Metaphysical or Acid Westerns - The Guide
Most exhaustive list of metaphysical, acid, symbolic, existentialist, counter-culture, shamanic, punkrock, magickal, mystical, allegoric, *beep* crazy or just plain weird westerns. No particular order. I'm continually adding new titles.
List activity
4.2K views
• 1 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
64 titles
- DirectorAlejandro JodorowskyStarsAlejandro JodorowskyBrontis JodorowskyJosé LegarretaA mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.A classic. I admit, I love the whole desert gunslinger segment (obviously), but I'm not that enthusiastic about he following cave/town sequence, although I understand it is important for the movie's narration. One way or another, this is metaphysical western at its finest featuring one of my favourite blackclad gunslinging antiheros. Good music theme during the credits.
- DirectorRoland KlickStarsMario AdorfMarquard BohmAnthony DawsonIn a deserted mining town at the end of nowhere three desperate men fight over a suitcase full of cash.Not bad, but I expected more.
- DirectorJan KounenStarsVincent CasselMichael MadsenJuliette LewisIn 1870, after a brutal run-in with an outlaw in a brothel, Mike Blueberry becomes marshal in Arizona where he keeps the peace between whites and Apaches, but an influx of gold-hunters threatens to lead to violence.Aka Blueberry. Not very popular among western aficionados (at least from what I know),I think, due to the reason it didn't follow the comicbook series it was based on. But it's fascinating piece of cinema in my opinion. 8/10.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsMillie PerkinsJack NicholsonWill HutchinsA mysterious woman persuades two cowboys to help her in a revenge scheme.They say it had all began with this movie. When Jack Nicholson's gunslinger shows up, things get pretty intense, until that point quite boring.
- DirectorGiulio QuestiStarsTomas MilianMarilù ToloPiero LulliVarious factions, including a half-breed bandit, a gang of homosexual cowboys, and a priest, feud over stolen gold in a surreal town.Personal favourite. Spaghetti western heavy on other-worldly enigmatic atmosphere with great Tomas Milian in the lead role. If David Lynch would direct a western, it might look like this.
- DirectorMonte HellmanStarsJack NicholsonCameron MitchellMillie PerkinsThree cowboys, mistaken for members of an outlaw gang, are relentlessly pursued by a posse.Existentialist. Slow, but hypnotic.
- DirectorEdoardo MulargiaStarsRobert WoodsAldo BertiMarc FioriniAn alcoholic outlaw is sheltered from a gang of greedy bounty hunters by a sympathetic saloon girl, whom he soon set out to avenge when they kill her.Also known as El Puro. Heavy drinking legendary gunfighter with existential problems. Very much recommended.
- DirectorCesare CanevariStarsLou CastelCorrado PaniAntonio SalinesA gang of outlaws find themselves in conflict with a mysterious, boomerang-wielding drifter and a widower who arrive in the ghost town they have holed up in.If the whole movie was so amazing as first twenty minutes, I'd call it one of the best spaghetti westerns ever made. But don't get me wrong, the rest is interesting enough to keep you glued to the screen. And certain post-apocalyptic nature of the film makes things even better. Thumbs up for incorporating boomerangs.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohnny DeppGary FarmerCrispin GloverOn the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.An acid classic. And one of the best soundtracks in the genre (by Neil Young).
- DirectorGeorge EnglundStarsJohn RubinsteinPatricia QuinnDon JohnsonTwo gunfighters separate and experience surreal visions on their journey through the west.Need to rewatch this.
- DirectorPhilippe MoraStarsDennis HopperJack ThompsonDavid GulpililThe true story of Irish outlaw Daniel Morgan, who is wanted, dead or alive, in Australia during the 1850s.We are not even five minutes into the movie and they're already smoking some chinese stuff. Dennis Hopper is great here as always.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsEd HarrisRichard MasurRene AuberjonoisAn unconventional retelling of the life of William Walker, a 19th century American mercenary leader who became the president of Nicaragua.On the watch pile. I started it to watch once, but didn't finish, don't know precisely why now. :)
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsSy RichardsonJoe StrummerDick RudeA gang of bank robbers with a suitcase full of money go to the desert to hide out. After burying the loot, they find their way to a surreal town full of cowboys who drink an awful lot of coffee. The townspeople are hostile to the outsiders at first, but seem to accept them once they've killed a couple of people. After a while, a mysterious man named Dade arrives, who seems to have unpleasant business to settle with the robbers. A free-for-all shoot-em-up ensues.I must say, I love Sid and Nancy, but wasn't very impressed by this. Dennis Hopper has a small role here.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsRay WinstoneGuy PearceEmily WatsonA lawman apprehends a notorious outlaw and gives him nine days to kill his older brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother.Outback counter-culture western with music by Nick Cave. What could go wrong? Well, many things. Thankfully, nothing in this case. Personal favourite.
- DirectorMario GariazzoRobert PagetStarsTy HardinRossano BrazziEdda Di BenedettoTy Hardin stars as a Yankee soldier who seeks revenge on the six killers who murdered his wife & child and burned his home. He tracks down and kills each man one by one until he finds the leader of the gang.Among spaghetti aficionados mostly known as Drummer Of Vengeance. Uneven movie, but some of its scenes are pure magic. 8/10.
- DirectorOldrich LipskýStarsKarel FialaRudolf DeylMilos KopeckýStraight shooting Lemonade Joe cleans up Stetson City, in this musical parody of early Westerns, after shooting the pants off villain Old Pistol. Joe's endorsement of Kolaloka lemonade as the refresher that assures deadly aim, convinces the Arizona sin-town to abstain from alcohol. But Trigger Whiskey maker Duke Badman's brother the devious gunslinger Hogofogo, comes to save his sibling's saloon from Joe's allies, father and daughter temperance revivalists, the Goodmans. Based on famous Czech parody novel from the 1940s and its various stage adaptations.I don't consider it an acid, but I've seen in some others' list, so just for the fun.
- DirectorMilcho ManchevskiStarsJoseph FiennesDavid WenhamAdrian LesterA New York thief, a tough-as-nails hundred-year-old woman, two brothers from the Wild West, a Macedonian revolutionary and a beautiful pregnant woman, all cross paths in a tale that spans two continents and three centuries.I'd enlist this one too. The structure and the style of this western come close. 8/10.
- DirectorRobert Downey Sr.StarsAlbert HendersonMichael SullivanLuana AndersA strange man named Jesse who can revive life and walk on water comes into a surreal and cruel western town.Haven't seen it.
- DirectorPeter FondaStarsPeter FondaWarren OatesVerna BloomHarry returns home to his wife and farm after drifting with his friend Arch and has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties.Enjoyed this Peter Fonda's existential western. 9/10
- DirectorStan DragotiStarsMichael J. PollardRichard EvansLee PurcellA more realistic, based-on-reality, unsensationalistic portrayal of the gritty early years of one of the most famous Wild West outlaws in history, Billy the Kid.On the watch pile.
- DirectorYahoo SeriousStarsYahoo SeriousMelora HardinAlexei Sayle"Reckless Kelly is the Australian Robin Hood". Kelly is a bank robber, a pop-culture hero and video shop owner. This modern story tells how he is furious when a Japanese company wants to buy his band's farm.Aussie contemporary outlaw western, second of the three crazy movies made by Yahoo Serious. Original, totally nuts and visually breathtaking, although middle part is somehow disappointing. Of the three movies, Mr. Accident was the best. 8/10.
- DirectorAlberto CardoneStarsBrett HalseyGermano LongoFernando SanchoFred Leinster, an alcoholic ex-sheriff, is paid to collect a ransom for the kidnapping of a young boy. When he finds out the particulars of the crime he turns the tables on the outlaws.Also known as Kidnapping. Spaghetti with some surrealistic overtones. I wish the director elaborated more in this manner. 8/10.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsTommy Lee JonesCate BlanchettEvan Rachel WoodIn 1885 New Mexico, a frontier medicine woman forms an uneasy alliance with her estranged father when her daughter is kidnapped by an Apache brujo.Magic is taken seriously in this lesser known Ron Howard's piece. Main antagonist? Brujo, an evil indian sorcerer. 7/10.
- DirectorDavid Von AnckenStarsPierce BrosnanLiam NeesonAnjelica HustonAfter the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate colonel hunts down a former Yankee officer with whom he has a grudge.I think there was some odd-worldly surreal tint present in the end, which, surprisingly, I didn't like that much. 7/10.
- DirectorJosé Luis MerinoEugenio MartínStarsLang JeffriesFemi BenussiFernando SanchoA gang of desperadoes, on the run after a robbery, kills the brother of a rancher. The latter swears revenge. He hunts down the bandits and takes them out one by one.Also known as Duel In The Eclipse. Personal favourite. The protagonist is, besides profesionall killer, also an astronomer! This paella/spaghetti is a must watch, believe me. Great soundtrack. 8/10.