An indispensable feature of many of the greatest Western movies ever made, quick draw scenes are as synonymous with the genre as a gold rush, a saloon brawl, or a lone vengeful gunslinger. Leveraging an electrifying combination of raw talent and nerves of steel, these sequences see the swords and axes from duels seen in older historical offerings replaced with firearms. Highlighting the elite marksmanship, whip-sharp reflexes, and icy disposition of many of the Western genre’s most memorable characters in sharp relief, there’s nothing like a superb quick draw to get the viewer’s heart pumping.
- Skyrim Summon Durnehviir Not Working, Why is Skyrim Summon Durnehviir Shout Not Working? How to Summon Durnehviir in Skyrim?
- MoistCr1TiKaL Height How Tall is MoistCr1TiKaL?
- IShowSpeed Eye Injury, What Happened to IShowSpeed’s Eye?
- Jordan Love Height How Tall is Jordan Love?
- The 13 Best Star Wars Characters Introduced In 2024
One of the more notable tropes to define the Western genre, there’s a thrilling sense of spectacle associated with a quick draw moment. The loaded silence and the combatants’ laser-focused expressions typically serve to ratchet up the tension to almost unbearable levels, compounding the scale of sheer theatricality when they draw, aim, and fire with the speed of an eagle snatching a rattlesnake out of the desert sand. From the Man with No Name to Doc Holliday, many of the genre’s greatest characters have rubber-stamped their status as such through an iconic quick draw.
You are watching: 10 Best Quick Draw Moments In Westerns
10
Buster Scruggs Shoots Up A Cantina
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
R
Western
6/10
12
7.8/10
Release Date
November 9, 2018
Runtime
133 Minutes
Director
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writers
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Jack London
Cast
See All
-
Tim Blake Nelson
Buster Scruggs
-
Willie Watson
The Kid
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a Western anthology film by the Coen Brothers that comprises six distinct stories. Each vignette explores themes of the American frontier, blending humor and tragedy. With a richly detailed setting, the film delves into various aspects of frontier life, showcasing a range of characters from singing cowboys to intrepid prospectors. The distinctive narrative style and evocative cinematography create a compelling portrait of the Old West.
Main Genre
Western
Studio(s)
Netflix
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
The eponymous character of the Coen brothers’ Western anthology, 2018’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Tim Blake Nelson’s Buster Scruggs is a ludicrously gifted sharpshooter. Blending Bugs Bunny comedy with John Wick levels of weapons proficiency, Nelson’s cowboy introduces himself with a quick draw scene for the ages. The film’s introduction sees the cowboy cheerfully admonishing a cantina full of irate patrons, with one aggressively inquiring, “Your shooting iron work?” to draw him into a duel.
Related
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: All 6 Endings Explained
Joel & Ethan Coen’s surreal Western anthology Netflix tells multiple stories. Here’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs endings (all 6) explained.
Posts
3
Quick as a flash, Scruggs shoots the man through the head and holsters his pistol before the body has even hit the floor, jovially deadpanning “Appears to do, yes.” There’s a glorious moment of loaded silence as Scruggs smirks at the departed’s dumbfounded cronies, before gunning all of them down as they also reach for their weapons. Nelson’s charge places the cherry on this superb scene’s cake by taking out the bartender as he grabs a shotgun, firing his own weapon behind his back with a wicked grin.
9
The Waco Kid Disarms A Posse
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
Blazing Saddles
R
Comedy
Western
8/10
10
9.6/10
Release Date
February 7, 1974
Runtime
93 minutes
Director
Mel Brooks
Writers
Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Alan Uger
Cast
See All
-
Cleavon Little
-
Gene Wilder
Written and directed by Mel Brooks, Blazing Saddles stars Cleavon Little as Bart, a black sheriff appointed in a small frontier town by Hedley Lamarr, a railroad man who believes Bart’s appointment will destabilize the town enough to drive everyone out and allow him to build a new railroad line through it. Instead, with the help of gunslinger Jim the Waco Kid, Bart works to thwart Lamarr’s schemes. Gene Wilder and Harvey Korman star alongside Little.
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
A superb comedy Western offering from Mel Brooks, 1974’s Blazing Saddles still presents invariably entertaining viewing as of 2025. The tongue-in-cheek offering is also notable for hosting one of the more entertaining quick draw Western movie moments ever, an impressive state of affairs given how ludicrously unrealistic it is. Consistently drawing chuckles from its audience, the sequence depicts Gene Wilder’s alcoholic gunslinger “The Waco Kid” teaching an armed posse a lesson.
The camera suddenly pans to his would-be tormentors as their pistols are blasted out of their hands by shots of such speed and accuracy that the entire group is disarmed in a matter of seconds.
Despite being completely outnumbered, the Kid doesn’t even uncross his arms, lending an ice-cool aura to the scene. The camera suddenly pans to his would-be tormentors as their pistols are blasted out of their hands by shots of such speed and accuracy that the entire group is disarmed in a matter of seconds. The camera then returns to the unperturbed Kid, arms crossed once again, as the applause breaks out, rubber-stamping this feel-good scene’s credentials as a classic.
8
The Final Duel
Silverado (1985)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
Silverado
PG-13
Western
Action
8.3/10
Release Date
July 10, 1985
Runtime
133 Minutes
Director
Lawrence Kasdan
Writers
Lawrence Kasdan
Cast
See All
-
Kevin Kline
-
Scott Glenn
Four unlikely heroes, Emmett, Paden, Jake, and Mal, band together to bring justice to the lawless town of Silverado. Each character, with their unique skills and backgrounds, faces personal vendettas and moral dilemmas as they confront the corrupt Sheriff Cobb and ruthless rancher Ethan McKendrick. The film combines elements of classic Westerns with dynamic action sequences and a rich ensemble cast, highlighting themes of friendship, loyalty, and the fight against tyranny in the Wild West.
Main Genre
Western
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Pitting a group of unlikely heroes against an affluent ranching family and a dastardly sheriff, 1985’s must-see Western outing, Silverado, concludes with one of the more memorable pistol duels in cinematic history. Kevin Kline’s Paden finds himself face-to-face with Bill Dennehy’s Cobb in a showdown for all the marbles, an adrenaline-soaked face-off that ultimately sees Silverado’s leading protagonist come out on top.
The two men advance towards each other in nerve-jangling fashion, with Bruce Broughton’s exemplary score playing out in the background. With the two men confidently exchanging “goodbyes” to try and gain a mental advantage, Kline’s charge fires first, leaving his stricken foe to slump into the dust and die. Adding an inspired nuance, the church silhouetted behind Paden can be construed to represent good, while the vast emptiness of the desert behind Cobb poignantly symbolizes his morally devoid nature.
7
Billy Rocks’ Hairpin Kill
The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
The Magnificent Seven
PG-13
Western
Action
8/10
7/10
Release Date
September 23, 2016
Runtime
132 minutes
Director
Antoine Fuqua
Writers
John Lee Hancock, Nic Pizzolatto
Cast
See All
-
Haley Bennett
-
Chris Pratt2
The Magnificent Seven is a new remake of the 1960 western action film that follows a group of seven warriors from different walks of life who join forces to liberate a town from an oppressive gold miner. When Bartholomew Bogue takes control of the town of Rose Creek, the beleaguered residence find themselves at his mercy. One woman seeking revenge and freedom finds U.S. Marshal Sim Chisholm, and convinces him to join their cause, as he recruits several gunmen, outlaws, and assassins willing to risk it all for a good deed.
Studio(s)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures
Distributor(s)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
An ambitious remake of the 1960 movie of the same name, 2016’s The Magnificent Seven may not have attained the lofty heights of the original outing, but still boasts one of the more memorable quick draw moments that popular culture has to offer. This first-rate scene comes about courtesy of Byung-Hun Lee’s Billy Rocks, a Chinese gunslinger who finds himself drawn into a duel to the death after a shooting contest turns nasty.
|
The Magnificent Seven (1960) |
The Magnificent Seven (2016) |
|---|---|
|
Chris Adams (Yul Brynner) |
Sam Chisholm (Denzel Washington) |
|
Vin Tanner (Steve McQueen) |
Joshua Faraday (Chris Pratt) |
|
Chico (Horst Buchholz) |
Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke) |
|
Bernardo O’Reilly (Charles Bronson) |
Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio) |
|
Lee (Robert Vaughn) |
Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) |
|
Harry Luck (Brad Dexter) |
Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier) |
|
Britt (James Coburn) |
Billy Rocks (Byung-Hun Lee) |
Without a flicker of emotion, Rocks calmly takes his place, removing his hat and gun belt without taking his eyes off his opponent for a second. Lee’s charge appears completely defenseless, compounding the levels of theatricality for what follows in short order. Moving with the speed of a striking viper, the pit fighter pulls out a metallic hairpin from his ponytail and hurls it like a throwing knife, impaling his dueling partner before he even has a chance to raise his weapon.
6
Wade Kills His Gang
3:10 To Yuma (2007)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
3:10 to Yuma
R
Adventure
Crime
Drama
Western
10
8.5/10
Release Date
September 6, 2007
Runtime
122 minutes
Director
James Mangold
Writers
Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Elmore Leonard
Cast
See All
-
Russell Crowe
-
Christian Bale
A struggling rancher volunteers to escort a notorious outlaw to the train that will take him to prison. As the journey unfolds, both men engage in a psychological battle of wills, testing their morals and resolve while facing relentless danger from the outlaw’s gang and the harsh frontier.
Main Genre
Western
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Played in a mesmerizing turn from Russell Crowe, 3:10 to Yuma’s Ben Wade is one of the most compelling Western movie villains of all time. A simmering cocktail of refined charm and ruthless violence, Wade’s status as an unpredictable enigma is never more apparent than during the movie’s explosive conclusion. Crowe’s charge had formed a grudging respect for Dan Evans as the one-legged rancher moved heaven and Earth to get him on the film’s titular prison train, sealing his gang’s fate when they gun Christian Bale’s charge down in the final battle.
Wade’s enraged response to his purported liberators is to execute all of his former companions in the blink of an eye. Crowe’s murderous expression as he locks eyes with Ben Foster’s Charlie Prince before opening fire is one of the more menacing moments in Western history, setting the stage for one of the genre’s most unforgettable quick draw scenes as he decimates his gang.
5
Django Kills John Brittle
Django Unchained (2012)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
Django Unchained
R
Adventure
Drama
Western
Comedy
7/10
17
8.8/10
Release Date
December 25, 2012
Runtime
165 Minutes
Director
Quentin Tarantino
Writers
Quentin Tarantino
Cast
See All
-
Leonardo DiCaprio
-
Jonah Hill
Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained follows Jamie Foxx’s Django, a Black slave who is freed before becoming a bounty hunter. After meeting German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter Dr. King Schultz, Django sets off to free his wife from the cruel and charismatic plantation owner Calvin Candie. Christophe Waltz stars alongside Foxx, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, and Kerry Washington rounding out the cast of Tarantino’s revisionist Spaghetti Western.
Main Genre
Western
Studio(s)
Sony
Distributor(s)
Sony
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
One of Quentin Tarantino’s most beloved offerings, 2012’s Django Unchained features a host of memorable quick draw moments; hardly surprising, given the revisionist Western’s explosive premise concerning a former slave turned bounty hunter trying to rescue his wife. While there are many to choose from, the movie’s crowning glory in this regard comes early in proceedings, as Jamie Foxx’s titular character confronts the Brittle brothers; a trio of despicable slave overseers from his former plantation.
Michael K. Williams and Will Smith were both considered for the role of Django before Jamie Foxx was cast.
John Brittle’s expression of disbelief as the epic soundtrack swells makes for invariably glorious cinema, long before Django suddenly raises his hand to fire his concealed pistol into the slaver’s chest. Utilizing elite cinematography that effortlessly parallels the aura of shock at the events unfolding onscreen, the camera flicks from one flabbergasted expression to another before Foxx’s charge underlines this quick draw scene’s iconic status with one of the best Western quotes of all time: “I like the way you die, boy!”
4
“Get Three Coffins Ready.”
A Fistful Of Dollars (1964)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
A Fistful of Dollars
pg-13
Western
Drama
10/10
8.3/10
Release Date
January 18, 1964
Runtime
99minutes
Director
Sergio Leone, Monte Hellman
Writers
Ryûzô Kikushima, Akira Kurosawa, A. Bonzzoni, Víctor Andrés Catena, Sergio Leone, Jaime Comas Gil
Cast
See All
-
Clint Eastwood
-
Marianne Koch
A Fistful of Dollars is a spaghetti Western film from director Sergio Leone starring Clint Eastwood. A Fistful of Dollars is notable for being Clint Eastwood’s big break in Hollywood and also for being the beginning of the “Dollars Trilogy.” The film was followed by For a Few Dollars More in 1965 and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly in 1966.
Studio(s)
United Artists
Distributor(s)
United Artists
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
Arguably the most iconic Western character of all time, the first display of the Man with No Name’s sharpshooting prowess comes during one of the finest quick draw sequences that cinema has to offer. Taking place against the backdrop of 1964’s A Fistful of Dollars, the scene sees Clint Eastwood’s charge mow down four outlaws who had insulted him in less time than it takes someone to tie a shoelace.
|
Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy by Year |
IMDb Rating |
|---|---|
|
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) |
7.9 |
|
For a Few Dollars More (1965) |
8.2 |
|
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) |
8.8 |
From Ennio Morricone’s unmistakable score to the manner in which the camera switches between the combatants’ taut facial expressions, everything about this scene is Western perfection. In addition to demonstrating the deadly shooting talents of Eastwood’s character, the scene also allows him to flex his talent for the one-liner in magnificent fashion. Complemented by a scowl that would make Thanos wince, the Man with No Name’s quote of “Get three coffins ready” and his legendary “Apologize to my mule” speech number among the genre’s best soundbites, long before he takes out his foes in effortless fashion.
3
Doc Holliday Dispatches Johnny Ringo
Tombstone (1993)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
Tombstone
R
Western
Biography
Drama
8/10
261
9.4/10
Release Date
December 25, 1993
Runtime
130 minutes
Director
George P. Cosmatos, Kevin Jarre
Writers
Kevin Jarre
Cast
See All
-
Bill Paxton
-
Charlton Heston
Tombstone is a Western film loosely based on true events. When a group of outlaws known as the Cowboys ride into a town and slay several police officers for revenge for the death of two of their gang members, word of their misdeeds reaches the ears of a retired lawman. Gathering a group together, the new vigilantes will defend the town and aim to end the terror of the Cowboys.
Main Genre
Western
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
A front-runner for the most quotable Western movie character of all time, Val Kilmer’s turn as Doc Holliday in 1993’s Tombstone is one of cinema’s most criminally underrated performances. Somehow failing to earn an Oscar nod despite turning in an iconic supporting bow for the ages, the status of Kilmer’s charge as a hard-drinking and terminally ill man is sharply juxtaposed against his remarkable shooting abilities; Holliday’s talent for the quick draw borders on the preternatural.
During production on Tombstone, Kilmer practiced his quick draw skills obsessively to lend further authenticity to his take on the real-life gunslinger Holliday.
In the end, he’s the only man capable of putting paid to Michael Biehn’s Johnny Ringo, getting the drop on the renowned gunfighter to end the war with the Cowboys. In a nerve-jangling sequence, Holliday wins their duel in epic fashion, cooly beating his long-time foe to the draw and shooting him through the forehead. Adding insult to injury, Kilmer’s unruffled charge affirms the scene’s unforgettable status by witheringly remarking, “I’m afraid the strain was more than he could bear.”
2
“Are You Going To Pull Those Pistols Or Whistle Dixie?”
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
Leave a Review
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
The Outlaw Josey Wales
PG
Western
Drama
Action
10/10
Release Date
July 14, 1976
Runtime
135 minutes
Director
Clint Eastwood
Writers
Forrest Carter, Philip Kaufman, Sonia Chernus
Cast
See All
-
Clint Eastwood
-
Chief Dan George
The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 Western film directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. Set during and after the American Civil War, the film follows Josey Wales, a Missouri farmer seeking revenge for the murder of his family by Union soldiers. As he becomes an outlaw, Wales forms an unlikely band of outcasts and confronts various adversaries while struggling with his quest for vengeance and a chance at redemption.
Main Genre
Western
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
One of the greatest Western movies of the 1970s, 1976’s anti-war masterpiece The Outlaw Josey Wales serves as one of Clint Eastwood’s finest roles. In addition to turning in some of the best one-liners that the genre has to offer, Eastwood’s eponymous charge has a penchant for the quick draw, combining his talent for both to produce one of the most memorable Western movie scenes of all time. This takes the form of a gunfight in a town with four Union soldiers, after Wales is recognized by a bystander.
…an entirely unperturbed Wales spits on the floor before contemptuously inquiring “Well, are you going to pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?”
As the soldiers freeze in disbelief, an entirely unperturbed Wales spits on the floor before contemptuously inquiring “Well, are you going to pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?” The group make the ill-advised decision to elect the former, prompting Eastwood’s charge to draw his own weapons and obliterate his pursuers in a hail of gunfire. It’s such an epic sequence that viewers often forget Wales needed saving from the last man, who is gunned down just in time by Chief Dan George’s Lone Watie.
1
The Mexican Standoff
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Movie
My Favorite Movies
My Watchlist
Success!
Your Rating
close
10 stars
9 stars
8 stars
7 stars
6 stars
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Rate Now
0/10
See more : Today’s Best Amazon Prime Day Star Wars Deals
Your comment has not been saved
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Western
9/10
Release Date
December 29, 1967
Runtime
161 minutes
Director
Sergio Leone
Cast
-
Clint Eastwood
-
Eli Wallach
In the United States, a mysterious gunfighter tries to work together with a bandit and a bounty hunter to find a hidden treasure. The men are forced to forge a difficult alliance as each knows only part of the location. The big problem is that none of them has any intention of sharing the wealth once they’ve found it.
Main Genre
Western
Powered by
Expand
Collapse
The most iconic scene to come out of the genre in the history of popular culture, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’s Mexican standoff is undoubtedly the best quick draw moment that Western movies have to offer. While Clint Eastwood’s iconic shooting moments from A Few Dollars More and A Fistful of Dollars also represent worthy contenders, the climactic showdown between the three titular characters during the 1966 movie’s ending remains the golden standard for the genre.
Related
25 Best Quotes From The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly is one of the most iconic westerns of all time, and it’s filled with some great quotes.
Posts
As Ennio Morricone’s “The Trio” swells, Sergio Leone cranks up the tension to white-knuckle levels through simply panning between the three men’s tense expressions for the better part of five minutes. Fortunately, the payoff is worth the agonizing wait. Eastwood’s Blondie gets the drop on Lee Van Cleef’s villainous Angel Eyes as Eli Wallach’s Tuco realizes that his gun has been unloaded, allowing him to claim the buried gold and providing the perfect ending to the greatest Western movie of all time.
Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Entertainment