Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon, has received mass critical acclaim, and there are plenty of films like it to explore next. Set in the 1920s, Killers of the Flower Moon tells the tale of the series of murders of the Osage Native American tribe after oil was discovered on their reservation. The film explores themes of greed, exploitation, and violence, posing necessary questions about US history. The film is described as a revisionist Western, a genre that subverts the myth of the traditional Western.
Killers of the Flower Moon is the 26th entry into Martin Scorsese’s exalted film career, where he’s been considered one of the greatest directors of all time. Scorsese teams up with long-time collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, as well as Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, and John Lithgow, for a historical epic filled with unbelievable performances. From other revisionist Westerns to historical dramas about the oil industry to films about the Native American experience, there are great options to try next.
10 There Will Be Blood (2007)
Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is regarded as one of the best films of the 21st century and has one of the most profound performances of its era. Like Killers of the Flower Moon, There Will Be Blood sees a town uprooted by the early-20th-century oil industry. The 2007 drama offers a character study of greed, ambition, and violence through its lead, Daniel Plainview, played by the electrifying Daniel Day-Lewis. There Will Be Blood is a captivating period drama and an exploration of the moral cost of ambition.
9 Dances With Wolves (1990)
Starring and directed by Kevin Costner, Dances With Wolves follows a Civil War soldier who chooses to leave his former life and live with the Lakota Native American tribe. Kevin Costner’s directorial debut takes place in the 1860s and explores themes of colonialism and American frontier expansion. Unlike Killers of the Flower Moon, Dances With Wolves isn’t based on a true story, though its ideas are rooted in history and explore real-life characters and cultures.
8 Hostiles (2017)
The 2017 film Hostiles is another film set in the late 1800s and stars Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, and Wes Studi. Hostiles tells the story of a prejudiced Army captain sent to escort a Cheyenne tribe war chief and his family to their land. They embark on a dangerous expedition as the film explores ideas of racial prejudice, hatred, and violence on the American frontier. Hostiles is a revisionist Western that strips away the American hero and explores the toxic effects of decades of colonization.
7 Thunderheart (1992)
Before Val Kilmer gave his iconic performance as Doc Holliday in Tombstone, he was FBI agent Ray Levoi in a very different type of Western. Thunderheart is a film about a series of murders on a Native American reservation and the subsequent FBI investigation. Like in Dances With Wolves, Thunderheart portrays a white American character who finds himself on an introspective journey as he learns to sympathize with the tribe’s challenges. The 1992 classic is loosely based on historical events and is a powerful exploration of how colonialism still impacts Native Americans.
6 Memories Of Murder (2003)
Directed by the great Bong Joon-ho, Memories of Murder is a thrilling mystery masterpiece. Set in small-town South Korea, the film is led by two detectives investigating a double murder. Soon after, more murders occur, revealing that the detectives pursue a serial killer. Memories of Murder thematically explores the police force’s failures to protect civilians and also has moments of humor and absurdity amidst the darker subject material, much like Killers of the Flower Moon. Bong Joon-ho’s film is celebrated for its bleak, thought-provoking ending.
5 No Country For Old Men (2007)
No Country For Old Men is a Best Picture winner and one of the Coen Brothers’ best films. Josh Brolin plays Llewelyn Moss, a man who stumbles upon $2 million in cash in the aftermath of a drug deal that turned violent. Moss is on the run, pursued by Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh, a mysterious and merciless psychopath tasked with retrieving the cash. No Country For Old Men is an exploration of the unrelenting force of violence and the failures of the law to prevent it.
4 The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Between There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007 was an outstanding year for the Western genre. Following the relationship between gang leader Jesse James and his recruit Robert Ford, the latter grows increasingly jealous of the former, building toward the film’s titular murder. Captured beautifully by the great Roger Deakins, The Assassination of Jesse James is a stunning film about the violence and lawlessness of the Wild West, telling a story of cowardly and vicious figures.
3 Silence (2016)
Many of Martin Scorsese’s films are well-known, and his crime dramas might not have much in common for audiences interested in the period aspect of Killers of the Flower Moon. His 2016 movie, Silence, follows two 17th-century Jesuit priests who travel to Japan to locate their missing mentor at a time when Christianity was suppressed in the country. Silence is one of Scorsese’s most spiritual films, something it has in common with Killers of the Flower Moon. Both projects see the director wrestling with his faith, something he’s done throughout his career with films like The Last Temptation of Christ.
2 Wind River (2017)
Taylor Sheridan has made a mark on the Western genre with work exploring the lives of Native American characters, with his hit show Yellowstone and the 2017 film Wind River. The 2017 movie follows a wildlife officer and FBI agent investigating the case of an 18-year-old woman’s death on a Native American reservation. Sheridan has said that he made Wind River to raise awareness for the many cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women and the reasons why many cases aren’t solved.
1 McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a great anti-Western film that changed the genre forever. The film was one of the first to completely shatter the classic Western film tropes, following a lead character who plans to set up a brothel in a small mining community. Thinking the town’s inhabitants are dull, McCabe sees it as the perfect location for his money-making schemes. McCabe & Mrs. Miller has a similar setup of characters to Killers of the Flower Moon, without the backdrop of murder.
