Best Classic Westerns Available to Stream From Home

Lillian Gish stars in this silent film from 1928 as Letty Mason, a young woman from Virginia who experiences numerous hardships after moving west to live with her cousin. Writing for AMC Filmsite critic Tim Dirks called it “one of Lillian Gish’s greatest achievements in a powerfully dramatic silent film.” Though the movie may appeal to fewer modern viewers due to its age compared to some of the other Westerns on this list, it’s a gem of its era and has a perfect Freshness score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Greed and paranoia are personified in Humphrey Bogart’s character Fred C. Dobbs in his search for gold in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.” John Huston won Academy Awards for director and adapted screenplay, and his father Walter won for best supporting actor, the first father and son to do so. Critics gave the movie a perfect Freshness score, with Rotten Tomatoes users delivering a 93% rating.

Directed by Erich von Stroheim and based on a novel by Frank Norris, “Greed” tells the story of the unpleasant fallout a trio experiences in early 20th-century San Francisco after winning the lottery. Despite von Stroheim never completing his epic vision, the groundbreaking Western is described on Rotten Tomatoes as “one of the greatest accomplishments of the silent film era.” On the site 100% of critics and 91% of audiences liked it.

Italian director Sergio Leone helmed this Western epic that utilizes techniques from Westerns of the past as a means of paying tribute to the genre. Charles Bronson plays a man who hunts a cold-blooded killer played by Henry Fonda. The actors’ performances, as well as an effecting score by Ennio Morricone, helped the film score ratings of 95% from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

The poster child of the Spaghetti Western, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” tells the story of a tenuous alliance of gunslingers, among them the laconic Clint Eastwood, looking for gold. The film’s gripping story, memorable performances, and iconic Ennio Morricone score make it a favorite among Western fans. The movie has exceptional approval ratings of 97% from both critics and users on Rotten Tomatoes.