Time for me to fill out our party tag!
I'm going to put down the first western movie or TV show that comes to mind for these, and not agonize over whether they are the perfect example or not. And I'll muse just a little on why each one came to mind for those prompts.
Cliff -- a tense cliffhanger Horizon: An American Saga, Chapter One (2024) The ending of this movie is a series of cliffhangers, and I have been hanging off those cliffs for a year now with NO word on when they are releasing chapter two! This is so agonizing!
Gulch -- a cool ambush scene The Professionals (1966) A set of professional gunfighters and adventurers are on a mission to rescue a kidnapped woman, only to get ambushed by her captors when they've almost got her back to her husband. The gunfighters and the woman are stuck in a desert-mountain pass, and the only way to escape is if one of them stays behind to hold off their enemies... who used to actually be friends with a lot of them. Lots of excitement and emotional impact.
Canyon -- a big gunfight A Fistful of Dollars (1964) Oh, that finale, with the lone, nameless hero coolly facing down three evil brothers and their henchmen -- it's positively iconic. Then you add in this brilliant trumpet theme by Ennio Morricone and the music swelling behind it, the dust in the street, the slow walk toward certain death, the quiet courage with a secret smile in front of it... oh my heart, I love the end of this movie so much.
Mountains -- high stakes The War Wagon (1967) An ex-con gathers a team to help him steal an armored wagon full of gold -- and help him get revenge on the man who had him unjustly accused and sentenced and thrown in jail. High stakes indeed.
Valley -- a beautiful romance Angel and the Badman (1947) It's like a Beauty and the Beast retelling where the Beast ends up at Beauty's family home instead. And when I say the ending gives me goosebumps and brings tears to my eyes, I mean that in the best way possible!
Desert -- a suspenseful plot 3:10 to Yuma (1957) A desperate rancher agrees to ensure a sly outlaw gets on the train headed for the Yuma Territorial Prison, the outlaw spends the next day doing everything in his considerable power to get free. The tension just ratchets tighter and tighter --it's masterful.
Forest -- themes about renewal The Rare Breed (1966) This is a movie about second chances. A widow gets a second chance at love, a father and son get a second chance at understanding each other, a discontented cowhand gets a second chance at career choices... and it's all revolving around a big Hereford bull intended to bring new life and vitality into a Texas herd.
River -- traveling to a new home Buck and the Preacher (1972) Black pioneers trying to get to Kansas to start new lives as farmers... but a lot of people seem to not want them to get to do that. It's the only movie I know of that's set during the real-life Exoduster migration, too.
Plains -- characters who are farmers Shane (1953) Even though the title character is a gunfighter, he befriends a farming family and gets semi-adopted by them. If they weren't farmers, he wouldn't have to protect them from people trying to push them off their farm, so the whole plot really revolves around the fact that they are trying to raise crops and animals, not graze cattle.
Mesa -- an animal central to the story The Proud Rebel (1958) A sweet, unassuming sheepdog is the heart inside this sweet story about family, love, and sacrifice. And the dog doesn't die, which is a total bonus!
Have you seen any of these?
Interesting stuff! I have seen most of these; I loved that Buck and the Preacher was on your list, as this was a favorite from my childhood and I love it still today. The only ones I'm not familiar with are Horizon, The Professionals, and The Rare Breed. The Professionals sounds especially interesting to me -- I will be looking for that. Ironically, I've never seen The War Wagon, but just the other day, I found a picture at my mom''s house of me, taken when I was a little girl, when my family visited Universal Studios in California -- I was standing in front of an armored stagecoach that was used in the movie!
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