All 7 Gene Hackman Westerns Ranked From Worst to Best

Gene Hackman was unquestionably a legend, but even that description barely captures the extraordinary work he delivered throughout his career. He made an immediate impact with his unforgettable performance in “Bonnie and Clyde,” then continued building richly lived-in characters with his commanding voice, powerful physical presence, and remarkably authentic screen persona. Hackman could go broad and entertain, as he did with his delightful Lex Luthor in “Superman,” yet his quieter work in masterpieces such as “The Conversation” revealed the full range of his talent. A lowered gaze or the hesitant way he tried to speak with a woman could become completely mesmerizing.

Hackman remained at the top of his game as late as 2001, when he delivered another memorable performance in “The Royal Tenenbaums.” Among the many highlights of his expansive filmography were his recurring appearances in Westerns. Because Hackman always seemed like a real person rather than a polished movie star pretending to be ordinary, he was an ideal fit for a genre defined by dust, hardship, and moral conflict. Ranking Gene Hackman’s seven Westerns from worst to best, based on their average Letterboxd ratings, showcases both his contribution to the genre and his remarkable range as an actor.

Even the lowest-ranked film among these seven Westerns offers a reminder of why Gene Hackman was one of the finest performers ever to appear on screen. So saddle up as we revisit Hackman’s work on the frontier.

“Wyatt Earp” was a 1994 Western epic directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Kevin Costner in the title role. The film featured Hackman as Wyatt’s father, Nicholas, alongside an impressive cast that included Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday and Bill Pullman as Ed Masterson. Even with a distinctive presence like Hackman’s in the ensemble, however, “Wyatt Earp” struggled to escape the shadow of other early-1990s Westerns. Most notably, “Tombstone,” another film about Wyatt Earp, had arrived in theaters only a few months earlier, while Costner’s own 1990 hit “Dances with Wolves” remained a towering comparison.

That lukewarm reputation has persisted, with “Wyatt Earp” earning an average Letterboxd rating of 3.2. The film is not necessarily considered terrible, but many users agree that its visual style and screenplay do not justify a runtime exceeding 210 minutes. Even at a shorter length—or without the more acclaimed “Tombstone” looming over it—“Wyatt Earp” would likely still feel like a slog. Its sluggish pacing and rigid devotion to biopic conventions drew criticism, although the cast received broad praise from Letterboxd reviewers.

Hackman’s performance was part of that praise, with several viewers calling his work one of the movie’s highlights. Unfortunately, even his dependable presence could not prevent “Wyatt Earp” from becoming one of the 10 worst films to run for more than three hours.

After helping launch the New Hollywood era with his supporting performance in “Bonnie and Clyde,” Gene Hackman spent the late 1960s and 1970s working with many of the period’s most celebrated directors. He led Francis Ford Coppola’s acclaimed “The Conversation” and appeared in William Friedkin’s cultural phenomenon “The French Connection.” The 1974 Western “Zandy’s Bride” extended that run, bringing Hackman together with director Jan Troell, who had earned a Best Director Oscar nomination only a few years earlier for his 1971 film “The Emigrants.”

That acclaimed epic established Troell as a filmmaker worth watching, ensuring that his later projects—particularly one starring an actor of Hackman’s stature—would attract significant attention. Set in the late 1800s, “Zandy’s Bride” follows Zandy Allan (Gene Hackman), whose life is upended when he clashes with his unexpectedly strong-willed mail-order bride, Hannah Lund (Liv Ullmann). The couple’s gradual movement toward a relationship earned the film a 3.3 average rating on Letterboxd, a respectable score that nonetheless falls below those of many of Hackman’s other films from the era.

For many Letterboxd reviewers, the film’s biggest problem is Troell’s seemingly detached treatment of the abuse and sexual violence Zandy inflicts on Hannah. Those elements make it difficult to become invested in the couple’s developing bond. More enthusiastic reviews, however, praise the work of Hackman and Ullmann, along with Troell’s ability to frame sweeping natural landscapes through striking cinematography.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Not every film needs a complicated plot, unexpected twists, tangled relationships, or a nonlinear structure. Sometimes, a race is enough to power an entire story. That is the premise of 1975’s “Bite the Bullet,” with Gene Hackman playing Sam Clayton, the central figure in a film about nine larger-than-life competitors taking part in a 700-mile horse race. The ensemble includes a remarkable collection of familiar faces, among them Candice Bergen, James Coburn, Jan-Michael Vincent, Ben Johnson, Dabney Coleman, and Walter Scott.

Directed by Richard Brooks, whose credits also include “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “In Cold Blood,” “Bite the Bullet” holds a 3.3 average rating on Letterboxd. Some reviewers felt the movie moved too slowly despite its inherently exciting premise, while others struggled to find a reason to care about the story. Many viewers still found considerable appeal in the star-studded cast and expansive natural scenery. Across the platform’s reviews, though, one point appears almost universal: Hackman is exceptionally good in the film.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: US Embassy Alerted Russia About Potential Terrorist Strike, But Putin Disregarded the Warning – NewsFinale

Even though “Bite the Bullet” was not destined to become an enduring classic, it gave Hackman another opportunity to display his range. He managed to make a strong impression in a comparatively straightforward Western, proving once again how much he could bring to even a modestly ambitious production.

Brandt Ruger (Gene Hackman) faces a devastating crisis when his wife, Melissa (Candice Bergen), is kidnapped. Determined to rescue her, he sets out with a band of followers intent on taking revenge against those responsible. Directed by Don Medford, “The Hunting Party” also features Oliver Reed and Simon Oakland. The film explores familiar revenge-Western territory, but its original reception was largely hostile. Many critics argued that it borrowed the brutality of a Sam Peckinpah Western without matching Peckinpah’s artistry.

“The Hunting Party” has not exactly developed a huge cult following on Letterboxd, but the platform’s users have been considerably kinder to it than contemporary critics were. The film carries a 3.3 average rating, with negative reviews often objecting to its relentlessly bleak tone. Other viewers found its ugliness and brutality compelling, particularly because the film offers the unusual sight of British actor Oliver Reed adopting an American accent for a Western role.

If any actor could commit fully to a Western as disturbing as “The Hunting Party,” it was Gene Hackman. He was never afraid to inhabit grimy, unpleasant, or morally repellent characters. That willingness to take risks helped the film attract more appreciation from modern audiences than it received when it was released in 1971.

“Geronimo: An American Legend,” released in 1993, achieved something unusual in American cinema: it made audiences wish Gene Hackman were not part of the movie. That reaction had nothing to do with the quality of Hackman’s performance. Instead, it reflected the frustration that Walter Hill’s film, supposedly centered on the Apache leader Geronimo (Wes Studi), devoted so much attention to white characters played by Hackman, Jason Patric, Robert Duvall, Matt Damon, and others. Hackman was effective, but more of his screen time could have gone to Indigenous performers.

The version of “Geronimo: An American Legend” released in theaters remains the one evaluated today, earning a 3.3 average rating on Letterboxd. The score might have been higher if not for widespread complaints about the slow pacing and underwhelming performances, including Patric’s. Those shortcomings prevented the movie from fully realizing its ambitions as a historical epic. Still, reviewers frequently praise Hill’s visual direction and Wes Studi’s universally admired performance, while Hackman’s sturdy supporting work also receives recognition in numerous write-ups.

By this point in his career, Hackman was firmly established as a legend, yet he showed that he could still function as one element of a larger ensemble. He contributed to a story bigger than any individual star, even if “Geronimo: An American Legend” might ultimately have benefited from less attention on Hackman—and Jason Patric—and more on its Indigenous characters.

Sam Raimi’s “The Quick and the Dead” is notable for several reasons, including the presence of two future movie stars who would become major figures only a few years after the film’s February 1995 release. Russell Crowe would go on to appear in additional Westerns, but his status as a major star was cemented by the back-to-back successes of “The Insider,” “Gladiator,” and “A Beautiful Mind” between 1999 and 2001. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a young gunslinger known as The Kid, arriving just two years before “Titanic” transformed his career. Remarkably, both rising actors share the screen with the already established Gene Hackman.

All these actors are assembled for the saga of Ellen (Sharon Stone) coming to the town of Redemption to seek revenge against Mayor Herod (Hackman). A local quick-draw tournament could be the perfect opportunity to finally put a bullet in Herod’s head. Considered one of the 10 most rewatchable Western movies of all time, “The Quick and the Dead” has amassed a 3.5 average rating on Letterboxd. Raimi’s gifts for delivering gnarly entertainment are in rare form here as the bullets and outsized Western characters fly.

Plus, Raimi’s gift for unspooling memorable performances out of his actors inspired many Letterboxd reviewers to heap praise on the various “Quick and the Dead” cast members, including Hackman’s nefarious turn. A significantly more unhinged creation than most other Hackman Westerns, “The Quick and the Dead” unified multiple eras of movie stars with thrilling results.

1992’s “Unforgiven” was about ’60s cinema legends coming to terms with mortality and grappling with the complicated consequences of the classical Western image. The film’s leading man and director, Clint Eastwood, was clearly embodying that as Will Munny, a tormented man conscious of violence’s long-ranging consequences. That’s a sharp contrast to the ’60s spaghetti Westerns Eastwood once headlined, which dished out carnage without giving a second thought to the ripple effects of such behavior. Similarly, Gene Hackman, who also got his start in the ’60s playing law-breaking figures in rural settings, is around to subvert his initial movie star image as the “Unforgiven” villain.

Hackman, who once played Bonnie and Clyde’s most trusted associate, is now the bloodthirsty Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett. Eastwood and Hackman’s respective performances are richly in conversation with their past, but their turns also work like gangbusters even for those who haven’t seen those landmark titles. It also explains how “Unforgiven” has scored a 4.2 average rating on Letterboxd. The reviews on this site are constantly heaping praise on its haunting atmosphere and commanding collection of performances.

That includes Hackman’s Oscar-winning work, which stands out even in a career chock full of antagonist turns. Some movies get too lost in the past when reflecting on yesteryear. With talented actors like Gene Hackman, “Unforgiven” — one of Taylor Sheridan’s major inspirations for “Yellowstone” — effortlessly used pre-existing films as a launchpad for something new and exceptional.