Remaking the Classics: 10 Westerns That Need a Modern Twist

Saddle Up for a Remake! 10 Classic Westerns Ready for a Modern Twist

Why Classic Westerns Need a Modern Makeover

The Western genre— it’s as old as cinema itself! From groundbreaking editing techniques in The Great Train Robbery (1903) to amazing storytelling advancements in later films, Westerns have constantly evolved; yet their history includes many triumphs and significant, very troubling failures. Many movies display poor pacing, problematic depictions, especially those extremely racist depictions of Native Americans. There's a ton of room for updating these classics and correcting past mistakes!

Westerns have fallen out of favor lately; yet this overlooks how modern interpretations successfully subvert old tropes! The Coen Brothers' True Grit shows how reimagining a classic can yield brilliant results and even today’s filmmaking world can use Westerns. Many really great titles still lack some key aspects of great modern filmmaking that would improve storytelling overall! We’ll explore ten awesome titles— classics needing those updates that could be given today.

Also Read: Best Underrated Clint Eastwood Movies You Need to Watch

Top 10 Classic Westerns Ready for a Modern Remake

10. Joe Kidd (1972): Clint Eastwood's Missed Opportunity

Clint Eastwood is a Western legend; his Spaghetti Westerns (those directed by Sergio Leone) are classics! However, some of his American Westerns fell short. Joe Kidd is one of them; While addressing land ownership and the mistreatment of Mexicans in America, the ending is clunky and abandons any kind of prior established political subtext that was built up to that point.

A remake could fully explore those deeper themes; crafting a more profound and detailed storyline and completely modernizing the protagonist; leaving behind that classic Eastwood character and creating something new; showcasing that the genre itself continues to expand! There’s plenty to rediscover!

9. Stagecoach (1939): Epic Stunts and Problematic Portrayals

Clint Eastwood in Joe Kidd hitting someone Image

Stagecoach is a Western cornerstone; it’s brilliantly paced; its action is amazing, John Wayne's introduction is legendary. However; its treatment of Native characters leaves a lot to be desired; making this choice a clear one to correct; using today's better storytelling potential!

Modern technology can completely up the ante; creating stunts rivaling Mad Max: Fury Road for that epic journey through dangerous territory. This also completely addresses prior concerns by adding significantly better portrayals; making use of far more advanced techniques, resulting in improvements on almost every level imaginable!

8. Young Guns (1988): A Young Gunslinger Story With Poor Pacing

Young Guns tried something new— giving young outlaws that awesome “youthful” Western vibe; making use of incredibly popular teen actors that contributed to its original success— names like Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen, and Kiefer Sutherland— yet this brilliant potential for generating a huge new cast of relatively fresh-faced performers got utterly lost in a lackluster script. Its poor pacing created a poorly designed ending. A remake fixing that and still having a killer young cast could really work.

7. Ulzana’s Raid (1972): A Revisionist Western With a Modern Message

Ulzana’s Raid is a 1970s revisionist Western challenging ingrained prejudices shown in US soldiers attempting to catch Ulzana (an Apache warrior). Its Vietnam War criticism is its biggest strength. A remake fully exploring prejudice; examining how US history repeats; it provides a very contemporary, relevant viewpoint with a great and complex message!

6. Hannie Caulder (1971): Revenge and Empowerment, Without Exploitation

Hannie Caulder is an obscure revenge Western featuring a kick-ass female lead—Raquel Welch! However, its portrayal has issues regarding its explicit attempts at making the female lead be sexualized—an element utterly lacking and detrimental that seriously affects the storyline. It still manages to shine; a huge source of inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill!

Modern Westerns really lack female leads. This presents a unique opportunity; making use of stronger scripts to remove those sexist plot devices, making Hannie Caulder into that empowered female-fronted action film, giving a contemporary narrative perspective!

5. Broken Arrow (1950): Justice for Native Peoples

Broken Arrow is one of the first Westerns challenging racial injustices! It follows this American settler making peace between settlers and Apache. Yet its major flaw makes this incredibly questionable: Despite challenging racism, they still have white actors wearing “redface,” contradicting what is portrayed in that film. A modern version can be updated! This makes this incredibly important moment entirely worthy of getting an update today.

4. Cat Ballou (1965): Western Comedy Done Right

Cat Ballou is an unexpectedly weird addition that didn't truly find that same resonance even today, despite some minor improvements made regarding modern cinematic approaches, its odd blend of genres still is lost; largely considered unmemorable, folks! This doesn't change what makes it good; however, what makes it a bad title makes this worth reimagining: It needs improved focus on the comedic aspect! A updated take; fully highlighting Jane Fonda’s character could become a huge comedy.

3. Navajo Joe (1966): Reclaiming a Story with a Native American Voice

Sergio Corbucci's spaghetti westerns are top-tier; Navajo Joe isn’t! Despite showing a Navajo warrior seeking revenge, Burt Reynolds' casting is awful! This could be easily addressed and makes a remake worthy—a Native American lead giving an entirely different angle; demonstrating a potential that couldn’t exist with any other option.

2. Annie Oakley (1935): A Feminist Icon Deserving of a Proper Biopic

Annie Oakley, starring Barbara Stanwyck is mostly remembered as having many flaws; an early Western exploring female characters that was seriously lacking; ignoring her importance. Its storyline focuses mostly on an utterly unnecessary love story.

This would present an easy update; especially a film focusing on her accomplishments as a highly skilled sharpshooter; emphasizing that feminist view, making this potentially very unique adaptation worth reimagining! It's a powerful story.

1. The Searchers (1956): Confronting Racism Head-On

The Searchers is legendary; a very influential Western. However; it uses incredibly racist tropes. It’s problematic; that problematic history means any kind of remakes aren’t simple; but this does not preclude a serious attempt to create a much better portrayal using today's techniques!

Remaking it; pushing deeper into that dark hatred from John Wayne's character adds immense thematic relevance; that examination of racism should not be overlooked. It creates a uniquely valuable interpretation; addressing that complicated legacy which needs further context.

Also Read: The Best John Wayne Movies: A Guide to His Most Iconic Films

Conclusion: The Ever-Evolving Western

These films showcase how even older classics might desperately need some serious changes in the contemporary context. Some films might need more careful narrative choices to deliver improved pacing, other productions would just require removing or significantly reducing offensive racial stereotypes found commonly across various Westerns! These classic titles prove that re-imagining is possible, while providing valuable updates.