Saddling Up For The Wild Ride: Westerns Of The 1990s

Noura Haddad
Noura HaddadDecember 4, 2025
The 1990s was a decade that saw a resurgence of interest in the Western genre, with a new wave of filmmakers putting their own unique spin on the classic tales of the American frontier. From traditional oaters to more experimental and genre-bending fare, the Westerns of the 1990s offered something for everyone. Whether you're a fan of gritty realism or over-the-top action, there's a Western from this decade that's sure to scratch your itch.

One of the defining characteristics of 1990s Westerns is their willingness to challenge and subvert traditional genre conventions. Films like Dead Man and The Quick and the Dead pushed the boundaries of what a Western could be, incorporating elements of fantasy, drama, and social commentary into their narratives. At the same time, more traditional Westerns like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill offered a nostalgic glimpse into the past, with their sweeping vistas, rugged cowboys, and gunfights at high noon.

Despite the many advances and innovations of 1990s Westerns, the genre remains deeply rooted in its classic themes and motifs. The struggle between civilization and wilderness, the importance of honor and loyalty, and the corrupting influence of power and greed are all timeless concerns that continue to resonate with audiences today. Whether you're a longtime fan of the Western or just discovering its joys, the films of the 1990s offer a rich and rewarding cinematic landscape to explore.

So saddle up and join us on a journey through the Wild West of the 1990s, as we explore the best Westerns the decade has to offer. From the dusty trails and open ranges of the American frontier to the mean streets and corrupt saloons of the urban West, these films offer a compelling and often surprising glimpse into the myths and realities of the Wild West.
Grey Owl
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Grey Owl

#1

Archie Grey Owl is a trapper in Canada in the early 1930s when a young Iroquois woman from town asks him to teach her Indian ways. They live in the woods, where she is appalled at how trapped animals die. She adopts two orphaned beaver kits and helps Archie see his way to stop trapping. Instead, he works as a guide, a naturalist writer, and then the Canadian government hires him to save the beaver in a conserve by Lake Ajawaan in Prince Albert National Park. He writes a biography, which brings him attention in Canada and invitations to lecture in England. Before he leaves, he and Anahareo (Pony) marry. In England, his secret is revealed. Will Anahareo continue to love him?

1999117 min
WesternActionDrama
5.6
77 votes
The Jack Bull
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The Jack Bull

#2

When the law fails to punish a fellow rancher that has abused his horses, a Wyoming horse trader sacrifices it all in a quest for justice.

1999116 min
WesternTV Movie
6.3
95 votes
Ravenous
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Ravenous

#3

Upon receiving reports of missing persons at Fort Spencer, a remote Army outpost on the Western frontier, Capt. John Boyd investigates. After arriving at his new post, Boyd and his regiment aid a wounded frontiersman who recounts a horrifying tale of a wagon train murdered by its supposed guide – a vicious U.S. Army colonel gone rogue. Fearing the worst, the regiment heads out into the wilderness to verify the gruesome claims.

1999101 min
AdventureWesternHorror
6.8
665 votes
Purgatory
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Purgatory

#4

An outlaw band flees a posse and rides into Refuge, a small town where no one carries a gun, drinks, or swears. The town is actually Purgatory, and the peaceful inhabitants are all famous dead outlaws and criminals such as Doc Holiday and Wild Bill Hickok who must redeem themselves before gaining admittance to Heaven... or screw up and go to Hell.

199994 min
FantasyWesternTV Movie
7.2
123 votes
The Hi-Lo Country
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The Hi-Lo Country

#5

An intimate story of the enduring bond of friendship between two hard-living men, set against a sweeping backdrop: the American West, post-World War II, in its twilight. Pete and Big Boy are masters of the prairie, but ultimately face trickier terrain: the human heart.

1998114 min
DramaRomanceWestern
6.1
86 votes
Almost Heroes
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Almost Heroes

#6

Two hapless explorers lead an ill-fated 1804 expedition through the Pacific Northwest in a hopeless, doomed effort to reach the Pacific Ocean before Lewis and Clark.

199890 min
AdventureComedyWestern
5.4
204 votes
Once Upon a Time in China and America
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Once Upon a Time in China and America

#7

So goes to the U.S. to open a martial arts school. Around this time, many Chinese people were sold off to U.S. railroad companies, and were brutally treated by the Americans under the harsh working conditions. Thus, the American workers' hatred towards the Chinese immigrants is high. As a result, So gets into trouble with the Americans and the mob, and calls Master Wong for help.

1997102 min
ActionWestern
5.9
110 votes
Wild Bill
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Wild Bill

#8

Biopic about famous gunslinger Wild Bill Hickock. The early career of legendary lawman is telescoped and culminates in his relocation in Deadwood and a reunion with Calamity Jane.

199598 min
WesternActionDrama
5.7
165 votes
Dead Man
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Dead Man

#9

On the run after committing murder, an accountant encounters a strange Native American man who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.

1995121 min
DramaFantasyWestern
7.3
1661 votes
Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure
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Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventure

#10

A young boy draws on the inspiration of legendary western characters to find the strength to fight an evil land baron in the old west who wants to steal his family's farm and destroy their idyllic community. When Daniel Hackett sees his father Jonas gravely wounded by the villainous Stiles, his first urge is for his family to flee the danger, and give up their life on a farm which Daniel has come to despise anyway. Going alone to a lake to try to decide what to do, he falls asleep on a boat and wakes to find himself in the wild west, in the company of such "tall tale" legends as Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Calamity Jane. Together, they battle the same villains Daniel is facing in his "real" world, ending with a heroic confrontation in which the boy stands up to Stiles and his henchmen, and rallies his neighbors to fight back against land grabbers who want to destroy their town.

199598 min
AdventureFamilyWestern
6.2
83 votes
The Quick and the Dead
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The Quick and the Dead

#11

A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.

1995107 min
WesternActionDrama
6.5
1869 votes
Legends of the Fall
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Legends of the Fall

#12

In early 20th-century Montana, Col. William Ludlow lives on a ranch in the wilderness with his sons, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. Eventually, the unconventional but close-knit family are bound by loyalty, tested by war, and torn apart by love, as told over the course of several decades in this epic saga.

1994133 min
DramaWesternRomance
7.4
2752 votes
Troublemakers
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Troublemakers

#13

Two brothers who hate themselves are going to spend Christmas with their mother. She tries to get them together.

1994107 min
WesternComedyRomance
6.1
232 votes
Wyatt Earp
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Wyatt Earp

#14

From Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp is taught that nothing matters more than family and the law. Joined by his brothers and Doc Holliday, Earp wages war on the dreaded Clanton and McLaury gangs.

1994191 min
WesternDramaAction
6.8
894 votes
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold
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City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold

#15

Mitch Robbins' 40th birthday begins quite well until he returns home and finds his brother Glen, the black sheep of the family, in his sofa. Nevertheless he is about to have a wonderful birthday-night with his wife when he discovers a treasure map of Curly by chance. Together with Phil and unfortunately Glen he tries to find the hidden gold of Curly's father in the desert of Arizona.

1994116 min
ComedyWestern
5.3
328 votes

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