Discover the importance of landscape in Western cinema, where the vast, untamed wilderness of the American West acts as a character in itself. From Monument Valley to desolate deserts, this article delves into how Western filmmakers have used the environment to enhance themes of freedom, isolation, and moral conflict.

Introduction

The American West is as much a character in the myth of the West as the cowboys, outlaws, and lawmen that populate its stories. From the earliest Westerns, the landscape has played a crucial role in shaping the genre’s themes and tone. Vast deserts, towering mountains, and endless plains serve as backdrops for the drama that unfolds, symbolising both freedom and isolation. The stark beauty of these landscapes has been immortalised by filmmakers, particularly in classic and revisionist Westerns, where the terrain not only sets the stage but also becomes an integral part of the story itself.

This article was inspired by conversations with my son, Bill, during his time at the University of Birmingham, on his degree course in English Literature. This article is the seventh of my “Myth of the West” cycle.

The Iconic Western Landscape: Monument Valley and John Ford

Few filmmakers have shaped the visual myth of the West more than John Ford, whose work in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s helped define the genre. Ford’s repeated use of Monument Valley in the Utah-Arizona border region created one of the most iconic landscapes in cinematic history. Films such as Stagecoach (1939), The Searchers (1956), and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) use the dramatic mesas, buttes, and open skies of Monument Valley to evoke the untamed nature of the frontier.

In Ford’s films, the landscape often mirrors the inner emotional state of the characters. In The Searchers, for example, the vastness of Monument Valley symbolises both the physical and psychological distance between Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) and civilisation. The landscape is beautiful, but also desolate and unforgiving, much like Edwards himself. Ford’s sweeping shots of characters framed against the grandeur of the natural world became a hallmark of the Western, reinforcing the myth of the West as a place of both opportunity and peril.

Freedom and Isolation in the Landscape

The landscapes of the American West, with their wide horizons and rugged terrain, have long symbolised freedom in the Western genre. The endless plains and deserts offer characters a chance to escape the constraints of society, creating a world where men can carve out their own destinies. In films like Shane (1953), the open land represents both possibility and the promise of a better future, as settlers seek to establish their own farms and communities in the wilderness.

However, the very isolation that the landscape offers also brings danger and loneliness. In many Westerns, the beauty of the natural world is juxtaposed with its harshness. The West’s vastness, while exhilarating, can also be alienating. Characters are often shown as small figures in a massive, indifferent environment, reinforcing the themes of individualism and survival that are central to the genre. In Red River (1948), for example, the cattle drive stretches across hundreds of miles of open land, but the isolation and struggle against nature weigh heavily on the characters, particularly Thomas Dunson (John Wayne), who is driven to moral extremes by the journey.

The Role of Landscape in the Revisionist Western

As Westerns evolved into the revisionist phase during the 1960s and 70s, filmmakers began to use the landscape to challenge the romanticism of earlier portrayals. Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, particularly The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), redefined how the West was presented on screen. Leone’s use of wide, desolate landscapes contrasted with extreme close-ups of his characters’ faces created a visual tension that mirrored the moral ambiguity of the story.

In Leone’s films, the landscape often seems indifferent to human suffering. The barren deserts and ghost towns are spaces where morality is meaningless, and survival is the only goal. Characters like “The Man with No Name” (Clint Eastwood) traverse these spaces with a sense of existential detachment, their individual struggles dwarfed by the overwhelming vastness of the West. Leone’s visual style de-romanticised the landscape, turning it from a place of freedom and opportunity into one of isolation and death.

In Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Leone continued this theme, using the landscape to represent the passing of an era. The film’s sprawling desert and railroad tracks symbolise the encroachment of civilisation on the frontier, and the tension between the old West and the new world of industrialisation. As the railroad advances, the open landscape shrinks, and with it, the sense of endless possibility that characterised earlier Westerns.

Nature as a Character: The Revenant and The Assassination of Jesse James

In more recent Westerns, the landscape has been treated as a central character in its own right. Films like The Revenant (2015) and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) use the natural world not just as a backdrop, but as an active force in the story.

In The Revenant, the wilderness is both antagonist and saviour. The film’s protagonist, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), must survive the brutal forces of nature after being left for dead in the snow-covered mountains. The landscape is portrayed in all its savage beauty, as the biting cold, rivers, and forests become battlegrounds for Glass’s survival. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu uses long, sweeping shots of the environment to emphasise its overwhelming power, dwarfing Glass and reminding the audience of nature’s indifference to human suffering.

Similarly, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford uses the landscape to convey mood and character. The film’s director, Andrew Dominik, frequently frames characters against the wide, windswept plains and endless skies of the Midwest. The expansive setting reflects the loneliness and introspection of the characters, particularly Jesse James (Brad Pitt), whose legendary outlaw persona contrasts with his growing sense of isolation. The landscape here serves to heighten the film’s meditative tone, offering a counterpoint to the violence and betrayal that ultimately define the story.

The Landscape and the Decline of the West

In modern Westerns, the landscape often symbolises not just freedom or danger, but the decline of the frontier itself. Films like No Country for Old Men (2007) and Unforgiven (1992) use the landscape to reflect the erosion of the mythic West. In No Country for Old Men, the empty deserts of West Texas are not places of possibility, but of moral decay and violence. The landscape’s emptiness mirrors the existential void that the characters face, as they grapple with forces beyond their control.

In Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood’s character, William Munny, rides across open plains that once symbolised opportunity, but now serve as a reminder of the past he cannot escape. The landscape becomes a space for reflection on the end of an era—both for the character and for the West itself. The once-heroic landscape of the West is now a graveyard for the myths of honour and redemption that defined earlier Westerns.

Conclusion

The visual myth of the West is inseparable from the landscapes that have come to define it. From the towering mesas of Monument Valley in John Ford’s films to the barren deserts of Sergio Leone’s Spaghetti Westerns, the landscape has always been a key player in the drama of the West. Whether as a symbol of freedom, a source of danger, or a reflection of moral decay, the natural world plays a crucial role in shaping the stories that unfold within the Western genre.

As the Western has evolved, so too has its portrayal of the landscape. While early films and novels romanticised the frontier as a place of possibility and adventure, more recent works have used the landscape to explore themes of isolation, decline, and existential uncertainty. Today, the landscape remains one of the most enduring elements of the Western myth, a reminder of both the grandeur and the harshness of the American West.