10 Most Controversial Western Movies Of All Time

Westerns were once a dominant genre known for romanticizing the American West, but these films are the most controversial of all time.

This article contains mentions of sexual assault.

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Summary

• Controversy has surrounded Western films for decades, often stemming from issues of violence, race and social norms.

• Westerns faced censorship challenges due to their shootouts, causing famous directors to run into trouble with distributors.

• Certain Westerns, such as “The Wild Bunch” and “Brokeback Mountain,” challenged traditional Western archetypes and faced backlash for their themes.

Although they were once the dominant genre in the ’50s and ’60s, certain Western films ended up being popular because they were so controversial. Controversy in Westerns arose from all sorts of issues related to violence, race, and social norms of the time, sometimes inspired by something on set during filming, but often by the overall quality of the project released. In almost all cases, the same things that were considered controversial 70 years ago would be considered the same today, except by a select few who can benefit from society’s more modern and tolerant set of standards.

Westerns often faced fierce censorship considering the amount of shooting involved, and even famous directors like Howard Hughes and John Ford clashed with certain boards of directors, struggling to get distributors for their projects. From gratuitous violence to sexual assault and even on-set deaths, these Western films have earned quite the reputation. In some cases, through no fault of their own, the stigma attached to the way these Westerns have been received over the years has minimized their impact and reach, while others should remain forgotten.

10 The Wild Bunch

wild group, which follows an outlaw (William Holden) and his gang preparing for one last robbery that ultimately turns out to be a setup, came under fire when it was released in 1969 for its graphic violence and crudeness. His shootings were some of the bloodiest ever seen up to that time, and he was accused of celebrating the carnage he portrayed. Today, his violence would not only seem normal, but would also be expected, especially to audiences who have seen much worse in other genres and who also want an authentic Western experience.

9 The Outlaw

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When Howard Hughes did The outlaw, caused a huge scandal in 1940s Hollywood. 19-year-old Jane Russell was making her film debut as the love interest of Pat Garrett’s Billy the Kid, but her cleavage was considered so distasteful that it violated the Administration Code. of production. Of course, by today’s standards, nothing about Russell’s clothing, either in the film or in his publicity photos, would be considered particularly racy, but at the time they not only pitted Hughes against the censors, they also ended up generating a lot of interest .

8 rust

Oxide is a recent western starring Alec Baldwin in which the actor accidentally fired a prop gun while rehearsing a scene that ended up killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. All filming stopped and litigation began to determine who was to blame; Baldwin, the director, the gunsmith or anyone. Baldwin and the other producers settled a wrongful death lawsuit with her widower Matthew, and filming resumed with him in charge of the western.

7 duel in the sun

duel in the sun It surprised audiences for a number of reasons when it was released in 1946, firstly because it saw Gregory Peck, who normally played upright characters, play a degenerate. As Lewt, Peck commits sexual assaults at different times on Pearl (Jennifer Jones), which is uncomfortable to watch even by today’s standards. When it was originally filmed, it failed to pass the Hays Code censors, earning it the nickname “Lust in the Dust” and had to be heavily edited in order to be released, which also didn’t help its narrative.

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6 Five Wild Men / The Animals

The ’70s ushered in a new era of cinema and westerns became as gritty and violent as the crime dramas and independent foreign films that were becoming popular. The Spaghetti Westerns, so called because they were filmed in Italy on a low budget, were having success, that’s where Five wild men (also know as Animals) examines a woman’s determination against the outlaws who sexually abused her. Even by today’s standards, the torture she endures at the hands of these men is horrific.

5 secret mountain

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This modern western directed by Ang Lee was considered controversial because it portrayed two men, Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal), falling in love while working as cowboys. At the time, it challenged long-standing traditional Western archetypes as well as concepts of masculinity, while also receiving backlash from certain groups who did not approve of its themes or message of equality. Today, it may not be considered as radical, but in 2005, views on the LGBTQ+ community were not as progressive.

4 Navajo Joe

In this controversial western, Burt Reynolds played a first-time American named Navajo Joe who, after his village is destroyed, swears revenge against the outlaws responsible. Not only was it gory, but it featured a great actor horribly miscast as a person of color. It would be very controversial today, perhaps even more so than it was at the time, particularly because brown-faced actors playing warriors and chiefs were commonplace and accepted as the norm.

3Django

Before Quentin Tarantino made Django Unchained the original Django (which inspired Tarantino’s film) was mired in controversy. As wild group was incredibly violent and bloody, taking Django’s quest for revenge to a point that nearly banned him from several countries. In Italy, where it was manufactured, it received an 18 certificate and had difficulty finding distribution in the United States for years after its manufacture. Its violence may not seem very notable today, but its no-holds-barred approach is still wildly chaotic.

2 A man called horse

Long before Dancing with Wolves was made, Richard Harris starred A man called horse about a British aristocrat who is captured by the Sioux but ultimately welcomed into the tribe by proving his bravery. He was controversial in the 1970s for his depiction of the Sioux tribe, inventing customs and rituals that have no basis in reality. Ironically, he spawned a series of films, and in the third outing, Triumphs of a man called Horsewhich was a non-union film and therefore not contractually obligated to comply with the AHA, several horses died on the set, earning it a national boycott.

1 Sergeant Rutledge

Sergeant Rutledge follows the story of the main character (Woody Strode), a black sergeant in the Union Army accused of killing a fellow officer and his wife. The western was made before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and having a black actor in the lead role as the hero was considered a box office risk. Nowadays, the western style The harder they fall they have all-black casts, which shows how far the genre has come, but still, the fact that this is an important feature indicates that more work is still needed for true equality even though there are several black cowboy films.

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