Three candidates for the Top 10 Westerns from 1965-1980s' list:
Duck, You Sucker! aka Fistful of Dynamite aka Once Upon a Time....the Revolution.- An I.R.A. explosives expert (James Coburn) on the run in Mexico meets an amoral Mexican bandit (Rod Steiger); together they are drawn into the Mexican revolution.
Steiger holds his own in role that was originally written for Eli Wallach. But do to a prior commitment and Steiger's studio obligations, Wallach couldn't play the part. The movie is considered to be the second installment in Sergio Leone's Once Upon A Time trilogy. Eventually I'll getting around to re-watching In America since its on Netflix.
The Great Silence.- A mute gunfighter (Jean-Louis Trintignat) defends a young widow (Vonetta McGee) and a group of outlaws against a gang of bounty killers in the winter of 1898, as a grim, tense struggle unfolds.
Sergio Corbucci filmed three different endings for this movie. Happy, ambiguous, and bleak respectively. Because of the bleak one, its the best movie out of the three and I can see it making the final list. Klaus Kinski co-stars as the leader of the bounty killers.
Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid.- Pat Garrett (James Coburn) is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid (Kris Kristofferson).
Directed by Sam Peckinpah, its one of those films where the story of the production is more interesting than the film itself. Bob Dylan co-stars and composed the score and songs for it. So it was cool hearing the lyrics to "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" in the context of the story. I really like Peckinpah as a director, but man can his movie sometimes be a slog to sit through.