All Kevin Costner Western Movies Ranked from Worst to Best

Kevin Costner has revisited the American frontier across decades, stepping into worlds of cattle towns, lawmen, and settlers while also directing large scale period productions. His western film work ranges from classic nineteenth century stories to modern and mid century tales that carry the same rugged settings, rural jurisdictions, and open country tensions.

This roundup includes every feature film where Costner is clearly operating in the western tradition, whether he is starring, directing, or doing both. It is arranged as a countdown from the lowest placed entry to the top spot and focuses on plot scope, key collaborators, and production details that place each film within the genre.

‘The Postman’ (1997)

Set after a societal collapse, the story follows a drifter who puts on an old postal uniform and begins carrying letters between isolated communities in the American West. The character crosses sparsely populated regions, encounters a militia run by a self appointed general, and helps towns rebuild communication through improvised mail routes and muster calls.

Kevin Costner directs and stars, adapting David Brin’s novel with large location shoots across Utah, Oregon, and Washington. The production features convoy scenes, weathered vehicles, and newly built hamlets, with Will Patton leading the antagonist force and Olivia Williams as a key ally who aids the revival of local civic life.

‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1’ (2024)

The first entry in the multi film frontier project follows settlers, soldiers, and Indigenous communities as river towns, wagon routes, and new homesteads appear across the West. Interlaced storylines move between remote outposts, wagon camps, and growing settlements while tracking threats that range from territorial disputes to raids and reprisals.

Kevin Costner directs and stars alongside Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Luke Wilson, and Jena Malone. The production builds period towns and encampments on wide open locations in the American Southwest, using practical set pieces, horseback work, black powder firearms, and freight trains to stage travel and town life.

‘Wyatt Earp’ (1994)

This biographical western follows the lawman from his Midwestern youth through buffalo hunting, deputy work, and the gunfight in Tombstone. The narrative continues with the aftermath as the family and their ally Doc Holliday confront the remaining threats beyond the town limits and contend with shifting jurisdiction across county lines.

Lawrence Kasdan directs with Kevin Costner as Wyatt Earp and Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday, supported by Gene Hackman, Mare Winningham, Michael Madsen, and Joanna Going. The production builds large street sets and trail environments that show the change from open range travel to rail served boomtowns, with period courtrooms, jail cells, and depots anchoring key sequences.

‘Let Him Go’ (2020)

Adapted from Larry Watson’s novel, the story centers on a retired rancher and his wife who drive across the northern plains to bring their young grandson home. Their search leads to a confrontation with a family that controls a remote ranch house and its surrounding county roads through fear and loyalty.

Thomas Bezucha writes and directs with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as the couple, and Lesley Manville and Jeffrey Donovan as members of the clan they must face. The film uses rural sheriff offices, small town diners, and backcountry bridges to shape a journey that moves through lightly patrolled borders and highlights the limits of law enforcement in sparsely populated areas.

‘The Highwaymen’ (2019)

This period pursuit film follows retired Texas lawmen Frank Hamer and Maney Gault as they track the gang known as Bonnie and Clyde during a multistate investigation. The story covers crime scene visits, interviews with witnesses, and coordination with state officials as the pair establish patterns and set up intercepts on rural roads.

John Lee Hancock directs with Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson in the lead roles and Kathy Bates as the Texas governor. The production recreates 1930s travel with vintage automobiles, farmhouses, and filling stations, and it maps the pursuit with county records, radio calls, and stakeouts that culminate in a carefully planned roadside ambush.

‘Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2’ (2024)

The second chapter continues the frontier threads as settlers, drifters, and cavalry units respond to the fallout from earlier conflicts and new pressures on land and resources. The story carries forward multiple families and rival factions while expanding to additional towns, river crossings, and encampments that sit along contested routes.

Kevin Costner again directs and stars, with returning ensemble players and added cast members who fold into the interwoven plotlines. The production uses the same large scale approach as the first film, with built from scratch street fronts, stock corrals, and forts on Southwestern locations, and it stages wagon travel, river work, and night operations with practical effects and extensive extras.

‘Silverado’ (1985)

Four travelers form an alliance on the trail and ride into a cattle town where a strongman and his sheriff control the streets. The group confronts the regime through jail breaks, ranch yard skirmishes, and main street showdowns while protecting families and businesses that have been squeezed by the town’s power structure.

Lawrence Kasdan directs with Kevin Costner as the quick drawing Jake alongside Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover, with Brian Dennehy and Jeff Goldblum among the antagonists. The film was shot on large Western builds that include saloons, corrals, and a full main street, and it features stagecoach stops, trail camps, and horseback chases photographed across Southwestern landscapes.

‘Open Range’ (2003)

Two cattlemen who work free grazing herds face off against a powerful rancher and his hired marshal after a dispute over water access and grazing rights. The plot follows preparations for an inevitable confrontation while showing trail routines, supply runs, and the tension that spreads through a market town caught in the middle.

Kevin Costner directs and stars with Robert Duvall, Annette Bening, and Michael Gambon. The production was mounted in Alberta, where crews constructed an entire frontier main street with boardwalks and stables to support extended outdoor scenes, and it uses practical cattle handling, period firearms, and rain soaked terrain to ground the action in daily work and local commerce.

‘Dances with Wolves’ (1990)

A Union officer assigned to a remote outpost on the plains begins to build a life among a Lakota community as seasonal shifts, buffalo migrations, and army movements reshape the region. The narrative follows his bonds with Kicking Bird and Wind In His Hair and his relationship with Stands With A Fist as pressure from advancing columns changes every settlement.

Kevin Costner directs and stars, adapting Michael Blake’s novel with large location shoots across prairie landscapes. The production features extensive use of the Lakota language, full encampments, cavalry patrols, and buffalo herds, with cinematography by Dean Semler and music by John Barry that support the period setting and the rhythms of travel and camp life.

Tell us your own order in the comments and share which Costner western you revisit most.