The game Red Dead Redemption II is easily Rockstar’s most acclaimed and celebrated title released so far. With a massive world to explore and one of the greatest stories ever put in a game, it is hard to argue why it is considered one of the greatest games ever made.
While the studio did not necessarily take from any films as a means of influences in crafting the game, it being a western-themed world means there are plenty of great films that evoke the same feeling of being in said world. From neo-westerns to spaghetti westerns, these are ten great films to watch if you love Red Dead Redemption II.
The Mercenary (1968)
The late Sergio Corbucci has directed countless, excellent and iconic westerns but this one is severely underappreciated. Detailing the events of a greedy, polish mercenary and his assistance in a revolution against the Mexican government.
In Red Dead Redemption II, main character Arthur Morgan finds himself unwillingly thrown into great causes that he has no interest in. Similar to The Mercenary, he has to figure out if the money or the people matter most at the end of the day.
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Known provocateur Sam Peckinpah was a master of the western genre. His revisionist epic, The Wild Bunch, was a violent tale of bad men doing bad things in an even worse world. Red Dead Redemption II’s similar story about the death of the outlaw age and the birth of modern civilization fits perfectly with Peckinpah's film.
The game even lifts certain shots from the film, with the shootouts (slow-mo included) also being a staple of the gameplay. The Wild Bunch was controversial upon release but has since grown to be one of the very finest western films ever made.
The Proposition (2005)
Written by musician Nick Cave, this Australian western is about the murder of a family in the 1880s. A lot of Red Dead Redemption II can be quite bleak, as it deals with morally ambiguous men following their own twisted moral code in a world where morality is nonexistent. The Proposition is the same way, bringing highly ambiguous morals into play as acts of unflinching violence happen.
The greatest westerns have viewers asking questions about the soul of a man and this one leaves them asking until the very end of it all. Does it have all the answers? The best ones never do.
They Call Me Trinity (1971)
What people seem to forget is that Rockstar has a penchant for comedy in all their games. Red Dead Redemption II is full of weird and strange characters who always need the player’s help in some way. They Call Me Trinity stars Bud Spencer and Terrance Hill and is a more slapstick heavy affair than most spaghetti westerns. It tells the story of a lazy gunfighter who teams up with a Mexican prisoner on an adventure.
It has all the hallmarks of great spaghetti westerns (wonderful landscape shots, shootouts, awful voice dubbing) but injects way more humor than most do, delivering a unique take on a tested genre. It also has one of the greatest theme songs ever, used in another film on this list.
Dead Man (1995)
Jim Jarmusch is the coolest working director living today, with everything he touches oozing something unique and almost otherworldly. Dead Man was his first western and it is unlike anything in the genre. Starring Johnny Depp as an accountant who ends up in a dangerous town, the film is shot in monochrome and features some respectful portrayals of Native Americans, a rarity for most westerns.
What makes this a perfect companion to Red Dead is how bold it is in its attempts to shake up the genre. It’s not for everyone it is a rewarding experience that deserves to be seen. It also has a great soundtrack composed by Neil Young.
Heaven’s Gate (1980)
Michael Cimino’s 1980 epic western about a war between land barons and European immigrants in Wyoming was a notorious bomb. It was edited to shreds and released to negative reviews and not only ended his career but changed the way Hollywood made films.
Years later, as the full, 219-minute version was released to much better reevaluation. Both Heaven’s Gate and Red Dead Redemption II are long, over-ambitious and alienating to most people who were expecting something much different. Both are also incredibly rewarding, becoming highlights in the western genre, regardless of the medium.
Hell Or High Water (2016)
Two brothers are on the run from the law as they try to pull dangerous heists to save their father’s farm in this 2016 crime film. A major part of the Red Dead Redemption II’s story is how the main character Arthur tries his hardest to follow through Dutch Van Der Linde’s increasingly dangerous plans and the choices he has to make along the way.
It’s a furious film that takes into account what family means to people and what lengths some people are willing to travel to for flesh and blood.
Django Unchained (2012)
Quentin Tarantino’s first western (and debatably, his greatest film) was a loving tribute to spaghetti westerns of yesteryear. The likes of Sergio Leone and Corbucci (the name of the main character is taken from Corbucci’s Django) are all paid a proper homage here, sprinkled with Tarantino’s signature gore and stylized violence.
The story of a freed slave turned bounty hunter also features gorgeous landscape shots of the American South, and a soundtrack with the likes of Jim Croce, 2 Pac and more, reminding those who played Red Dead of the serene moments where great songs accompanied the most dramatic moments of the game.
The Revenant (2015)
A huge aspect of Red Dead Redemption II is how brutal the harsh elements can be. Players face conditions like freezing snow and can even be mauled by the likes of bears, wolves and mountain lions. Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2015 epic, The Revenant is about how harsh these elements can be, combined with how awful and dastardly people can be.
It’s a harrowing film that reminds its viewers of how awful the world is and how no one is safe from nature, not even man.
True Grit (2010)
The Coens delivered a great neo-western in 2007 with No Country for Old Men. It was this tense and great thriller and allowed them to dip their toes in western motifs. Then in 2010, they released True Grit, an adaptation of Charles Portis’s 1968 novel of the same name. This film was a bleak look at revenge and how far people will go for their own self-interest.
It perfectly captures many themes present in Red Dead Redemption II and does so in a striking and gorgeous way. It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest modern westerns of all time.