Here's every Kevin Costner Western, ranked worst to best. Westerns used to be one of the most popular movie genres, but around the '60s, their popularity started to wane. Audiences and filmmakers started to feel Westerns and their values were too old-fashioned, though Clint Eastwood's Dollars trilogy and the Spaghetti Westerns they inspired gave the genre a shot in the arm. The abject failure of 1980's expensive epic Heaven's Gate was likely the nail in the coffin when it came to studios seeing the genre as financially viable.
Kevin Costner - who has several movies on Netflix - has appeared in a wide variety of movies and roles, from romantic comedies to thrillers and biopics. That said, he's arguably one of the last actors to find success with Westerns on the big screen, with 1985's Silverado being one of his breakthrough roles. In the years that followed, he starred in and directed several high-profile Western movies or appeared in miniseries like Hatfields & McCoys.
Even his non-Westerns offered contain themes or iconography of the genre, such as The Postman or his hit series Yellowstone. Here are each one of his Western moves, ranked.
Every Kevin Costner Western Movie
4. Wyatt Earp (1994)
Wyatt Earp was one of two competing movies dealing with the iconic lawman, with the other being 1993's Tombstone, fronted by Kurt Russell. The latter movie was both the bigger success in terms of reviews and box-office and is packed with fantastic scenes and performances, especially from Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday. Wyatt Earp, sadly, is a dour, overtly-earnest epic that is surprisingly sluggish considering the cast and crew behind it. Costner is fine in the title role, but the movie has been largely forgotten for a reason.
3. Dances With Wolves (1990)
Probably the most famous Kevin Costner Western, Dances With Wolves marked the actor's directorial debut. The press predicted it would be a huge disaster - even dubbing it "Kevin's Gate" - but not only was it an enormous success, but it also swept the Oscars, including (controversially) winning the Best Director and Best Picture at the Academy Awards over Goodfellas. Dances With Wolves is filled with sweeping scenery, great acting - especially from Graham Greene - and spectacular sequences. In hindsight, it also suffers from a bloated runtime and can be somewhat dull for long stretches too. The "white savior" aspect of the story hasn't aged that well either.
2. Silverdo (1985)
Silverado was helmed by Wyatt Earp's Lawrence Kasdan (who also penned Solo: A Star Wars Story), but where that Western was oddly lethargic, this 1985 adventure is a blast. It's stacked with charismatic performers like Kevin Kline, Danny Glover and Brian Dennehy, who all get a chance to shine. It's also bolstered by crackling dialogue and setpieces, and Costner - who was a relative unknown at the time - gets to play arguably his wildest character.
1. Open Range (2003)
The most recent Kevin Costner Western was 2003's Open Range, which he also directed. The movie is a two-hander between him and Robert Duvall as two cattlemen targeted by a land baron. Open Range is a slow-burning story that builds to an expertly crafted gunfight. It's the quiet character moments that sell the story, with an understated Costner giving the stage to Duvall for the bulk of the movie. While not the most famous Costner Western, it might be the most underrated.