Contains spoilers for all movies discussed.
A beloved and longstanding staple of popular culture, theWesterngenre has produced some of thefinest movies of all time. From classic offerings like Sergio Leone’sThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly,all the way to more modern standouts in the vein of Quentin Tarantino’sDjango Unchained, thebest Western movies ever madehave also played host to some of the most iconic one-liners in cinematic history, resulting in a collection of memorable soundbites capable of giving any genre a run for its money.
From menacing threats turned in by thegreatest Western villainsto pithy quotes and retorts from the genre’s most memorable antiheroes, the greatest Western movie one-liners of all timehave encompassed a wide range of scenarios and characters. However, these immortal pieces of dialogue all have one thing in common: an innate level of quotability and memorability that has landed them iconic status in popular culture, a state of affairs that has persisted for more than half a century in some cases.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Cast
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid follows the exploits of two notorious outlaws as they navigate the challenges of a changing American West. Starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, the film combines elements of adventure and buddy comedy, capturing their attempts to evade capture while maintaining camaraderie. Directed by George Roy Hill, it explores themes of friendship and survival against the backdrop of early 20th-century societal shifts.
Widely regarded as aWestern that has helped define the modern genre, 1969’sButch Cassidy and the Sundance Kidprovides a more lighthearted take on proceedings than many of the genre’s most seminal offerings. While the movie ultimately sees Robert Redford and Paul Newman’s titular duo bite the dust after being cornered by the authorities, director George Roy Hill still manages to imbue the final stages of the legendary gunslingers' lives with the buddy Western’s trademark air of levity.
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid: 8 Things That Still Hold Up Today
In 1969, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid made waves as one of the most subversive westerns to date. In many ways, the movie still holds up today.
Outnumbered by a large gang of outlaws in Bolivia, Sundance surreptitiously inquires if his partner can cover the men on the right, only for Cassidy to pick the worst time physically imaginable to inform the Kid that he’s never actually shot anybody before. The look of frozen disbelief on Robert Redford’s face is absolute gold,long before he rounds things off by grimly deadpanning:“One hell of a time to tell me.”
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a critically acclaimed Italian Western released in 1968. Directed by Sergio Leone, the film stars Henry Fonda as Frank and Charles Bronson as Harmonica, two men who work together to protect widow Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) from an assassin. Sergio Donati and Leone wrote the screenplay for the film based on a story by Dario Argento.
One of thebest opening movie scenesin cinematic history, 1968’sOnce Upon a Time in the Westintroduces Charles Bronson’s Harmonica in unforgettable fashion, a scene that also happens to feature one of the genre’s finest one-liners. The iconic sequence sees the gunslinger confronted by a trio of bandits at a railway station, with Harmonica revealed to the eerie strains of his signature instrument as the train pulls away from the platform.
Cooly playing his harmonica as his ambushers approach, Bronson’s protagonist never takes his eyes off the bandits for a second. The men laugh derisively when he asks whether they have brought a mount for him too, sarcastically opining that it"looks like they’re shy one horse.“The smile rapidly fading from behind his eyes, Harmonica menacingly shakes his head before gunning the three bandits down in a thrilling instant:“You brought two too many.”
No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men is a western crime-thriller based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy and directed by the Cohen Brothers. Following three protagonists, the film centers around a large $2,000,000+ cache of dirty money lost near the Rio Grande. With a veteran who finds it, a hitman who will stop at nothing to get it, and a sheriff trying to investigate the crimes connected to it, all roads lead to death and mayhem as they find themselves in each other’s crosshairs.
One of thegreatest Western supporting roles in cinematic history, Javier Bardem’s bow as Anton Chigurh in 2007’sNo Country for Old Menwas met with rave reviews, earning him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his take on Cormac McCarthy’s psychotic cartel hitman. One of cinema’s most memorable characters, Chigurh is arguably just as synonymous with a recurring piece of dialogue throughout the movie as he is with his signature cattle gun.
On more than one occasion, Bardem’s charge can be seen to leave the fate of his victims down to a coin toss. The movie’s most memorable example of this chilling status quo forms the basis of one of its finest scenes. Confronted with a gas station employee and potential witness in the film’s early goings, Chigurh produces arguably the genre’s most menacing piece of dialogue before proceeding to play a literal game of 50-50 chance with a human life:“What’s the most you ever lost on a coin toss?”
True Grit
An adaptation of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name, True Grit tells the story of 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), who enlists the help of morally-questionable lawman Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) in order to avenge the death of her father by apprehending the criminal Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). They are joined by a cocksure Texas Ranger named Labeouf (Matt Damon), who insists upon collecting the bounty on Chaney’s head. The three travel across the Arkansas plains in pursuit of Chaney, risking life and limb against outlaws and wild animals in pursuit of justice.
An iconic scene that plays out in virtually identical fashion between the 1969 original and the 2010 remake,the Coen brothers' take onTrue Grit’smost epic confrontation is just another area where their genre-revitalizing adaptation comes out on top. The scene in question sees Jeff Bridges' Rooster Cogburn confront Ned Pepper’s gang in a four-to-one standoff. As he informs the men of his plans to dispatch them, Cogburn’s boldness prompts Barry Pepper’s charge to mockingly produce one of the best Western one-liners of all time:“I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!”
Of course, the memorability of Pepper’s instantly quotable soundbite isn’t hurt by the fact that the line is immediately followed by another iconic Western one-liner in response. Embarking on his epic one-man army act, Rooster’s equally legendary riposte of"Fill your hand, you son of a b****!“before he charges Pepper and his gang single-handedly is just another immortal quote to come out of this indispensable Western outing.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
In the United States, a mysterious gunfighter tries to work together with a bandit and a bounty hunter to find a hidden treasure. The men are forced to forge a difficult alliance as each knows only part of the location. The big problem is that none of them has any intention of sharing the wealth once they’ve found it.
While Clint Eastwood’s Blondie is unsurprisingly the first name that comes to mind when one thinks ofThe Good, the Bad and the Ugly, there’s a valid argument to be made thatEli Wallach’s Tuco was the best partof Sergio Leone’s Western classic. Case in point? Tuco is the man behind the most memorable piece of dialogue associated with the iconic 1966 outing, a scene that sees him get the drop on a vengeful assassin despite being ambushed in the act of taking a bath.
Despite his gloating foe purportedly finding him in"exactly the position"that suits him, Wallach’s charge guns his pursuer down through his bath bubbles with barely a moment’s hesitation. Coolly performing the coup de grâce on his stricken foe, Tuco wryly produces a Western movie life lesson for the ages with one of the genre’s finest lines:“If you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.”
A Fistful of Dollars
A Fistful of Dollars is a spaghetti Western film from director Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars is notable for being Clint Eastwood’s big break in Hollywood and also for being the beginning of the “Dollars Trilogy.” The film was followed by For a Few Dollars More in 1965 and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in 1966.
While he may not be the genre’s most quotable character, Clint Eastwood’s leading man was still capable of producing more than a few iconic soundbites throughout the course of three appearances in Sergio Leone’sDollarstrilogy. He wasted no time in doing it either, with what is arguablythe Man with No Name’s best quotecoming in the early goings of his first movie appearance, 1964’sA Fistful of Dollars.
Coolly advising the town’s undertaker to"Get three coffins ready,“Eastwood’s charge proceeds to effortlessly dispatch four local bandits who had insulted him previously. While special mention must also be reserved for his iconic"Apologize to my mule"speech immediately prior,“Joe"places the cherry on this sequence’s cake by deadpanning his slight miscalculation to the bemused undertaker as he walks past:“My mistake, four coffins.”
Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained follows Jamie Foxx’s Django, a Black slave who is freed before becoming a bounty hunter. After meeting German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, Django sets off to free his wife from the cruel and charismatic plantation owner Calvin Candie. Christophe Waltz stars alongside Foxx, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington rounding out the cast of Tarantino’s revisionist Spaghetti Western.
Doubling as one of thegreatest Western quick draw momentsas well as one of the genre’s foremost one-liners, Django Freeman’s vicious sign-off to John Brittle is virtually synonymous with Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 revisionist Western masterpiece,Django Unchained. Jamie Foxx’s charge partially avenges his wife’s earlier torment by gunning down the vile slaver before he can even comprehend what is happening, punctuating his vengeance with an immortal piece of dialogue.
Django Unchained has a rating of 8.5 on IMDb.
During his time on Django’s old plantation, John sadistically mocked Django’s pleas for the Brittle brothers to go easy during Broomhilda’s whipping, cruelly taunting"I like the way you beg, boy.“Shooting Brittle through the chest with a concealed pistol in the present, Django advances on his stunned and stricken foe before confirming the tables have well and truly turned, producing the movie’s most iconic quote of"I like the way you die, boy"as the dying slaver slumps face forwards.
Unforgiven
Unforgiven follows retired gunslinger Will Munny as he is drawn back into his former life for a final mission, seeking justice with his old partner and a young outlaw called The Schofield Kid.
One of the greatest Westerns of all time, 1992’sUnforgivenpresented an unyielding look at the savage reality of the Old West. At its core,Unforgivenis a story about a bad man’s efforts to exact vengeance on another bad man,a state of affairs exemplified by William Munny’s parting riposte to"Little"Bill Daggett.Mortally wounded by Eastwood’s charge in retribution for Ned Logan’s death,Gene Hackman’s iconic villainlaments his impending doom, arguing that he doesn’t deserve his fate.
Leveling his shotgun with a growl of implacable vengeance, Eastwood’s charge is unmoved:“Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.“At the end of the day, the ruthlessness of Munny’s quote exemplifies the unflinching realism and brutal simplicity that makesUnforgivensuch a masterful Western. Manifest destiny and romanticized outlaw gangs be damned; Daggett killed Munny’s friend, so Munny is returning the favor. Hackman’s charge might be spot on, but notions of right and wrong matter little in the face of a vengeful friend.
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 Western film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Set during and after the American Civil War, the film follows Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer seeking revenge for the murder of his family by Union soldiers. As he becomes an outlaw, Wales forms an unlikely band of outcasts and confronts various adversaries while struggling with his quest for vengeance and a chance at redemption.
Widely regarded as one ofClint Eastwood’s best movies, 1976’sThe Outlaw Josey Walesplays host to one of his most quotable characters. The eponymous Civil War veteran and gunslinger has a penchant for producing some of the most ice-cool soundbites that the Western genre has ever witnessed, a state of affairs aided by Eastwood’s trademark gravelly cadence and style of delivery.
Eastwood fired the movie’s original director, Philip Kaufman, taking the reins himself for the remainder of production and prompting the later creation of the “Eastwood rule.”
While special mention must be reserved for his immortal"Well, are you gonna' pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?“soundbite,Wales' best quote sees him back down a would-be bounty hunter with no more than a sinister growl.After the young man almost sheepishly excuses his line of work by arguing that"a man’s got to do something for a living,“Wales menacingly advises him against trying his luck with him through a not-so-cryptic warning and a ferocious glare:“Dyin' ain’t much of a livin' boy.”
Tombstone
Tombstone chronicles legendary marshal Wyatt Earp and his brothers as they seek fortune in a prosperous mining town. Forced to confront a gang threatening the community, Earp joins forces with the infamous Doc Holliday, highlighting a tense battle between lawmen and outlaws in the American West.
Themost quotable Western movie characterof all time, it would stand to reason thatVal Kilmer’s Doc Holliday was the man behind its greatest one-liner.TheTombstonestar is credited with many of the movie and the wider genre’s greatest soundbites, but none greater than his"I’m your Huckleberry"one-liner. Issued on multiple occasions throughout the film to Holliday’s nemesis, Micheal Biehn’s Johnny Ringo, the quote’s most memorable appearance comes during the climactic duel between the pair in the movie’s later goings.
Tombstone Is An All Time Great Western Movie - So Why Does It Only Have 74% On Rotten Tomatoes?
Tombstone is widely regarded as one of the best Western movies ever made, but it wasn’t a hit with critics, and it only has a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Emerging from the shadows to the sound of his trademark soundbite like a Stetson-wearing Grim Reaper, Holliday’s ice-cool quote wins him the duel long before he puts a bullet through Ringo’s head. Surveying his nervous foe with a contemptuous lack of respect, Kilmer underlines this state of affairs with another unforgettably cold line for the ages to seal this scene’s iconic status:“Why, Johnny Ringo, you look like somebody just walked over your grave.”
