As anyone with a Hulu subscription knows, the popular streaming service gives you access to thousands of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and pretty much every other type of filmed media. But did you know there are a lot of great Westerns to watch on Hulu? In fact, the platform is home to several of the best Westerns of all time, both those set in the Old West and more contemporary stories set in modernity.
If you’re looking to revisit epic sagas about cowboys, outlaws, and the Old West, stick around, because we’re about to break down why Hulu is one of the best streaming services when it comes to Westerns.
The Quick And The Dead (1995)
The Director: Sam Raimi
The Cast: Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe, Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio
What It’s About: A mysterious gunslinger known as “The Lady” rides into a busy frontier town to enter a dueling competition upon a path of vengeance to get back at the man who murdered her father.
What To Expect: A staple of TNT’s daytime rotation in the ‘90s, The Quick and the Dead is a thrilling, blood-soaked, and beautifully shot revenge story set in the Old West. With multiple duels, all kinds of twists and turns, and one of Gene Hackman’s most vile characters, there’s a lot going on.
Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
The Director: Gabe Polsky
The Cast: Nicolas Cage, Fred Hechinger, Rachel Keller
What It’s About: Looking to make something of himself, a Harvard dropout embarks upon an epic and arduous buffalo hunt with a grizzled frontiersman. Seeking fame, fortune, and glory, the young man soon finds out how unforgiving the West can be.
What To Expect: Gorgeously shot and brilliantly acted, Butcher’s Crossing is an intense and brutal exploration of the depths of the human condition, greed, and the cost of a great adventure.
Jane Got A Gun (2015)
The Director: Gavin O’Connor
The Cast: Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Joel Edgerton
What It’s About: With her husband gravely injured and on the verge of death, a woman turns to a former lover-turned-gunslinger to help her protect her family from a band of revenge-obsessed outlaws.
What To Expect: Jane Got a Gun features some great action, a complex story, and what is arguably one of the best siege scenes in any Western.
The Legend Of Molly Johnson (2022)
The Director: Leah Purcell
The Cast: Leah Purcell, Jessica De Gouw, Sam Reid
What It’s About: A woman goes to great lengths to protect her children from the brutality of life in late-19th-century Australia, both from her missing husband’s old gang and local authorities.
What To Expect: If you want a Western with a strong-willed female lead, beautiful scenery, and explosive violence, then The Legend of Molly Johnson (also called The Drover’s Wife) is going to do the trick.
Bitterbrush (Documentary) (2022)
The Director: Emelie Mahdadvian
What It’s About: Two range riders in a remote stretch of Idaho spend what could be one final season herding cattle across the majestic yet unforgiving landscape. Contemplating their past, present, and future, the two young women explore the richness of the American West.
What To Expect: With mesmerizing shots of rolling hills, jagged mountains, and picturesque vistas, Bitterbrush is one of those documentaries that’s both a feast for the eyes and soul, thanks to its emotional and personal story.
Faraway Downs (2023)
The Director: Baz Luhrman
The Cast: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters
What It’s About: Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) travels from England to Australia in an attempt to force her distant husband to sell his million-acre cattle ranch, only to discover he has been murdered and she is now in full control. When a ruthless land baron attempts to take her land, Lady Sarah teams with a cattle drover (Hugh Jackman), kicking off both adventure and romance.
What To Expect: Though not your traditional Western, this expansion of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia, has all the staples of the genre, but just set in the Outback instead of the Old West.
The Old Way (2023)
The Director: Brett Donowho
The Cast: Nicolas Cage, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Abraham Benrubi
What It’s About: After his wife is brutally murdered by a gang of bandits, reformed gunslinger Colton Briggs (Nicolas Cage) goes back to his old ways to avenge the death. Joined by his daughter (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), this aging cowboy sets out to right the wrongs of the world, no matter what it takes.
What To Expect:Brett Donowho’s The Old Way is a Western throwback that sees Nicolas Cage go all out to tell a tried and true story. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but this 90-minute tale of revenge and redemption is quite adventurous and action-packed.
How To Blow Up A Pipeline (2022)
The Director: Daniel Goldhaber
The Cast: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage
What It’s About: A group of climate activists aims to make their voices heard by blowing up an oil pipeline in West Texas that they hope will be detrimental to a corporation’s image and bottom line.
What To Expect: Daniel Goldhaber’s How to Blow Up a Pipeline isn’t your typical Western (or Neo-Western for that matter), but it does capture the essence of the genre with its contemporary and impactful story about climate activism and the characters who feel like modern-day outlaws.
Hopefully, these Westerns take you back to the Old West (or at least that old-time feeling) to relive the beauty and unforgiving brutality of yesteryear. But, if you’re looking for more great options, there are a lot of great movies on Hulu.
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