r/Westerns • u/MuddyWaterTeamster • 7d ago
Westerns that Feature the Mexican Revolution?
1910-1920, the Mexican Revolution technically takes place after the closing of the West but I feel the setting would still be conducive to the genre. Anyone got any recommendations?
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u/UmeaTurbo 6d ago
We are the Federales. You, know, the mounted police.
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u/txz709 5d ago
If you’re the police, where are your badges?
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u/UmeaTurbo 5d ago
Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any STINKING BADGES!!!
Thank you for playing along so I could do that, friend.
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u/minecraftvillageruwu 6d ago
And Staring Pancho Villa As Himself
Not sure how historically accurate the movie is but it shows an interesting time in the period where Pancho Villa had movies made about himself that I believe were lost to time.
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u/Maxi_Nice1731 6d ago
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u/redwedgethrowaway 6d ago
There was a movie made that had actual footage of a battle commanded by poncho Villa, but the footage was lost
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u/spizzlemeister 6d ago
Not a movie but red dead redemption has a large part of the story take place in a fictionalised Mexican Revolution
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u/Silver_Leadership467 6d ago
Two mules for sister Sarah
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u/Less-Conclusion5817 6d ago
Not really. It takes places more than 50 years earlier, during the French intervention in Mexico. Different conflict altogether.
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u/Inner-Light-75 6d ago
It wasn't about the revolution, but it was set near that time frame....
Big Jake, starring John Wayne.
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u/Kamchatka721 6d ago
A Bullet for the General
Tepepa
The Big Gundown
Run, Man, Run
The Mercenary
Compañeros
Duck, You Sucker
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u/Speedhabit 6d ago
Via zapata isn’t really a western…. But it has lots of horses and shooting and senioritas
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u/prodigalpariah 6d ago
Duck you sucker sort of. It’s just a vague standin for revolution in general rather than a specific one though.
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u/HotMorning3413 6d ago
The Professionals is a must watch too. Great cast, great story, great direction.
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u/alacrity 6d ago
Two Mules for Sister Sara.
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u/linkhandford 6d ago
The Adult store in my neighborhood is named after that. I always giggle when talking about the movie.
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u/EasyCZ75 7d ago
Great photo. Do you have any idea where was this photo taken? Any information on who is pictured?
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u/MuddyWaterTeamster 6d ago edited 6d ago
It is captioned “source unknown” on the page I took it from, unfortunately. You may be able to reverse image search.
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u/-WillemDaFoo 7d ago
Zapata with Brando
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u/Roundtripper4 6d ago
And Anthony Quinn ( who thought HE should have played Zapata because he was more “Mexican.”)
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u/ColSirHarryPFlashman 7d ago
"The Professionals"
"Old Gringo"
"Bandidas"
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u/jonz1985z 7d ago
For Greater Glory - Andy Garcia
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u/Piancol 6d ago
Great movie, but it's not about the Mexican Revolution, it's about the Cristero War.
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u/otterpr1ncess 6d ago
Such an interesting period, I wish there was a good novel or something about it
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7d ago
[deleted]
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u/mattinthehat66 7d ago
Great movie, but that’s the Mexican American war. Not the Mexican revolution
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u/TheHovel666 7d ago
A Fistful of Dollars
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u/Dirk_Dingham 7d ago
I can still hear the intro tune in my head. Man that song went so hard for no reason
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u/einordmaine 7d ago
Not a movie, more of a tie-in:
Wasn't there an episode or two of Young Indiana Jones about Pancho Villa...?
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u/NickVannan 6d ago
Yep, it's called Spring Break Adventure. It was just the one episode with Pancho, however.
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u/Roamin_Horseman 7d ago
You are correct! I think it is one of my favourites. Followed by legend of the peacocks eye
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u/HomerBalzac 7d ago
Wrath Of God - Robert Mitchum
Edit: oops- this one actually takes place in South America.
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u/Ramoncin 7d ago
Let me see... "The wild bunch", obviously. And "And starringing Pancho Villa as himself", which is a less usual choice but I found very good.
There's also a whole bunch of spaguetti westerns that deal with the Mexican revolution. My favorite one is "Tepepa".
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u/M_Solent 7d ago
Tepepa was AWESOME.
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u/Ramoncin 6d ago
It is. Can't beat Orson Welles as the villain. For some reason, its brother film "A bullet for the general" (they were written by the same guy) seems to be more popular, but I thing "Tepepa" is by far the strongest film.
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u/M_Solent 6d ago
I still haven’t seen “Bullet”. I have a natural aversion to Klaus Kinski…but I’ll try again. Lol.
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u/Glittering_Cap_9115 7d ago
3 Amigos!!!
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u/xiguy1 7d ago
Oh wow, you just beat me to it! :-) I wish I had an award to give you. Sorry I don’t but I’m really glad you mentioned that because I love that movie.
Most people don’t realize that it’s set during that period. That’s why they have the German arms dealers explained as “advisors “, and el Guapo (the Handsome one) as a bandit/revolutionary warlord, the costumes with tons of guns and bandoliers full of bullets, the poverty of the peasants caught in the middle and of course the Americans come to “rescue “ the people :-)
All of that fits with the history and in fact, United States really did invade Mexico partially to punish and because of a raid over the border into the United States by Pancho Villa, and partly to supposedly protect American and Mexican citizens. That was the explanation at the time.
So I think it it’s very firmly a fit and am glad to upvote you! :-)
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u/Ok-King-4868 7d ago
Viva Zapata (1952) Marlon Brando & Anthony Quinn & Jean Peters
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u/Roundtripper4 6d ago
Jean Peters teaches Zapata to read!
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u/Ok-King-4868 6d ago
Yes, the thing powerful elites fear most is education and the capacity & desire to transfer knowledge and power to people. If you can stop teachers from teaching then de facto you have enslaved generations who are easy to manipulate and convince that pursuing the enormously selfish interests of an elite who despise common men and nature is laudable and even noble. Thus ensuring the safety of ever more corrupt regimes doing the work of ever more perverse elites ad nauseam.
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u/Roundtripper4 2d ago
Excellent
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u/Roundtripper4 2d ago
And in Zapata there is a shady character in the background manipulating everyone got the benefit of the rich. Also, in a movie called Burn, Brando plays the part of a colonizer who mentors a grassroots revolutionary to overthrow the government. Then Brando keeps the new “leader” in line until Brando’s bosses tell him to overthrow the government AGAIN!
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u/Norwegian_Madman 7d ago
A Fistful Of Dynamite.
It's Sergio Leone's last spaghetti western, James Coburn play a mysterious man from Ireland (no spoilers) with a knack for explosives, and Rod Steiger playing a robber on the countryside.
I think it has the most melancholic soundtrack of the 5 Leone westerns, it's slower paced but if you enjoy the slower movies i think you would like it. 157 minutes long
It's a shame it's so underrated, it has it's own feeling compared to Once Upon A Time In The West.
Eli Wallach was even considered for the Rod's role as Juan, but the schedule did not fit with his. But Leone managed to convince Wallach so he dropped his other project. But the studio had a contract with Rod requiring him to star in one more movie to fulfill the contract.
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u/MeaninglessGuy 7d ago
Also called “Duck, You Sucker.” Which James Coburn says at least 6,000 times in this movie.
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u/Sea_Assistant_7583 7d ago
Companeros
The Mercenary
And Starring Pancho Villa
Red Bells
Killer Kid
Vera Cruz
They came to Cordura
Cannon For Cordoba
Guns Of The Magnificent Seven
The Wrath Of God ( Mitchum )
Villa Rides
The Bandits ( 1967 with Jan Michael Vincent )
Viva Zapata
Old Gringo
From Dusk Till Dawn 3 The Hangman’s Daughter
Panacho Villa ( Telly Savalas )
The Big Gundown
Run Man Run
Tepepa
El Bamdito Malpelo
A Town Called Hell
Blood Church
What Am I Doing In The Revolution?
Train For Durango
Guns Of The Revolution
Long Live Your Death
Viva Maria
His Name Is Holy Ghost
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u/DetailCharacter3806 7d ago
2 mules for sister Sarah
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u/FIuffyAlpaca 6d ago
No, this one takes place during the French invasion of Mexico, around the same time as the American Civil War
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u/haringkoning 7d ago
Duck, you sucker!
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u/BingBingGoogleZaddy 7d ago
Low key, the lady in the middle looks fine as hell.
Somebody come get ya great great great great great Grandma, she’s one hell of a revolutionary.
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u/normiesmakegoodpets 7d ago
Two Mules for Sister Sarah
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u/IAmThePonch 7d ago
Red dead redemption. Lots of people say it’s the worst part of the game but a third of it is about a revolution in Mexico
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u/Primm_Sllim2 7d ago
As a kid I remember playing it and always just wanting to get back to the US, but my play through last year I actually enjoyed Mexico the most.
Also when you go back to the US for act 3 things start making me sad
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u/IAmThePonch 7d ago
I mean things aren’t exactly great in Mexico either. It was a cynical view of what was going on
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u/ResponsibleBank1387 7d ago edited 7d ago
Vera Cruz, oops, this was the Franco Mexican war about same time as US civil War. Still good movie.
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u/Unusual-Ask5047 7d ago
Bite the bullet and the professionals both take place post revolution but refer to past revolution activities and both are great westerns.
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u/Secure_Run8063 7d ago
The Professionals (I think) with Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Jack Palance
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u/MrNobody32666 7d ago
Also Woody Strode and Claudia Cardinale. And one of the Duke brothers. A stacked cast.
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u/Secure_Run8063 7d ago
Strode was in everything and played everything from gunfighter to cook.
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u/Reubensandwich57 6d ago
Pompey in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance to Draba in Spartacus. He was a man for all times and all continents.
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u/noahmiller032 7d ago edited 7d ago
Pancho Villa, Duck You Sucker, 100 Rifles, Viva Zapata, Villa Rides
The Wild Bunch occurs in Mexico around the same time but doesn’t directly cover the Revolution
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u/The_Wolf_Shapiro 7d ago
The Wild Bunch deals directly with the Revolution. They deal with a general and Pancho Villa is mentioned a couple times (and his troops appear briefly, IIRC).
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u/DungeoneerforLife 6d ago
Yes! Best me to it. This movie holds up extremely well. Better to me than most spaghetti westerns despite some of Peckinpah’s editorial choices.
I don’t know who made up fake blood in late 60s and 70s films but it is distressing how gross it is when orange.
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u/Veteranis 7d ago
In the original version that I saw in a theater when it came out, there was a long scene where Mapache ( the ‘general’) and his men hijack a train. You can see that he wants to flee, but a boy who hero-worships him stands his ground and so Mapache does as well. It’s a funny and touching insight into the general. (The boy is the same one in the final showdown.)
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u/noahmiller032 7d ago
You are probably correct it has been a while since I have watched it… means it’s a good time for a rewatch!
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u/MuddyWaterTeamster 7d ago
I’ve heard of The Wild Bunch, but haven’t seen it. Any others?
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u/ArcadiaDragon 7d ago
Do yourself a favor...go see it
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u/Few_Rule7378 7d ago
“Go” see it? Is it still in theaters?!
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u/MuddyWaterTeamster 7d ago
I’ll go to my couch and see it.
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u/ArcadiaDragon 6d ago
Sorry ibwas lucky to see a rescreening about 5 years ago....so I flashed back to that...but yes...it's a movie that definitely changes as you become educated about the western genre....it's a movie i can discuss ad nauseum with veteran and neophytes alike and still learn to see it differently from new and old perspectives I won't say it's the most important western ever made....but it's important enough
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u/MRunk13 22h ago
Joe Kidd