Cowboys & Aliens: Who Really Wins?

Who hasn’t ever been in a heated debate with a friend over who would win in a battle: Cowboys or Aliens? Well thankfully, a huge new movie is coming soon to help us finally know.

I have a sneaking suspicion the cowboys will win in the movie, based off the star-power they have (Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig), but what about the battle of Cowboy movies vs Alien movies?

Well, let’s break it down. Here’s my stab at answering the eternal question of who wins in a battle between Cowboys and Aliens (movies). These are my top-5’s in the Western and Alien Invasion Movie genres:

Number 5s. Signs vs. Blazing Saddles

Winner: Blazing Saddles

Number 4s: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) vs. High Noon

Here’s a tough one. The original The Day the Earth Stood Still is a classic and compulsively watchable to this day but there’s something about High Noon that gives it the win here. I don’t think there has ever been a performance as great as Gary Cooper’s work in the film. I spent the last third of the film trying to jump in the TV and help the dude.

Winner: High Noon

Number 3s: The Thing vs. The Ox-Bow Incident

The Ox-Bow Incident is basically just 12 Angry Men in the wild west and with a more pessimistic outcome. It even stars Henry Fonda, but damn is it great. Instead of an underprivileged kid on trial, the situation is a man is about to be hung without a trial. The movie is filled with great dialogue and has some excellent characters. The Thing is bad-ass but not quite good enough to pull out the win here.

Winner: The Ox-Bow Incident

Number 2s: Predator vs. The Outrage

The Outrage is an amazing movie and massively underrated. It’s an almost a shot-for-shot remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon but stars Paul Newman as the bandit and William Shatner (pre-Star Trek) as the priest. Predator just may be the best pure action movie ever made:

They just don’t make them like that anymore…

Winner: Predator

Number 1s: They Live vs. Bad Day at Black Rock

These two movies are at number 39 and 40 respectively on my Flickchart and signify the cut-off point on my list where movies go from great to my essentials. Bad Day at Black Rock has one helluva cast with Robert Ryan, Spencer Tracy (as a one-armed karate master), Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine. They Live has Rowdy Roddy Piper. Somehow though, They Live gets the nod here because I can’t think of a movie with such a profound message that’s as gleefully silly as it is. Plus, the incredible street fight and “bubble gum” line get me every time. John Carpenter was the man back in the 80s.

Winner: They Live

Overall: The Cowboys eek out a 3-2 win based on the incredible depth of the western genre. If I were to go 10 deep, they would’ve won 8. Take a look at your favorite Westerns and Alien Invasion Movies today and see who wins! Leave your results in the comments.

Note: My top two “westerns” according to Flickchart (7 Brides for 7 Brothers and Treasure of the Sierra Madre) were omitted because they aren’t about cowboys.

This post is part of our User Showcase series. You can find Daniel as espin39 on Flickchart. If you’re interested to submit your own story or article describing your thoughts about movies and Flickchart, read our original post for how to become a guest writer here on the Flickchart Blog.