Skip to content

Top Navigation

EW.com EW.com
    • All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
    • All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
    • All Music
    • Music Reviews
    • All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
    • All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
    • All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
    • All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
    • All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Subscribe

Explore EW.com

EW.com EW.com
  • Explore

    Explore

    • Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      Comic-Con 2022: Stars strike a pose in EW's photo studio

      From the casts of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever  and The Walking Dead  to Chris Pine and Regé Jean-Page, see who dropped by EW's Comic-Con headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego. Read More
    • Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Power players: Inside The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

      Go behind the scenes of Amazon Prime Video’s ambitious fantasy epic, which hopes to introduce J.R.R. Tolkien to a new generation. Read More
    • Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Biggest bombshells in unsealed Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard court docs: Erectile dysfunction, nude photos, and Marilyn Manson

      Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be more to learn about the high-profile defamation trial, more than 6,000 pages of court docs were released over the weekend. Read More
  • TV

    TV

    See All TV
    • TV Reviews
    • TV Reunions
    • Recaps
    • What to Watch
    • Animated
    • Comedy
    • Crime
    • Drama
    • Family
    • Horror
    • Reality
    • Sci-fi
    • Thriller
  • Movies

    Movies

    See All Movies
    • Movie Reviews
    • Trailers
    • Film Festivals
    • Movie Reunions
    • Movie Previews
  • Music

    Music

    See All Music
    • Music Reviews
  • What to Watch

    What to Watch

    See All What to Watch
    • What to Watch Podcast Episodes
    • TV Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
  • BINGE

    BINGE

    See All BINGE
    • EW's Binge Podcast Episodes
    • Recaps
    • Survivor
    • This is Us
    • RuPaul's Drag Race
    • Stranger Things
    • The Boys
    • The Blacklist
    • The Walking Dead
    • Better Call Saul
  • The Awardist

    The Awardist

    See All The Awardist
    • The Awardist Podcast Episodes
    • Oscars
    • Emmys
    • Golden Globes
    • SAG Awards
    • Grammys
    • Tony Awards
  • Books

    Books

    See All Books
    • Book Reviews
    • Author Interviews
  • Theater

    Theater

    See All Theater
    • Theater Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • Gaming
  • Events

    Events

    See All Events
    • Comic-Con
  • Celebrity
  • Streaming

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Profile

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletter
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Home
  2. Gallery
  3. The 25 Best Texas Movies

The 25 Best Texas Movies

Don't mess with these movies: 'Lone Star' and two dozen other Texas titles
By Mary Sollosi July 01, 2016 at 09:46 PM EDT
Skip gallery slides
FB

1 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Everything’s bigger in big-screen Texas

Everything’s Bigger in Big-Screen Texas
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

John Sayles’ Lone Star hit theaters on June 21, 1996. In honor of the classic indie’s anniversary, we’ve compiled a list of 25 of our favorite quintessentially Texan movies, from football dramas to classic Westerns. Check out our list of Lone Star State flicks ahead!

1 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Lone Star (1996)

Lone Star (1996)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

Chris Cooper stars as the sheriff investigating a murder in the 1996 border town mystery, for which writer-director John Sayles picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Frances McDormand has a memorable scene as an obsessive football fan (because would it truly be a Texas movie without one?), and a little-known actor named Matthew McConaughey appears in a small but significant role early in the film. 

 

2 of 26

3 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Last Picture Show (1971)

The Last Picture Show (1971)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, and Cybill Shepherd star as teenagers living in the hopelessly tiny North Texas town of Anarene in the early 1950s in Peter Bogdanovich’s evocative coming-of-age drama. Shot in bleak black-and-white, the classic picked up eight Oscar nominations, winning two, and ranks among our favorite high school movies of all time.

 

3 of 26

Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

4 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Giant (1956)

Giant (1956)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

Giant is just that — clocking in at over three hours and featuring legendary performances from megastars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean in the final role before his death, George Stevens’ epic Western is a thing of truly Texan proportions. The film follows the life of a Texas family over almost three decades, beginning in the 1920s and lasting through the end of WWII. Stevens won the Oscar for Best Director, and the film racked up nine other nominations, including honors for Hudson and Dean.

 

4 of 26

Advertisement

5 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Red River (1948)

Red River (1948)
Credit: Criterion Collection

Howard Hawks’ epic Western stars John Wayne and Montgomery Clift as two Texas ranchers who conduct the first cattle drive up the Chisholm Trail. The film is renowned as one of the greatest of its genre, and in a true testament to its Texan legacy, Peter Bogdanovich chose it to be the last picture shown in The Last Picture Show’s ill-fated movie theater.

 

5 of 26

6 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Boyhood (2014)

Boyhood (2014)
Credit: Matt Lankes

When native Texan Richard Linklater isn’t following Jesse and Celine around European cities, he often puts the action of his films right back in his home state. His 12-years-in-the-making opus Boyhood, which documents the life of a Texas boy (Ellar Coltrane) from childhood to his first day of college, collected six Oscar nominations, including a win for Best Supporting Actress Patricia Arquette.

 

6 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

7 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

Tobe Hooper’s shockingly violent horror classic, which was shot in Texas and starred mostly unknown local actors, introduced the world to Gunnar Hansen’s terrifying Leatherface; spawned a series of sequels, prequels, and remakes; and stands as one of the most influential horror films of all time. 

 

7 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

8 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Hud (1963)

Hud (1963)
Credit: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Paul Newman is Hud, the selfish son of a righteous cattle farmer, in Martin Ritt’s Hud, in which the title character’s young nephew must choose, in a moment of crisis, whether to side with his arrogant uncle or virtuous grandfather. The Western picked up seven Oscar nominations and won three, including for Best Actress Patricia Neal and Best Supporting Actor Melvyn Douglas. 

 

8 of 26

Advertisement

9 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Blood Simple (1984)

Blood Simple (1984)
Credit: Circle Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

Blood Simple begins with the ominous voiceover: “In Russia, they got it mapped out so that everyone pulls for everyone else — that’s the theory, anyway. But what I know about is Texas. And down here, you’re on your own.” The Coen brothers made their debut with this bloody Texas noir, which starred Frances McDormand in her first feature film role and took home the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1985.

 

9 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

10 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Friday Night Lights (2004)

Friday Night Lights (2004)
Credit: Ralph Nelson/ Universal Pictures

Two years before the series of the same name hit TV, Billy Bob Thornton starred in Peter Berg’s big-screen adaptation of Buzz Bissinger’s nonfiction book Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream, which examines the football-obsessed culture of a tiny Texas town. One of our favorite high school movies, the football drama also features Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, and even Tami Taylor herself, Connie Britton.

 

10 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

11 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Urban Cowboy (1980)

Urban Cowboy (1980)
Credit: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

Nashville doesn’t have a complete monopoly on country music movies: James Bridges’ romance stars John Travolta and Debra Winger as a couple in a tumultuous relationship, the ups and downs of which play out against the backdrop of a Texas honky-tonk. Hot off the successes of Saturday Night Fever and Grease, Travolta showcased versatility on the dance floor in Urban Cowboy, busting out some country moves for the Texan drama.

 

11 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

12 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Alamo (1960)

The Alamo (1960)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

John Wayne produced, directed, and starred as Davy Crockett in this historical epic about the Battle of the Alamo. The film was exceptionally costly for the time and is full of historical inaccuracies, but was a deeply personal project for the legendary actor. Remember it!

 

12 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

13 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Places in the Heart (1984)

Places in the Heart (1984)
Credit: TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

It was when Sally Field won an Oscar for her performance in Places in the Heart that she delivered her now-famous acceptance speech, “I can’t deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!” She starred in the film as a mother in Depression-era small-town Texas who must save the family farm after the death of her husband.

 

13 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

14 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Slacker (1991)

Slacker (1991)
Credit: Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy Everett Collection

Richard Linklater has done his part to keep Austin weird: The beloved filmmaker (and Texas native) first hit the Sundance scene 25 years ago with understated slice-of-life Slacker, which documents a day in the lives of a collection of weirdos and misfits in Austin.

 

14 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

15 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Credit: Jerry Tavin/Everett Collection

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway starred in Arthur Penn’s iconic film about the outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, who have since been elevated to a legendary status in the American cultural imagination. Bonnie and Clyde is an essential entry in the 1960s–'70s New Hollywood cinema, and it won two Oscars out of ten total nominations.

 

15 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

16 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Tender Mercies (1983)

Tender Mercies (1983)
Credit: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Robert Duvall won an Oscar for his performance in Tender Mercies, in which he plays a washed-up country singer struggling with alcoholism; Tess Harper co-stars as the young widow who helps him turn his life around, and Betty Buckley plays his ex-wife. The Bruce Beresford-directed drama also picked up an Original Screenplay Oscar in addition to three other nominations.

 

16 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

17 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Varsity Blues (1999)

Varsity Blues (1999)
Credit: Deana Newcomb/ Paramount Pictures

“In America we have laws. Laws against killing, laws against stealing. And it’s just accepted that, as a member of American society, you will live by these laws. In West Canaan, Texas, there is another society, which has its own laws. Football is a way of life.” So begins Brian Robbins’ Varsity Blues, which stars James Van Der Beek as a reluctant high school football star who dreams of leaving West Canaan forever. Jon Voight plays the team’s cruel coach, Paul Walker is the golden boy quarterback, and Ali Larter is the cheerleader wearing the whipped cream bikini.

 

17 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

18 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Anton Chigurh, No Country for Old Men
Credit: Richard Foreman/Miramax

More than 20 years after their first Texas movie Blood Simple, the Coen brothers returned to the Lone Star State for their Best Picture-winning Western thriller No Country for Old Men, based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Javier Bardem (in an Oscar-winning performance) get caught up in a whirlwind of violence in the West Texas desert after one man stumbles upon a fortune left behind from a botched drug deal.

 

18 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

19 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Office Space (1999)

Office Space (1999)
Credit: Van Redin

It may not make use of any of the more recognizable cinematic iconography of the Lone Star State, but Mike Judge’s cult classic Office Space rings very true for a certain contemporary Texan experience. The cynical workplace comedy speaks to the corporate culture of software companies of the 1990s, when much of the industry was based in Austin.

 

19 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

20 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

The Searchers (1956)

The Searchers (1956)
Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection

John Ford’s 19th-century drama stars John Wayne as a Civil War veteran determined to track down his abducted niece, played by Natalie Wood. While the Texas-set classic was filmed in Arizona and Utah and was technically not, in fact, made in Texas, The Searchers is constantly cited as one of the best Westerns — and in fact one of the greatest films — ever made, so we’ll give it a pass.

 

20 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

21 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Paris, Texas (1984)

Paris, Texas (1984)
Credit: 20th Century Fox/Courtesy Everett Collection

Wim Wenders’ strange Paris, Texas opens with Harry Dean Stanton wandering out of the desert wordlessly. Over the course of the film, he reunites with his brother, son, and wife in a journey that takes him across Texas, making extensive use of the state's visual iconography. The drama was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1984.

 

21 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

22 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Richard Linklater followed up Slacker with this iconic coming-of-age comedy, which ranks in the top five of our 50 favorite high school movies of all time. The movie helped to launch the careers of Ben Affleck and Linklater’s fellow Texan Matthew McConaughey (who also appears on this list three times!). Alright, alright, alright.

 

22 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

23 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)

Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
Credit: Steve Dietl

David Lowery’s romantic, visually stunning indie crime drama stars Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara as an outlaw couple, cast in the Bonnie and Clyde mold, who strive to reunite after Affleck’s character escapes from prison. The film won the cinematography award at Sundance in 2013, and soon after, Lowery was enlisted by Disney to helm two of the studio’s new live-action remakes of animated classics: this summer’s Pete’s Dragon and the upcoming Peter Pan.

 

23 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement

24 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Days of Heaven (1978)

Days of Heaven (1978)
Credit: Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

In Terrence Malick’s second film, Richard Gere plays a young farmworker who convinces his girlfriend to marry their ailing employer, so that she may inherit his farm and fortune. The film was nominated for four Oscars, winning for cinematography, and Malick took home Best Director at Cannes. The filmmaker would return to the Texas landscape decades later, for his 2011 film The Tree of Life.

 

24 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Continued on next slide.
Advertisement

25 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Rushmore (1998)

Rushmore (1998)
Credit: Everett Collection

Wes Anderson’s sophomore feature stars Jason Schwartzman, in his film debut, as a Texas teenager in private school who has grand ambitions and countless extracurricular commitments, but little academic drive. Anderson and his co-screenwriter Owen Wilson reached back to their Texas prep school days for inspiration writing the indie hit, which is one of our 50 best high school movies of all time.

 

25 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

26 of 26

FB
Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Credit: Anne Marie Fox

Twenty years after he broke out in Dazed and Confused, Matthew McConaughey won an Oscar for his performance in Jean-Marc Vallée’s drama. Dallas Buyers Club is based on the true story of Ron Woodroof, an HIV-positive rodeo cowboy who smuggled non-FDA-approved pharmaceutical drugs across the border, and then distributed them among other AIDS patients in the 1980s.

 

26 of 26

Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

  • By Mary Sollosi @missollosi

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 26 Everything’s bigger in big-screen Texas
    2 of 26 Lone Star (1996)
    3 of 26 The Last Picture Show (1971)
    4 of 26 Giant (1956)
    5 of 26 Red River (1948)
    6 of 26 Boyhood (2014)
    7 of 26 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
    8 of 26 Hud (1963)
    9 of 26 Blood Simple (1984)
    10 of 26 Friday Night Lights (2004)
    11 of 26 Urban Cowboy (1980)
    12 of 26 The Alamo (1960)
    13 of 26 Places in the Heart (1984)
    14 of 26 Slacker (1991)
    15 of 26 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
    16 of 26 Tender Mercies (1983)
    17 of 26 Varsity Blues (1999)
    18 of 26 No Country for Old Men (2007)
    19 of 26 Office Space (1999)
    20 of 26 The Searchers (1956)
    21 of 26 Paris, Texas (1984)
    22 of 26 Dazed and Confused (1993)
    23 of 26 Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
    24 of 26 Days of Heaven (1978)
    25 of 26 Rushmore (1998)
    26 of 26 Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

    Share & More

    Tweet Pinterest Email Send Text Message
    EW.com

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Advertise this link opens in a new tab
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Accolades this link opens in a new tab

    Connect

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Meredith© Copyright 2022 Meredith Corporation. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright EW.com. All rights reserved. Printed from https://ew.com

    View image

    The 25 Best Texas Movies
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.