Why did Westerns become so unpopular?

I personally love western films and shows but they rea;;y don't get made anymore and really haven't been for a good 30 plus years almost

Why did they become so unpopular?

 

My guess is right around July 20, 1969

 

Westerns are still 'popular.' But you don't really see guys with a typecast for them as much.

 

Well said!

The Duke, Clint, even Kevin Costner come to mind; The Searchers, Pale Rider, Unforgiven, Open Range -
just need a good story, script, right actors and you've got an audience, but the genre has become much more rare -
seems viewers are less interested.

 

There are number of reasons.

One is overexposure. at one point westerns were one quarter of the prime time TV schedule. Many people burned out on them.

There are several other reasons, but they touch on politics, and would end up getting deleted.

If you want to talk about TV westerns mosey on over here:
Small Screen Sagebrush: the TV Western thread

 

Film made a big difference in a great western. Everything being so digital, doesn't look the same
or as exciting on the big screen. I'll take 50's/60's westerns in Technicolor or alike any day of the week.
The magic is in the format.

 

The last western I watched was that Johnny Depp fiasco. If that didn't kill the genre I don't know what.

 

Western TV shows were very cheap to shoot, since every major Hollywood studio (even Disney) had a Western backlot, so they could shoot a period Western relatively cheaply without going on location, or at least getting the location shots cheaply and putting them in later. There was a point in the late 1950s/early 1960s where it seemed like 1/3 of the schedule was Westerns.

I think people got burned out on them just because of repetition. That's the easy answer.

Films went through a renaissance in the 1960s, and I think you can make a good argument that the British Invasion for music sent a lot of ripples throughout pop culture. Suddenly, there was more drug use, more serious subjects, and more ambitious films across a lot of genres. I think Westerns suddenly kind of paled in the face of serious drama, big comedies, action films, biographical films, horror, science fiction, and a lot of other genres that kind of bloomed in the late 1960s/early 1970s.

Maybe the biggest reason is that the audience's tastes changed. It's been pointed out many times that game shows, soap operas, variety shows, and Westerns made up a huge part of television during the first two decades the medium was wrong. How many of those are on TV today? Very few. I like to think there's always room for a great Western, but it's hard to get modern audiences to get into one unless there's something striking about the project -- either subject matter, or a big star, or some unique plot idea that's never been done before.

I was never a Western guy, but I had to take a Western film class in film school and so was forced to see about fifty of the greatest Westerns ever made. Even I had to admit there were some great films there, but I realized that the only ones I personally liked were the transitional Westerns: the ones where the age of the cowboy is ending and the settlers and cars and so on are coming in, in the 1890s and 1900s. Butch Cassidy, The Wild Bunch, Little Big Man, Magnificent Seven, The Shootest... there's a long list. (I also cheat and include Blazing Saddles on the list, which is barely a Western.) There's also a handful of Westerns that hinge on strong psychological issues, like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Once Upon a Time in the West, or The Searchers, where it's really about the conflict between two or more people, and at least one of them is extreme crazy. The Western setting is almost unimportant, since it's really just background.

 

I think the Coen brothers are the only ones advancing this genre, with No Country for Old Men and True Grit. They tap into middle America so effortlessly. But to answer the question posed by the OP, Hollywood's idea of America and the audience has changed.

 

Folks got burned out on them, a different generation looking forward rather than backwards for their stories (or at least the contemporary world). Consider how many were on TV in the 1960's and even through the 1970's and how many westerns were made? They were the comic book movies of their day.

 

Dances With Wolves and True Grit /Bridges has two be the last two good ones. I liked Silverado but then Basil Faulty appears and spoils it.

 

Always loved em.

Magnificent Seven was recent.

 

Has no one noticed "The Ballad Of Lester Scruggs" or "Godless" on Netflix? Seems the Western is returning.

 

Favourite 1950s western ?
Vera Cruz
Favourite 1960s western ?
Either The Magnificent Seven or The Good The Bad and The Ugly
Favourite 1970s western?
Outlaw Josey Wales
Favourite 1980s Western ?
Pale Rider
Favourite 1990s Western ?
Unforgiven
Favourite 2000's Western?
True Grit

 

The same thing that will happen to the comic book movie. Hopefully.

Then when it comes time to do one, they will put in the required work to make one a hit.

 

When I was a child, there were western movies and tv shows. We used to play 'cowboys and Indians' as children and dress up as them for Halloween. Hell, there were even western cartoons and comic books. Westerns were an American entertainment staple. Now, the opposite is true and Westerns are largely considered a specialty market. Largely relegated to adults, they've pretty much abandoned/lost the kids. The glut of product in the old days fed the genre's popularity. Conversely, the scarcity of product today, coupled with it's primarily adult nature practically guarantees its dwindling numbers. Aint no kids dressing up as cowboys on halloween anymore!

 

Personally, I never understood the appeal of westerns. Just not interested, and never have been.

I agree with the posters that figure their time has passed. There was a saturation of them from the 50s to the early 70s. And tastes have changed. The western era seems too easy and perhaps cliché in this age.

 

Yeah I just started their “Ballad of Buster Scruggs” on Netflix. Definitely worth a look-see

 

I thought Heaven's Gate was a big part in their decline.

 

Westerns are still great, although I can't deny they aren't as popular as they once were... But, I grew up with Westerns, buy the occasional title on DVD (be it another season of "Gunsmoke", or another movie) and will always like them...

There was at least one Western released this year, "Hostiles" with Christian Bale, Rosamund Parks, and Wes Studi... I seen a few TV ads for it, but I'm not sure if it even played locally... I bought the title on Blu-Ray just the other day, after having kept that title in my mind since I seen the commercials and thought it looked like it'd be a pretty good film... I haven't watched it yet, but I'm expecting I'll like it... Anyone here see it? If so, thoughts?

 

Are you talking about "The Lone Ranger" with Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp?

I've yet to see that one- I know it didn't do too well at the box-office, in the US anyway, so I'm expecting it'll show up in the $3.74 or $5.00 bins at Walmart some day... But, since it was a Disney release if I remember right, I don't know if they'd ever allow one of their films to end up in the "budget bins"... Still, I'm sure it could be found cheap enough anyway on eBay or Amazon, so when I get curious enough I know it'll be there to buy...

 

Lone Ranger could use a re-cut. There is a pretty fun and great looking movie in there some where, its just too long and has to much phony Johnny Depp as of now.

*edit
I'll bet there is a fan edit out there that has done just that.

 

HOSTILES was one of the best films of the last year, but it's exceedingly grim.

Previous to HOSTILES, I would rate APPALOOSA as the best recent Western. Absolutely terrific cast and story, and a somewhat overlooked film.

 

I thought the remake was awful. (And by that the recent remake.)

Naw, Westerns were already dying in the 1970s, and Heaven's Gate was released in 1980. You could make an argument that that was the nail in the coffin (one of many).

Several people told us after Open Range came out that it was not only the best Western they'd seen in the previous 10 years, but also that it was the best film Costner made in a long time. It's a good film.

 

Appaloosa was excellent.