Between the 1930s and 1960s, the Western genre stood out as one of the most successful, revered and well-written genres in Hollywood. While audiences had grown accustomed to the romanticized classical Western, as represented by the early films of John Wayne, key films changed that perspective. With some of the best screenwriters and directors taking on the mythology of the Old West, the revisionist Western soon became dominant.

Revisionist Westerns move beyond the romantic perspective of the Old West and instead explore the imperfections through a more realistic -- and often times violent -- lens. While some of these films offer social or political criticism of America's past and present, others hone in on some of the brutal realities of life in the West. These films often become favorites among audiences for how they represent the setting as one defined by its flaws, especially violence.

10 The Revenant Is A Brutal Survival Story

The Revenant follows frontiersman Hugh Glass on a quest for vengeance when he's left for dead by men in his party — and his son is murdered in front of him. Clinging to life after being mauled by a bear and abandoned in the cold, he fights his way through the wilderness, taking on rival trappers and navigating Native American territory as he does.

The Revenant moves beyond Hollywood's classic romanticism of the frontiersman myth, instead showing the brutal reality of survival in the earlier days of the American West. Here, there are no gunslingers, wagon trains nor a traditional hero or villain. Instead, the characters do what they have to in order to survive, and the film shows how desperation can bring out the worst in a person.

9 Django Unchained Is A Modern Spaghetti Western

Quentin Tarantino's exploration of the Western genre kicked off in spectacular fashion with Django Unchained. The film begins when a German bounty hunter, Schultz, liberates Django from slavery, and takes him under his wing as a fellow gunslinger. They travel across the South, collecting bounties until Django learns of his wife, Broomhilda, being kept by a ruthless plantation owner, Calvin Candie. Together, the pair hatch a scheme to buy her freedom — only for it to go horribly wrong.

Django Unchained explores the brutality of slavery in the Deep South, and breaks a series of Hollywood social taboos with its unrelenting focus on racism, especially through characters like Stephen. As one of the most unfiltered, harsh and violent films in Tarantino's career, the film's revenge story won over audiences, especially as Leonardo DiCaprio turned in a performance as a villain viewers could love to hate. For all the films that downplay the violence of the West, this 2012 modern classic embraces it.

8 The Outlaw Josey Wales Is A Story of Overcoming Prejudice

The Outlaw Josey Wales begins during the Civil War, when the titular character's family is massacred by a unit of Union militia. Overwhelmed by grief and anger, Josey joins the Confederacy, soon becoming one of their most effective and deadly fighters. When the war ends, his unit are betrayed and gunned down in cold blood, leaving him on the run. In his solitude, he meets a series of fellow disaffected and vulnerable people, who become his companions as he seeks a new life.

The Outlaw Josey Wales remains one of the best films directed by Clint Eastwood, with his presence on screen making it one of the best films of the 1970s. The film manages to balance a story of overcoming prejudice in a time of rampant oppression against one of violence and revenge.

7 The Searchers Is A Genuine Western Epic

The Searchers follows Confederate Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards who, after the massacre of his brother's family by Native American raiders, sets off to rescue his two surviving nieces. As time drags on, what starts out as a band of vigilantes soon becomes Ethan's years-long search, one fueled by his hatred for the Natives.

The Searchers stands out as one of the Western genre's first true epics and, for its time, deals with some brutal topics, from Edwards' hatred to the violence suffered by his family. The film shares some hallmarks with classical Westerns, but the protagonist's characterization as a racist clinging to the Confederacy's cause and the grim topics land it squarely in the realm of revisionism.

6 3:10 To Yuma Is One of the Western's Best Stories

3:10 To Yuma follows Dan Evans, a rancher struggling to provide for his family, who joins a posse to escort a notorious outlaw, Ben Wade, to the town of Contention, where he'll be loaded aboard a train bound for Yuma Prison. However, with Wade's gang hot on their heels, Evans and his young son soon become the only ones willing to move the criminal as everyone else fears being gunned down by his men. Throughout the course of their journey, Wade begins to respect Evans for his integrity and courage, forming a tenuous friendship between the men.

3:10 to Yuma is based on Elmore Leonard's story "Three-Ten to Yuma," and remains arguably the best Western of the 2000s. Known for its shocking ending, great acting and intense gunfights, the film is a good look at morality in the Old West, something best demonstrated through Wade's final act.

5 High Noon Helped Define the Revisionist Western

High Noon begins with the wedding of outgoing marshal Will Kane and his wife, Amy, in the small town of Hadleyville, when they're informed that a dangerous criminal, Frank Miller, is on his way back. Compelled by his sense of duty, Kane refuses to leave on his honeymoon, instead attempting to rally the townspeople to stand up to Miller and drive him out. However, when each and every man he turns to declines to help, the lawman realizes he must go it alone, and prepares for his showdown with the outlaw and his gang.

High Noon is often credited for elevating and defining the revisionist Western, as it explores themes of responsibility, civic duty and collective action. The film is widely believed to be an allegory for McCarthyism, with the looming threat of Miller representing the threat to freedom, and the cowardly townspeople being a stand-in for those who refused to stand up to bullies. The film was so sharp in its outlook that it prompted John Wayne and Howard Hawks to make Rio Bravo, a similar story presented in a more classical light.

4 Shane Redefined the Gunslinger Mythos

Shane tells the story of its titular protagonist, a retired gunfighter who works as a farmhand for the Starretts, a family of homesteaders in Wyoming. However, when they face oppression from a wealthy cattle baron, Ryker, the hero stands up to him, protecting the family as best he can. Facing daunting odds, Shane eventually confronts Ryker in a deadly standoff that changed how audiences think of the classic heroic gunslinger.

Shane is one of the Western genre's most significant films for its protagonist, a morally ambiguous hero with a past he's trying to forget, who is trying to find peace. Since the film's release and commercial success, the character has become the default template for Western and Neo-Western heroes, with everyone from William Munny and Logan borrowing from his story.

3 Hostiles Is An Overlooked Piece of Cinema

Hostiles follows the mission of US Army Captain Joseph Blocker to escort a dying Native American chief, Yellow Hawk, and his family to their tribal lands in Montana. Along the way, they meet a traumatized widow, whose family had been murdered by a Comanche war party barely a day prior. As their journey continues, they face off against the Comanche, and later the treachery of a dangerous prisoner in their custody.

At its core, Hostiles is a story of overcoming prejudice, with Blocker unable to see Yellow Hawk as anything other than a savage for the first half of the film. With both men's outlook defined by their roles in the American Indian Wars, they develop a mutual respect for one another as they're forced to work together to stay alive. The film pulls no punches in its examination of the two groups, with both men representing common perspectives of their time.

2 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Defined Spaghetti Westerns

As the final entry in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy," The Good, the Bad and the Ugly follows a race across the South to find a hidden stash of gold. The film focuses on The Man With No Name as he teams up with outlaw Tuco, with the pair sharing an uneasy relationship, made all the worse when the former abandons the latter. When the two men are each told one half of the information needed to find the gold, they resume their tenuous partnership, trekking across the desert and into the heart of the Civil War on their quest.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly practically defined the Spaghetti Western, handily surpassing its two predecessors in becoming one of the most revered films in the genre. Here, every man is out for himself as Blondie, Tuco and their rival, a mercenary dubbed "Angel Eyes," converge on the cemetery where the gold is buried for one of cinema's all-time greatest standoffs.

1 Unforgiven Is the Face of the Anti-Western Sub-Genre

Unforgiven begins when a prostitute in the town of Big Whiskey is assaulted by a cowboy, leaving her scarred and traumatized. When the town's sheriff, Little Bill, refuses to deliver meaningful justice, the women put out a bounty on the cowboy's head. In response, retired gunfighter and widower William Munny joins his old friend, Ned Logan, and up-and-coming Schofield Kid to take on the bounty so he can provide for his children. However, as the bounty hunters arrive in town, Little Bill becomes increasingly brutal, leading to a showdown with Munny.

Unforgiven is essentially the face of the revisionist "anti-Western," as it devotes many of the character interactions to dispelling the mythology of the Old West. Through Little Bill's exposition, viewers' expectations and beliefs of the setting are deflated, leaving them with a more grounded, imperfect impression of the West. This, however, only makes the film's final shootout all the more significant and impressive. The key signature of the film is that none of the characters are good in any traditional sense, instead representing differing points of view.