Title: Quick and the Dead
US Release: 2/10/1995
Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by Simon Moore (unaccredited rewrites by Joss Whedon)
Distributed by TriStar Pictures
Cast:
Sharon Stone – Ellen “The Lady”
Gene Hackman – John Harod
Russell Crow – Cort
Leonardo DiCaprio – Fee Harod “The Kid”
Keith David – Sgt. Clay Cantrell “The Shootist”
Lance Henriksen – Ace Hanlon
Gary Sinise – Marshall
Roberts Blossom – The Doc
Pat Hingle - Horace
The Skinny:
The
Lady, later revealed as Ellen (Stone) arrives in a remote town somewhere in the
Arizona desert, named “Redemption”. The town
seems almost deserted, and the townsfolk afraid to come out of their
homes. But the Lady is no stranger to danger:
taking no guff from the saloon owner Horace (Hingle) when he mistakes her for a
prostitute, rebuffs a recently escaped convict with ease, and keeps everyone
else at arms-length. She learns from the
blind shoe-shine boy that the town mayor, John Harod (Hackman), is merciless, taking
protection money from the poor townsfolk under threat of death. He organizes a quick draw competition for “entertainment”
for the town, and many gunfighters arrive in the town to show off their skills
and for chest of cash.
It’s
revealed that Ellen has history with Harod from her childhood, though he doesn’t
recognize her as an adult. She shows her
skills with a six shooter when she rescues a priest, Cort (Crowe, in his first American
film role) from being hanged in the saloon, but seems terrified of shooting
Harod, even when he strays away from his body guards and (later in the film)
has him completely defenseless in his own home with a gun aimed at him under
the table, but cannot bring herself to pull the trigger.
Cort is revealed to be an old
friend of Harod’s, and rode with his gang: robbing and killing without care. Cort changed his ways however when Harod
forced him to kill a Mexican priest, after the priest had cared for them and
nursed them back to health. Out of guilt,
Cort forsook the outlaw life and committed to the priesthood. Harod doesn’t believe he will ever change,
and has always wanted to see if he could out draw Cort, who himself is a
naturally fast draw.
First round
of the quick draw commences, with the winner declared after his opponent can no
longer fire his gun, but is still alive.
Cort, even with a rusted old pistol, still draws faster than lighting, eliminating
his opponent. He even advises Ellen on
how to draw faster, gaining the necessary split second to out draw her opponent
and move onto the next round. Harod’s illegitimate son, Fee “the Kid” (DiCaprio),
gunsmith of the town, is also a quick draw, eliminating a Swedish quick draw
champion, though Harod dismisses him as lucky.
Harod,
paranoid and arrogant, challenges Ace Hanlon (Henriksen) to a duel, whom he suspects
the townsfolk paid to kill him. Harod
outdraws Ace, mercilessly crippling both his hands with ease. In a sadistic show of his power over the
town, he degrades Ace as he forces him to dance in full view of the town by shooting
at his feet, before fatally shooting him.
The town quickly strips Ace’s dead body down to his long johns.
Ellen, progressing
through the rounds of quick draw, still cannot bring herself to kill. Even when she wounds an old man, Eugene Dredd
(Kevin Conway) for sexually assaulting a young girl, and has him at her
mercy. Cowardly pleading for his life on
the ground, she still cannot kill and walks away into the saloon. Horace, father of the little girl who was
assaulted, and himself unable to kill even he had the chance, pours her a drink
on the house. Eugene, still alive and
seeking revenge, stumbles into the saloon and nearly misses Ellen. Out of sheer reaction, she draws and shoots
him dead, moving onto the next round.
Harod, after
discovering the gun fighter who was hired to kill him, Sgt. Cantrell (David)
declares the remaining round of the quick draw will be to the death, and makes
an example out of Sgt. Cantrell in front of the town. In a fit of rage, he berates the town for not
submitting to his authority, and brutally shoots Sgt. Cantrell through the head. Ellen, shaken from her first killing, cannot
go on with the competition, and thinks of leaving, despite the pleads from Cort,
and the apparent broken spirit of the townsfolk. Harod,
now free to test his mettle against Cort, declares the town closed, with anyone
caught leaving to be shot on sight.
On the Surface:
I would
have to say this is as close to an American version of the spaghetti western there
is at this point in time with films. Western
films were turning more gritty, raw, and realistic ever since the 1980’s,
breaking away from the glamorized genre they started out as in the 1940’s and
1950’s. First seen as capitalizing on
America’s mythology, modern westerns have definitely tried to evolve into
almost historical fiction on film, showing the old west as the brutal and
unforgiving time in history it was. Spaghetti
westerns (westerns filmed in European countries, mainly Italy and Spain, with
mostly European directors, crews, and supporting cast with a few well-known American
actors playing the leads) were the first subgenre of westerns to deviate from “hero
beats villain”. Sam Raimi, who made his name in the film biz
with his low-budget “Evil Dead” horror films, and off kilter “Darkman” films,
brought his unique visual style to this film (to date his only attempt at
westerns). The smash zooms, pov shots of
the guns, and use of a female lead character is what made this film so not-traditional
for an American western. Seeing the
film, it’s obvious it’s a western, but watching the film, it doesn’t feel like
what a western usually is, much like watching a spaghetti western for the first
time. Audiences were definitely confused
by it, and critics praised the production value and performances, but disliked
the film as a whole for the end product it was.
The sometimes over the top violence and gunplay pushed it further
outside the norm for its genre, leading some to think it was almost parody of
sorts of spaghetti westerns themselves.
Production Wise:
Simon
Moore originally wrote the screenplay for the film as an homage to Spaghetti
westerns, namely the work of famed Italian director Sergio Leone. He sold the script to Sony Pictures (parent
company of Tristar). Wanting to use a
well-known actress for the lead role of Ellen, Sony signed on Sharon Stone, who
would also co-produce the film. With co-producer
authority, Stone wanted Sam Raimi to direct, impressed with his previous work,
and even threatened to drop out of the film if he was not given the director’s
chair. She further flexed her authority
by casting Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio.
She even paid DiCaprio’s salary out of her own pocket when Sony questioned
the casting.
Filming
was down in and around Tucson, Az at the request of Gene Hackman. All actors who played gun fighters went
through 3 months of quick draw training by a professional quick draw showman, with
Hackman becoming the fast draw of the main cast. Stone, who enjoyed horseback riding in her
free time, brought her own horse to the production to be used as Ellen’s horse
in the film.
Why I like the film:
Stone’s
performance as the steely eyed but scarred Ellen was good, and the resolution
of her character at the end of the film was well played. It gave her character the absolution she was
looking for and the absolution the audience was waiting for by the end of the
film. Crowe’s performance as Cort,
coming directly from Australian cinema, was also good, and he slid right into
the role and into American filmmaking with ease. It honestly didn’t feel “unpolished” or “uneasy”
like he was adjusting to anything. His
performance in this film was pretty much the same standard as Gladiator, or A
Beautiful mind.
It was
weird seeing a very young, very cocky Leonardo DiCaprio. I’ll admit I didn’t see this film until he
was already at the superstar status he’s known for, so that did cloud my view
of his performance in this film. Still, I
felt for his character: the young boy trying to earn his father’s respect (even
if it meant going so far to challenge him in a duel to the death) but not
wanting to appear weak, so he put on the cool persona, and drew his six shooter
with confidence and speed.
Its
always nice to see a veteran actor like Pat Hingle play outside his typecast
roles. Though he had been acting for decades
before this film, I’m pretty sure he will always be remembered as Commissioner
Gordon of the first run Batman films. Seeing
him in the role was a nice change. Lance
Henriksen as Ace, the showman/gunfighter, who fancied himself as high society,
was also a nice change from his typical Sci-fi roles he was known for. Keith David as the professional shootist,
with a serious handle bar mustache, was typical of characters you would see in
Sam Raimi films, though the angle of him having his pistol on a hinge connected
to his belt for a faster draw was a unique and captivating touch, and I wouldn’t
be surprised if real shootists of the old west did the same.
Gene
Hackman as the villain was perfect. I
love the scene where he yells at the townsfolk as he shoots down Keith David’s
character. A lot of critics said it was
one dimensional, but the intensity behind his delivery was anything but. The old west was a brutal, unforgiving
landscape. Not only did people have to
earn their living through hard manual labor daily, there was days almost weeks
between towns, and having social interaction was rare for a lot of people. His madness was believable, and his reasons
for being so tyrannical were made apparent in that scene. It showed his character was the bad guy of
the film, and why he needed to be defeated in the end.
The
main element that always draws me back to this film is Sam Raimi’s vision. Way before digital filming, the effort put
into giving it an artistic flair was long and sometimes misunderstood by the
crew and the studio. The smash zooms
were often laughed at as corny and parodying of spaghetti westerns, though I
saw them as building intensity. Though
few, the pov shots were the best parts of the film. Not used very often during the 1990’s because
of the logistics of developing camera’s to be mounted and focused in such a
manner, I enjoyed seeing them used in this film. It gave the film depth for a western,
showcasing the six-shooters the gun fighters used, and ultimately lived by in the
old west.
The
over the top characters didn’t last very long in the film, so they weren’t that
distracting, and climax rounded out the story for what it was. I think this was an odd western that is necessary
in a genre that seems to have grown formulaic by the 1990’s. An odd film every now and again is very
necessary indeed.
Rated R for western violence, some of it over the top and
some risqué though barely scandalous framing at one point, this film has the
serious feel with a light hearted touch.
Stream or rent where available for when the mood calls for a western,
but you don’t feel like watching the same thing as before.
No comments:
Post a Comment