Draw! It's my top 10 favorite westerns of all time (so far)

Once Upon a Time in the West

I've been on a real western kick lately. I suppose it's because, second to gangster movies, it might be my favorite film genre. I also find that they're escapist in the best way.

For a couple hours, sometimes three, I can venture into a world that I never would or could inhabit, that still strangely has resonance with the world I live in today.

Westerns have big themes -- honor, prejudice, pride, guilt, vengeance and fear. They are almost always gorgeous to look at and they do what cinema does best -- tell a story visually.

It's very hard for me to narrow down my favorites to a top 10 list -- especially since there are so many classic westerns I still need to see. So don't take this as gospel, this list will inevitably evolve. These are just a few of my the must-sees of the moment.

10) Rio Bravo (1959) - Howard Hawks helmed some terrific westerns -- Red River and his remake of this film, El Dorado, almost made my list, but this star-studded movie wins by a nose. Dean Martin plays a drunk seeking a shot at redemption, teen heartthrob Ricky Nelson is the upstart with quick hands, Angie Dickinson is the sexy love interest and John Wayne pretty much plays himself. Fun dialogue and performances make this "hang out" film a standout.

9) Django (1966) - Sergio Corbucci is the other great genius of the Italian spaghetti western (Sergio Leone being the other). This brutal classic, has inspired countless sequels and the Tarantino film that borrows its name. The typical "quiet stranger comes to town" story with some unusual, uniquely ballsy twists. He drags a casket behind him, what's inside I won't spoil but let's just say this one delivers.

8) Stagecoach (1939) - This John Ford masterpiece both established the modern western film and John Wayne's movie star persona, all while influencing a generation of filmmakers like Orson Welles. This swiftly paced ensemble piece thrusts "types" (like the town drunk and the hooker with a heart of gold) in a confined space together and reveals new depth to the characters as they are under duress. One of those movies that is iconic for almost all the right reasons.

Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid

7) Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid (1969) - Paul Newman and Robert Redford have unforgettable chemistry in this, their first on-screen pairing (The Sting followed in 1973). Newman is incredibly charming as the fast-talking schemer who is always getting the outlaw duo into more trouble. And this is the film that made Redford a star. In some ways, his Sundance kid is a selfish jerk -- but he's so cool and charismatic you hardly seem to care. The ending is a great, gallows humor joke.

6) The Searchers (1956) - John Wayne gives his darkest, most compelling performance as a brooding, hate-filled Civil War veteran on the hunt for a little girl who's ostensibly been kidnapped by American Indians. A fascinating look at the racist psyche as well as one of the most visually stunning westerns of its time.

5) The Wild Bunch (1969) - I am a huge Peckinpah fan, and he made several terrific westerns I love, like the moving Ride the High Country and the elegiac Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, but so far, this ultra-violent character study is my favorite. William Holden leads a pack of unrepentant crooks with their own code of decency. The movie is infamous for its incredibly relentless final shootout, but it's a brilliant film from start to finish.

4) Unforgiven (1992) - Although I still wish Spike Lee's Malcolm X had been nominated, it's hard to quibble with Clint Eastwood's best picture win for this wonderful meditation on violence. This film marked Eastwood's maturation into a master filmmaker and boasts one of his greatest performances alongside Gene Hackman's Oscar winning turn as the complex bad guy Little Bill. Some of my favorite lines of dialogue ever are in this film.

3) The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1967) - The last and best of the Sergio Leone-Clint Eastwood western collaborations is an incredible epic. Leone makes incredible use of close-ups in what Quentin Tarantino once described (in one of his typical fits of hyperbole) the best directed film of all time. Eastwood is at this laconic best, but it's Eli Wallach who steals the show as the playful and petulant Tucco. And who can forget the classic villainous turn from Lee Van Cleef? I haven't even mentioned the most iconic score in western history.

2) Django Unchained (2012) - While this may be an unpopular opinion, this is my favorite Tarantino film. A total blast from start to finish, this homage to spaghetti westerns also has some smart and subversive ideas about race and class just under its surface. My favorite film of 2012, this sprawling, bloody work of genius is powered by perfect performances, a crackerjack script and a real heart.

1) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) - Often hailed as the greatest western ever made, this Sergio Leone is by far my favorite of the genre. It's one of my favorite films of all time and one of the most effortlessly cool cinematic experiences I've ever had. It's gorgeously shot, with one of the best Ennio Morricone scores. It also features Charles Bronson at his most badass alongside Henry Fonda in an against-type villain role. I won't spoil the resolution of the revenge-soaked masterpiece, but I will say it's one of the all-time great movie climaxes.