AFI defines “western” as a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier.
| Rank | Title | Director(s) | Year Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Searchers, The | John Ford | 1956 |
| 2 | High Noon | Fred Zinnemann | 1952 |
| 3 | Shane | George Stevens | 1953 |
| 4 | Unforgiven | Clint Eastwood | 1992 |
| 5 | Red River | Howard Hawks | 1948 |
| 6 | Wild Bunch, The | Sam Peckinpah | 1969 |
| 7 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | George Roy Hill | 1969 |
| 8 | McCabe & Mrs. Miller | Robert Altman | 1971 |
| 9 | Stagecoach | John Ford | 1939 |
| 10 | Cat Ballou | Elliot Silverstein | 1965 |