From Steampunk to Space Cowboys: Movies That Combine Sci-Fi and Western Sensibilities

Sheriff! There’s a stranger rid into town and he ain’t using no horse!
As you might imagine, the subject of cowboys and SF is in the front row because of Cowboys and Aliens opening this past weekend. The question is: just how did moviemakers get from westerns to outer space so effortlessly? How is it the horsepower age became an endless source of plasma drive adventures? Just as important – how successful have these films been – classics or tagged for disposal in the local black hole?
Here’s how Film Junk looks at it.
First, a director will set his or her film on a vast frontier. Then add a rugged individualist (maybe even an outlaw or a bounty hunter). Make law and order shaky at best. Mix in an ethnic conflict or a territorial dispute and explore the moral dilemmas. What do you have? A western or science fiction? What’s on their heads – hats or space helmets? And even with that giveaway, some of our best filmmakers have still found ways to blend these two genres into engaging films that stand on their own.































