5 Underappreciated Western Films II

We're approaching the 20th installment of the Underappreciated Films series and I've got something special planned for that when it happens. For now, though, I wanted to revisit a favorite genre - westerns. With that in mind, saddle up boys and girls; this is going to be quite the ride!

The rules are the same as always:

• In the event of a film series, only one film may be mentioned.
• No repeat entries, if a film appeared on the previous list it won't be here.

With all that out of the way, let's get into it!

5: Django (1966)

Django was co-written and directed by Sergio Corbucci, the film stars Franco Nero as a former Union soldier who arrives at a ghost town in the company of a mixed race prostitute. What does he want? Revenge. He's in town to avenge the murder of his lover at the hands of a white supremacist colonel.

The film was released in 1966, and quickly gained a reputation as one of the most violent films ever made at the time. It was refused certification in the UK until 1993 where it was given an 18-rating.

Django is considered to be one of the best spaghetti westerns of the genre. It's a slow-paced flick but it's so worthwhile.

4: Death Rides a Horse (1967)

Death Rides a Horse was written by Luciano Vincenzoni and directed by Giulio Petrano. The film was released in 1967 and starred John Phillip Law and Lee van Cleef.

The film follows Bill Meceita (John Phillip Law), a man who witnessed the murders of his family, as he teams up with Ryan (Lee van Cleef) and hunts down the men responsible.

There's no getting around it, this film is very dated. The cinematography is nice enough and the music is great. It's very slow-paced and not in the same way that Django is. With that in mind, when things do get going you're on the edge of your seat.

Death Rides a Horse received a somewhat mixed reception, but it's worth giving it a chance.

3: Boot Hill (1969)

Written and directed by Giuseppe Collizi, and released in 1969, Boot Hill stars Bud Spencer and Terence Hill as a pair of gun hands who team up with a travelling circus to put an end to the dealings of an unscrupulous prospector.

The film has a phenomenal soundtrack from Carlo Rustichelli and the performances by Hill and Spencer are top-notch. Pacing-wise, the film isn't too bad; it has a pretty steady pace that doesn't feel forced. With that said, the film doesn't really look too good. It may be an unfair comparison, but it just looks dirty compared to films like Django - which released only three years before - and Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy (released from 1964 - 1966). The night time scenes are a bit of a struggle as it's very difficult to see what's going on and even the daytime scenes don't look particularly nice.

With all that said, the film garnered a positive response upon its release and was subsequently re-released as Trinity Rides Again - a reference to Terence Hill's more successful western appearances. It's not great, but it's worth watching and deserves a lot more attention than it gets.

2: Riders of the Purple Sage (1996)

Jane Withersteen lives on a homestead in Cottonwoods, Utah and one day a mysterious gunhand named Lassiter arrives looking for the grave of a woman named Millie Erne. Jane teams up with Lassiter to protect her land from greedy Mormon elders. A second storyline follows Jane's friend Bern Venters as he goes out to watch out for the cattle and has to run from a lynch mob.

Now, Grey seemingly really didn't like the Mormon community. There's a lot of scorn and disgust present in Lassiter's discussions of the Mormon faith. As is, the novel was quite popular with readers - although, there was a bit of controversy due to the aforementioned disdain for the community.

The 1996 film starred Ed Harris as Lassiter and Amy Madigan as Jane and followed the plot of the novel very, very close. As far as reception goes, the film got a positive reception. Sadly this movie doesn't get nearly enough attention nowadays.

1: Jessi's Girls (1975)

Okay, this one is going to get a little...unpleasant.

Jessica and Seth are a newlywed couple headed west to start a life together run across a group of bandits. Seth is shot and killed and Jessica is gangraped...I told you it was going to be unpleasant. After burying her husband, Jessica learns how to shoot from a grizzled wilderness resident before setting out on a quest for vengeance.

Now, the story isn't all that great, the characters are kind of meh, and the opening rape scene is going to be very off-putting for some. I'll have to give this one a full review at some point, because there's quite a bit to talk about but that's not for this article. The film's not great, but it deserves more recognition than it gets.