Wednesday Matinee

Destination: The American and Canadian West and Australia

Movies: Modern Westerns

by Jane Louise Boursaw

This month, in keeping with our American Western Road trip, Jane Boursaw brings us  five modern Westerns. If the scenery lures you, however, be advised that Brokeback Mountain was filmed largely in Canada, as well as scenes in New Mexico and in Wyoming, while Unforgiven was  filmed entirely in some very enticing Canadian locations. Quigley Down Under, of course, was filmed in Australia–another tempting location for a road trip.

Most of us are familiar with the classic westerns starring the likes of John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. Then came the era of the spaghetti westerns — Sergio Leone films starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Terence Hill.
But my favorite westerns are more recent, made in the past 20 years or so. I guess you’d call them modern westerns, though they don’t all take place in modern times. But these are films with a little more depth and emotion than the classic cowboy themes. Let’s take a look at five of my favorite modern westerns. Continue reading Modern Westerns? Yes, Please →