it as his first great film. They also note that all of the themes of Peckinpah's later films, such as honor and ideals compromised by circumstance, the difficulty of doing right in an unjust world, the destruction of the West and its heroes by industrial modernity, and the importance of loyalty between men are all present in Ride the High Country. In 1964 the film won the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association. In his autobiography In the Arena (1995), Charlton Heston wrote that he was considering remaking the film in the late 1980s, presumably with Clint Eastwood as a co-star, but after viewing Ride the High Country Heston proposed Harry Julian Fink's script of Major Dundee (1965) to Peckinpah. The original casting was for McCrea to play the Gil Westrum part and Randolph Scott to play Steve Judd. After reading the script the two men agreed that a switch of roles was in order. The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10: Nominated Western Film Notes . References Further reading Hein, David. "Going Home Justified." The Living Church, July 27, 2014, pp. 16–17. Hein, David. "Ride the High Country: An Elegy on Leadership." The Statesman, March 24, 2014. Republished in The Imaginative Conservative: External links Ride the High Country essay by Stephen Prince on National Film Registry Ride the High Countries: The Essentials at Turner Classic Movies Ride the High Country essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 578-580 1962 films 1962 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1960s English-language films Films about old age Films directed by Sam Peckinpah Films set in California Films set in the 1900s Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films United States National Film Registry films Revisionist Western (genre) films Films with screenplays by William Roberts (screenwriter) 1960s American films