so seriously. It’s an underrated classic that certainly deserves more love in contemporary cinema discourse.
9
A Fistful Of Dynamite (1971) – Pluto TV
A Fistful of Dynamite is also known by the title, Duck, You Sucker!, and is the middle film in Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time trilogy. Two thieves accidentally become heroes in the Mexican Revolution after they rob a bank using explosives. Rod Steiger and James Coburn co-star as the unlikely protagonists, and they have excellent chemistry.
The Once Upon a Time trilogy also incluedes Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America.
A Fistful of Dynamite is quintessential spaghetti western goodness, with its over-the-top action and bombastic characters. It mixes the war and western genres together, which gives it some added appeal. Though it’s overshadowed by the other two films in the trilogy, A Fistful of Dynamite is a must-see ’70s western.
8
Dead Man (1995) – Tubi
Though it’s an acquired taste, Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man is one of the best westerns of the last 40 years. Johnny Depp stars as an accountant on the run for murder, who goes on a strange spiritual journey in the Wild West. Using gritty black-and-white photography and dreamlike imagery, Dead Man is a bizarre reflection of western tropes.
There are no other films like Dead Man in the entire western canon, which makes it required viewing for fans of the genre. There are a ton of excellent performances in the film, and it leaves audiences unsettled as well as intrigued. Such an artistic gem is rarely given away for free, but Tubi is offering it for no cost.
7
Jeremiah Johnson (1972) – Tubi
Robert Redford’s other great western, Jeremiah Johnson, is a hidden gem that’s getting its due more than 50 years later. Redford plays the titular mountain man as he tries to survive the harsh elements and violent attacks from local Native tribes. Redford’s disarming performance contrasts with the real-life Jeremiah Johnson, but the film is no less exciting.
It has an epic scale and beautiful cinematography that transforms the environment into a character in the story. As opposed to most westerns, which tell stories about conquering the wilderness, Jeremiah Johnson is the tale of one man’s struggle to live with the West. It’s an excellent illustration of how the genre evolved in the 1970s.
6
Shane (1953) – Pluto TV
There are a handful of westerns that every moviegoer has to see, and Shane is certainly one of them. A gunfighter moves to a small town to settle down, but is drawn into a violent conflict. Alan Ladd plays the title character, and he breathes life into the soft-spoken anti-hero. Shane subtly dissects ideas like violence and heroism.
Much of Shane seems cliché today, but that’s because the film impacted the themes of later westerns. It softly eschews the idealized view of the American West as seen in other Golden Age classics, but it does so without losing its recognizable elements. Streaming for free on Pluto TV, Shane is like a two-hour lesson in great filmmaking.
5
True Grit (2010) – Pluto TV
The Coen brothers remade True Grit in 2010, and they arguably improved on the John Wayne classic from the ’60s. A precocious young girl hires a drunken lawman to help her get revenge against the men who killed her father. Jeff Bridges is electric as Rooster Cogburn, but the scene is totally stolen by young Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie.
Modern westerns blend the sensibility of the classics with deeper themes, and True Grit does all that and more. It digs deeper into the book’s notion of redemption and justice, going further than the first movie. It’s recognizable enough for western purists, but thematic and engaging enough for the uninitiated. It might be the best 21st century western so far.
4
Red River (1948) – Tubi
Howard Hawks and John Wayne made many movies together, but their finest pairing came in 1948’s Red River. The Duke stars as a headstrong cattle baron who drives his men too hard as they transport a herd to market across rugged terrain. Red River is the ultimate cowboy movie, and features Wayne at his best as a dramatic performer.
Ostensibly playing the film’s villain, Wayne is nothing like his usual swaggering heroes. It’s a subtle and tense drama wrapped in the guise of a western. Red River examines complex ideas about masculinity and work ethic, tearing down the pillars that hold up wester mythology. All that goes to say that Red River is a certified classic.
3
Stagecoach (1939) – The Roku Channel
There are plenty of great places to start when watching westerns, but John Ford’s Stagecoach might be the greatest jumping-on point of all. A myriad of mismatched characters all must work together during a stagecoach journey across deadly territory. The film catapulted John Wayne into leading man territory, with Ringo Kid being one of his best roles.
Stagecoach has that glowing and magical quality of Hollywood’s Golden Age, with touches of humor and action thrown in too. Ford was one of the smartest directors of his era, and Stagecoach feels way ahead of its time. The Roku Channel carries the movie for free right now, so there’s no excuse not to see it.
2
Dances With Wolves (1990) – The Roku Channel
Kevin Costner earned western icon status when he starred in Dances With Wolves, and the film is still a beloved ’90s classic. A Civil War vet joins a band of Lakota where he learns their way of life and helps them fight against American soldiers who want to steal their land. The film helped bring westerns back into the mainstream.
What Dances with Wolves does best is tell a small story on a huge scale. Dunbar’s journey is the arc of the film, and there are emotional stakes to everything. Though it’s certainly guilty of perpetuating the white savior narrative, Dances with Wolves is still a touching modern western. It’s also a great starting place for newbies to the genre.
1
Once Upon A Time In The West (1968) – Pluto TV
Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West isn’t just a great western, it’s perhaps the greatest single example of the genre ever produced. Various characters converge around the single plot of land in Flagstone that has water. Mixing gritty violence and overt style, Leone’s fingerprints are on every frame of the three-hour epic.
The larger-than-life characters and sweeping camera work convey a sense of unreality that makes Once Upon a Time in the West such a unique experience. It features every western trope blown up to massive proportions, so it’s perfect for fans and the skeptical alike. The cinema comes first, but it never forgets to honor the heritage of other great westerns.