The Quick and the Dead
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Movie Reviews of The Quick and the Dead
Movie Review: GOOD service
Summary: 5 Stars
I paid a lil extra for 2 days delivery for this DVD and it worked. This is an AWESOME western movie. It was Russell Crowe's break-through movie I felt. Well done!Movie Review: Movie Shipment
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a gift for my father. It arrived in good time and great condition. Thanks!Movie Review: The gunfights are the highlight
Summary: 4 Stars
'The Quick and The Dead' is a good example of an anti-western. Released in 1995 and directed by Sam Raimi, the film features a female gunfighter played by Sharon Stone and some campy, over-the-top gunfights. Critics and western purists haven't been kind to this movie over the past several years. For that reason, it is better remembered by most as an early film vehicle for Russell Crowe than for being a "classic" western. Crowe's career benefitted more from this movie than that of other stars who appeared in the film such as Stone, Gene Hackman or Leonardo DiCaprio. The plot is as simple as a plot can get. Hackman plays John Herod, a grizzled outlaw who "runs" the town of Redemption which is a generic western town with a bar, a gun shop and a haven for prostitutes. Herod hosts regular quickdraw competitions in Redemption as part of a plan to goad other gunfighters, men who might challenge his rule, into coming onto his turf and, more often than not, eating lead. It is a simple and effective strategy that has allowed him to stay in power for many years. Instead of having these men sneak into town or gang up on him, Herod is able to get these men face to face in a one-on-one setting and either blow them away himself or sit back and watch while other gunmen do his dirty work for him in the contest.
The thin plot that exists in 'The Quick and the Dead' is centered around a few major and minor characters, each of whom have their own reasons for wanting to eliminate Herod (Hackman). The dialogue here is adequate and some characters (or actors) have better material to work with than others. Predictably, the worst dialogue comes from Stone herself and her character (Ellen) resorts to a large number of one liners. Such is the norm in a Sam Raimi movie. More often than not, though, Stone's performance is convincing and she does a much better job with the script than many leading ladies (circa 1995) might have done. Would Demi Moore or Julia Roberts have been better? Hardly. Before he was a household name, Russell Crowe contributed a convincing performance here playing the role of a preacher named Cort, who was once a riding partner of Herod's. Gene Hackman's performance is up to par and then some, even though 'The Quick and the Dead' is usually overlooked when one brings up his long catalog of films. Admittedly, there is nothing new here that a Hackman fan hasn't seen before but that doesn't mean his performance isn't good. It is. Leonardo DiCaprio uses his considerable talents to bring the character Fee to life. Known throughout the town of Redemption as "The Kid", Fee is purported to be John Herod's son and that eventually becomes more important as the competition moves on.
The actual plot does very little to drive 'The Quick and the Dead.' The most enjoyable moments take place during the actual gunfights and the challenges (banter), among the contestants, leading up to them. While the results of most bouts are predictable, the way things play out will both amuse and shock people who are new to the movie. One freshly dead gunfighter gets stripped to his skivvies by bandits who loot his corpse in the middle of the street, while the entire town is looking on. Another gunfighter, believed to be dead by no less than the town doctor, rises up and continues to fight. Meanwhile, the townspeople do show emotion when a gunfighter or two they are sympathetic with, or rooting for, is gunned down.
The plotholes here are forgivable, due to the excitement that takes place leading up to and during the gunfights. What is missing from the movie would be some character development or background on a few of the supporting cast members. Some of the supporting characters, particularly Ace Hanlon (played by Lance Henriksen) and Sgt. Clay Cantrell (Keith David), are great. Hanlon plays a card shark who goes from town to town doing "impossible" trick shots to entertain locals, before stopping in Redemption for the quick draw contest. During one early conversation Ace brags about how many men he has killed and in another scene, he talks about being as fast of a draw with his left hand as he is with his right. Nobody believes a word of it. Played to perfection by Henriksen, Hanlon's screen presence and dialogue is one of the best things about 'The Quick and the Dead.' It is just too bad his screen time is fairly limited and you get very little background on the character, other than one or two key scenes.
Sgt. Cantrell is a gruff, no-nonsense hitman who is hired by a group of townspeople to enter the contest and kill Herod (Hackman) by any means necessary. Somehow Herod finds out about this plan and confronts Cantrell before the two of them engage in a gunfight later that day. In a touch of irony, Herod admits he thought Ace Hanlon was the hitman hired by the town which led him to confront Hanlon first. Like Ace Hanlon, the character of Clay Cantrell gets very little screen time and it is too bad since he proves to be an entertaining character when he is on screen. Furthermore, Cantrell's last scene in this film is the most controversial one in the movie for people who are writing a review. Most Raimi fans love it but some western purists loathe the camera shot. Once again, Keith David's character is another minor character that the viewer would love to know a little bit more about. You'll notice that a lot of the minor gunfighters are just there and you never learn anything about their past and very little about their motives. Another minor character who provides a little entertainment is Jonathon Gill, who plays Spotted Horse and leads everyone into believing that he is impervious to bullets. One of the more talked about appearances is that of Gary Sinise, who makes it into the movie via a flashback. He plays the father of Ellen (Stone), who had his life interrupted by Herod when Ellen was just a child.
Sam Raimi's directing work here is very underrated and some of the best stuff is hidden beneath the surface. Watching the movie several times, a viewer can still notice new stuff each time out. Looking in the background of the bar while contestants are signing up for the contest, you will find a wanted poster for Virgil Sparks (wanted for murder and rape) who is one of the first round contestants. A moment or two after you see the poster, Sparks appears on the screen to enter the competition. Deep in the background of most shots, you don't just see extras but you can also see main (and minor) characters interacting with each other. Such a practice isn't common since the background of many major movies are regularly filled with extras and not the stars. This subtle camera work may have been entirely unintentional but I don't think it was. There are a lot of neat "props" and some character shots that you'll notice in the background when watching the movie in slow motion, rewinding over key scenes or stopping to press pause every so often.
The ending of 'The Quick and the Dead' is hardly a surprise and this movie finishes just the way you would expect it to. No twists, no "surprise" ending and thankfully, no legitimate opening for a sequel. What happens with John Herod is another point of contention for reviewers who have a grudge with this movie and it is something Sam Raimi gleefully included. What you will realize from watching the movie, or even reading most of these reviews, is that this is not a "traditional" or "pure" western. Not even close. Campy dialogue and fight scenes abound. The hero/heroine is a female gunfighter, which polarizes the audience right from the start. Some label this as a comic book style western. A recurring theme that 'The Quick and the Dead' shares with other westerns is its dark humor, most of which is provided by Hackman's character Herod. Some of the contestants in the quickdraw, including Eugene and Scars, are stereotypical outlaws. Those type of characters meet the norm for nearly any western.
What you get with 'The Quick and the Dead' is a movie that won't finish high on the list of most seasoned western fans or a list from a mainstream movie critic. It is a movie that is imperfect and could have been touched up in a number of places. Regardless, 'The Quick and the Dead' is a good introduction to Russell Crowe, a good catalog movie for Gene Hackman, a good cameo for Lance Henriksen (or Gary Sinise and Keith David, etc.) and a good stepping stone to help Leonardo DiCaprio cement his star status. This is one of the most commonly shown (and watched) movies on "regular" cable tv. It is regularly shown on AMC, TBS and TNT when they need to fill a late night or weekend time slot and there is a reason for it. 'The Quick and the Dead' is an easily accessible movie with just enough star power and just enough action to keep someone watching until the finish. When it is all said and done, the good things in 'The Quick and the Dead' outweight the bad and you are left with an above average movie and a three-and-a-half to a four star film.
Movie Review: "Am I fast, or is Sweden just a very small place?"
Summary: 4 Stars
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD isn't quite the film critic's wet dream and, yep, it is western fluff and rife with cliches, but director Sam Raimi keeps things interesting with his trademark frenetic camera work and screwy pans and inventive points of perspective. Meanwhile, Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe maintain your attention when they're on the screen.
In a bit of gender twisting, Sharon Stone plays the straight-shooting lead and, no, we're not used to seeing Sharon Stone other than in sexy provocative roles, and yet this is a diverting change of pace for her, even if her wafer-thin role doesn't give her much to work with. A mysterious female protagonist in a Wild West shoot-'em-up and an evocation of mythic archetypes straight out of the Spaghetti western, I can dig it. This flick is one of my top guilty pleasures in this genre.
I liked it better when Sharon Stone's stranger was just known as "the Lady," so evocative of "the Man with No Name." And then someone lets slip that her character's name is actually Ellen, and a sliver of that mythical aura is suddenly shaved off. The Lady - or "Ellen" - rides into the dusty town of Redemption, the final destination of her vengeance trail. She arrives in time for the annual quick draw competition, the prize money of which is $123,000. Shifty pistoleros throw their name on the tote board, and each one touts an attitude. The Lady sees this event as her chance to place a killing bullet into John Herod (a bristling Hackman), the prairie town despot.
The storyline is hollow and unfolds by the numbers, so instead relish the bigger-than-life characters and the peppering of cool moments. Several actors turn in flashy, memorable performances. A cocky DiCaprio is endearing as the fast-as-lightning Kid ("I'm worth $3,000 in four states"). Gene Hackman predictably chews up scenery as the despicable John Herod, and what he does to Lance Henriksen is sort of a repeat performance of his treatment of Richard Harris in UNFORGIVEN. But my favorite character is probably Russell Crowe's reluctant gunslinging preacher (he's kept chained up when not engaged in gun battles).
That Sam Raimi directs with manic energy is like saying that John Wayne walked kinda funny or that Clint Eastwood likes to squint some. Well, of course. And if Raimi falls short of what Sergio Leone brought to the screen, well, hell, I'd like to have seen Leone try to direct the Evil Dead movies with as much quirky panache - although, okay, fine, Leone would probably more than hold his own. But different strokes...
As for our heroine, Sharon Stone isn't required to be a great actress here (some would say "As opposed to when? SLIVER?"). She only has to demonstrate an understated flair, that bit of quiet swagger. And she has to look good dealing in lead, smoking that cigarillo, and walking with a purpose in that duster of hers. But Sharon Stone always looks good anyway, whether her choice of weapon is a pistol or an ice pick. And she gets the last word in right before she rides off into the horizon. "Law's come back to town," she tersely remarks, and then she's gone, having settled her score at last.
Movie Review: Grossly Under-Rated
Summary: 4 Stars
Without a doubt, this film smacks heavily of the stereotypical Spaghetti westerns of the '60's!! But those were some of my favorites...From the tried and true, good winning out over evil foundation, to the sometimes haunting music scores of Ennio Morricone which helped launch Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone into the spotlight, in my opinion, Director Sam Raimi and Composer Alan Silvestri do an admirial job of picking up where the former left off. Whether this genre is your taste will decide if you really appreciate this work.
Most of the other reviewers have outlined the story, so I'm not going into it again except to make these remarks.
I must admit, that I missed this film totally for several years, and didn't view it at all until the music score caught my attention one evening as the film was being aired on a cable channel. Silvestri's score put the hook in me and the rest is history.
The principal actors do a splendid job in my book, making this film entertaining. Hackman reminded me of the Capt. Ramsey of Crimson Tide with a pair of six-guns. I have yet to experience Hackman in a bad performance...yes, some better than others, but never bad!! And Sharon Stone...well, what can I say? Whether you think she fit the part or not, I found her to be a pleasure to watch in a setting totally removed from her norm. She obviously believed in this film as she was one of the Producers!
Gladiator star, Russell Crowe, and Titanic's Leonardo DiCaprio complete the cast of well-known names, with performances that kept this film interesting. Lance Henriksen, Kevin Conway and Tobin Bell lend their talents efficiently in supporting roles.
Yes, there are a couple of portions that seem to be a bit cartoonish, as one reviewer put it, but all in all, being a lover of the western genre, I really enjoyed this film, and I can't say enough about how the musical score helped set this film a couple of shelves higher than it would have been without it! These days, a music score can make or break a picture...it's big business! And even though this film was never intended to compete at the Academy Awards, Alan Silvestri did a masterful job in capturing the essence of this film through his music!
The professional critics are so out of touch with the public it's almost comical. Some of them should go into politics!! Don't listen to the critics on this one...In my view this film was grossly under-rated...But judge for yourself if you're a western buff. This DVD is deserving of a spot in anyone's collection!
I ordered this film from Amazon after trying unsuccessfully for months to find it locally. I received the DVD in about 4 days in excellent condition.