Where to watch all the Western movies that inspired Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album

Here’s how and where to watch all the Western movies that inspired some of the songs in Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album.

On March 29, Beyoncé dropped her Act II album, Cowboy Carter. The country themed-collection included the voices and lyrics of some well-known genre legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, but it also happens to be inspired by some incredible Western movies, too.

With the album taking cues from films like Urban Cowboy and The Hateful Eight, Cowboy Carter was conceived with each song being its own version of a reimagined Western. As such, there are some truly great pulls from Beyoncé when it comes to underappreciated films of the kind, and we’ve got the details on how to watch them all.

Here are all the movies credited with inspiring the latest Beyoncé album, including plot details and where you can watch them.

Contents

• Urban Cowboy (1980)
• Space Cowboys (2000)
• O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
• The Hateful Eight (2015)
• Five Fingers For Marseilles (2017)
• The Harder They Fall (2021)
• Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Urban Cowboy (1980)

Paramount

What it’s about: Starring John Travolta and Debra Winger, Urban Cowboy is a Western romance that follows the love-hate relationship between Bud Davis and Sissy. A film that often gets lost in the discussion of great Westerns, but played a major role in reviving the country music genre.

Where to watch: Paramount Plus, and available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+

Space Cowboys (2000)

Warner Bros. Pictures

What it’s about: Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, and James Garner are four ex-test pilots who later in life are reenlisted to go into space with the task of repairing an old Soviet satellite. Eastwood (being the Western legend he is) also directed the movie. Space and the Old West don’t often mix, and it’s a bit of stretch to classify this as a Western on account of having the word “cowboy” in the title, but it’s a great watch regardless.

Where to watch: Available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

What it’s about: A Coen Brothers venture through-and-through, O Brother, Where Art Thou? follows three escaped convicts as they embark on an odyssey of a wild and musical nature while looking for hidden treasure. Pretty apt, since the movie is loosely based on Homer’s The Odyssey. Folk music features extensively throughout, and it’s damn catchy, too.

Where to watch: Available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+

The Hateful Eight (2015)

The Weinstein Company

What it’s about: The Hateful Eight isn’t the first time Quentin Tarantino dipped his toes into the Western genre, but it was his most ambitious attempt. More a play than a film, Hateful Eight is a character study of eight strangers as they’re trapped together inside a cabin while awaiting a blizzard to pass. The movie was scored by Ennio Morricone — a name familiar to any Western fanatic worth their salt.

Where to watch: Netflix, and available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+

Five Fingers For Marseilles (2017)

Indigenous Film Distribution

What it’s about: Five Fingers For Marseilles completely rewrites the idea that the Western has to take place on American soil. Set in South Africa, the neo-Western follows Tau, an outlaw who once ran away from his past, as he returns to his hometown of Marseilles only to find it has since been imprisoned under a new threat.

Where to watch: Fubo, Roku, Tubi, and available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+

The Harder They Fall (2021)

Netflix

What it’s about: When Jonathan Majors’ Nat Love, an outlaw, discovers that his old enemy Rufus Buck (played by Idris Elba) has been released from prison, he goes about reinstating his old gang to track down the foe and finally take revenge.

Where to watch: Netflix

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

Apple TV+

What it’s about: Martin Scorsese’s three and a half hour historical epic isn’t for the faint of heart. Based on the haunting true story, Killers follows the relationship between Ernest Burkhart and Mollie Burkhart. Their marriage becomes marred by suspicion and fear as Mollie’s wealthy Osage family slowly starts being picked off one by one.

Where to watch: Apple TV+, and available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video

For more cowboy creations, check out our guide to the Horizon: An American Saga release date. Or, check our our Yellowstone Season 5 Part 2 release date guide.

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