As far back as I can remember, I’ve been in love with Westerns. My earliest memory of watching a Western was probably around the age of six. My father took my sister and I to see John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance at the local art house theater; from then on, I was hooked. I grew up without a television until the age of 15 and watching Westerns, until then, was a rare and cherished opportunity.

I’ve more than made up for lost time since then. The internet age has been utterly wonderful for movie lovers, not only because of the easy access to the films themselves, but also as a host to wonderful communities that share a common love for niche movie genres. It might be strange to some to refer to the Western as a niche genre.  After all, it is one of the most celebrated ones, especially outside of the United States. European countries, including France, Italy, and Germany, have an undying obsession with Westerns. However, the genre is not the powerhouse that it used to be in the 50’s and 60’s when hundreds of Westerns were made every single year. Nowadays, only a fistful of Westerns are released each year.

With every year that we move away from the golden age of Westerns, the official canon gets more and more restrictive. You can find countless lists of the greatest Westerns on the Internet that claim to have the definitive take on the genre, but more often than not, these lists contain the same films over and over again. It might be tempting for some to say that maybe the genre is just that limited, and that there is a reason why only a select few films make the cut. I firmly disagree, because in my experience it simply is not the case. I could name dozens of Westerns off the top of my head that rarely get a single mention that I find as good, and often, much better than the acclaimed big guns.

At the time film critics created the canon, they hadn’t necessarily seen, or had access to, many of the lesser known Westerns. In our digital age, it is easier to discover, or rediscover, these unsung movies.  However, it can take much longer to re-establish these films, unless they are championed by famous film enthusiasts like Martin Scorsese, or Quentin Tarantino. The big name Westerns, like Rio Bravo, Once Upon a Time in the West, and The Searchers, are absolutely deserving of their status, and feature heavily on my own list of personal favorites. This is definitely not an attempt to indict the canon, but merely a desire to expand its range.

My intention with this site is to create an ever-growing and inclusive Western canon. Inspired by the site They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?, I am compiling lists of Westerns, created by aficionados and experts, that go beyond the chosen few.