The Criterion Collection has long been a sanctuary for films that combine technical mastery with thematic depth. Westerns, with their sweeping vistas, moral ambiguities, and myth-making power, have always been a cornerstone of American film history, yet some of the genre's greatest achievements remain outside the Criterion vaults.

The movies below would all add something to the Criterion Closet. From revisionist deconstructions to operatic epics, these films have shaped how we imagine the frontier, wrestled with its contradictions, and, in some cases, transformed the genre completely.

10 ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ (1969)

Image via 20th Century Studios

"There's something I ought to tell you. I never shot anybody before." A playful, melancholy farewell to the Old West.

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