This term comes from French criticismfor what in classic Westerns is usually termed the Western myth, except it makes myth synonymous with the film itself, not as a separate construct. Andre Bazin in “Discours sur la methode du Western” (1955) referred particularly to early noirWesterns of Anthony Mann, Edward Dmytryk, and Robert Aldrich, which stressed “the romanisation of frontier themes, using a very happy expression in our opinion. It is exactly the ‘Sur-Western’ of today that is the basis for a truly remarkable series of experiments... in order to achieve in due time, and with sensitivity, cultural research, and a genuine enthusiasm, a new approach” (Feinin and Everson 1962, 19–20).
Historical Dictionary of Westerns in Cinema. Paul Varner. 2012.