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The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that [embody] the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier."[1] Generally set in the American frontier between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890,[2]: 557 the genre also includes many examples of stories set in locations outside the frontier – including Northern Mexico, the Northwestern United States, Alaska, and Western Canada – as well as stories that take place before 1849 and after 1890. Western films comprise part of the larger Western genre, which encompasses literature, music, television, and plastic arts.
Western films derive from the Wild West shows that began in the 1870s.[3]: 48 Originally referred to as "Wild West dramas", the shortened term "Western" came to describe the genre.[4] Although other Western films were made earlier, The Great Train Robbery (1903) is often considered to mark the beginning of the genre.[2][5] Westerns were a major genre during the silent era (1894–1929) and continued to grow in popularity during the sound era (post–1929).
The genre reached its pinnacle between 1945 and 1965 when it comprised roughly a quarter of studio output.[6] The advent of color and widescreen during this era opened up new possibilities for directors to portray the vastness of the American landscape.[3]: 105 This era also produced the genre's most iconic figures, including John Wayne and Randolph Scott, who developed personae that they maintained across most of their films.[7] Director John Ford is often considered one of the genre's greatest filmmakers.[8]
With the proliferation of television in the 1960s, television Westerns began to supersede film Westerns in popularity.[9] By the end of the decade, studios had mostly ceased to make Westerns. Despite their dwindling popularity during this decade, the 1960s gave rise to the revisionist Western, several examples of which became vital entries in the canon.[10]
Since the 1960s, new Western films have only appeared sporadically. Despite their decreased prominence, Western films remain an integral part of American culture and national mythology.[11][12]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Rubin, Joan Shelley; Casper, Scott E., eds. (2013). The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-976435-8.
- ^ a b Simmon, Scott (2003-06-30). The Invention of the Western Film: A Cultural History of the Genre's First Half Century. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-55581-4.
- ^ McMahan, Alison. Alice Guy Blaché: Lost Visionary of the Cinema. Continuum. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-5013-4023-9.
- ^ Verhoeff, Nanna (2006-01-01). The West in Early Cinema: After the Beginning. Amsterdam University Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-90-5356-831-6.
- ^ Aron, Stephen (2015). The American West: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-19-985893-4.
- ^ Munn, Michael (2005-03-01). John Wayne: The Man Behind the Myth. Penguin. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-101-21026-0.
- ^ Matheson, Sue (2016-02-18). The Westerns and War Films of John Ford. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-4422-6106-8.
- ^ MacDonald, J. Fred (1987). Who Shot the Sheriff?: The Rise and Fall of the Television Western. Praeger. pp. xi. ISBN 978-0-275-92326-6.
- ^ Lusted, David (2003). The Western. Pearson/Longman. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-582-43736-4.
- ^ Parks, Rita (1982). The Western Hero in Film and Television: Mass Media Mythology. UMI Research Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-8357-1287-3.
- ^ Day, Kirsten (2016-05-31). Cowboy Classics: The Roots of the American Western in the Epic Tradition. Edinburgh University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-4744-0247-7.