The Quick and the Dead | | Cast : | Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman | | Director : | Sam Raimi | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | February 10, 1995 | | DVD Released Date : | November 07, 2000 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), French (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 05, 2005 | | Summary | Sharon Stone as Clint Eastwood in homage to Leone's westerns | Content
 | I really liked this Western. Sharon Stone plays the Clint Eastwood role of a stranger riding into town (Redemption) with vengeance on her mind. Her nemesis is a cruel gunslinger / town owner called John Herod, who controls Redemption with an iron first. The Sharon Stone character participates in a fast-draw competition hosted by John Herod, and many different participants shoot it out with each other. The fastest person to stay alive wins and receives the bounty. The colorful characters include Herod's son, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who tries to be the fastest draw comparable to his father; the Preacher (played by Russell Crowe), who is a deadly gunslinger who takes a vow of non-violence and strikes a friendship with Stone; Ace Harlon, a fast-draw participant played by Lance Henricksen; and Sgt. Cantrell, a hired gunhand played by Keith David. Gene Hackman plays John Herod in a way that is reminiscent of the cruel sheriff in "Unforgiven."
Other reviewers have done a great job of describing the plot in more detail so I won't repeat it here. What I'd like to comment on is how this movie plays homage to several of Sergio Leone's movies, especially "Once upon a Time in the West" and "A Fistful of Dollars." Sharon Stone's character Ellen is haunted by flashbacks of her past in the cruel murder of her father by Herod (reminiscent of Once upon a Time in the West's flashbacks of Charles Bronson's character and his past with Henry Fonda). There is a deadly and climactic confrontation between Ellen and Herod, reminiscent of "A Fistful of Dollars"; there's a bit of "High Plains Drifter" thrown in, as the female gunfighter emerges from the smoke from the town ablaze, to confront her foe.
I thought that Sharon Stone did a very commendable job, playing a female gunfighter. Her character is interesting in that on the one hand, she is a deadly and coolheaded gunfighter, yet on the other, she still is haunted by her fears in her past as a girl who stood by helplessly when her father was being killed. I can't picture another actress who can play this role with such charisma and believability as Stone.
Even though the plot is very simple, what made this movie most interesting (besides having a female gunfighter) is the collage of different interesting characters who participate in the competition. I also appreciated Sam Raimi's direction and the many inventive camera shots of the gun duels (e.g. the donut-sized holes in a person's head after he gets shot).
I agree that this movie deserved much better than what the critics gave it. I believe that over time it will be respected as an original and inventive homage to the Spaghetti Western. I hope they make a sequel to this movie with another female gunslinger being the heroine. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 22, 2005 | | Summary | Great Western | Content
| I want to start out by saying that this is probably one of the most underrated westerns ever. It hasn't got a lot of good reviews from critics but it is one of the best westerns I have ever seen (then again I haven't seen that many westerns) but in any case its really a very good movie that's well worth your time.
PLOT:
The plot isn't anything original. A mysterious stranger(Sharon Stone) comes to the town of Redemption looking for revenge against the mayor of the town, John Herod(Gene Hackman). She arrives in time for the annual shooting contest and enters it after saving a preacher named Cort(Russell Crowe) from being killed by Herod. Herod enters Cort in the contest along with himself. Other assorted characters also enter the contest including: Herod's son, the Kid, Ace Hanlon, who can talk a good game but can't quite back it up, Sgt. Clay Cantrell, a hired killer, Spotted Horse, an indian who claims that he can't be killed by a bullet and few others. The plot is predictable and anyone who has ever watched a western has seen this kind of thing before but it's a great movie that deserves to be seen.
CAST:
Sharon Stone: I'm not a big Sharon Stone fan but she gave a much better performance than I thought she would in this role. She's sort of reminds one of Clint Eastwood in the Dollars Trilogy and High Plains Drifter. But whereas Eastwood never showed much vulnerability Stone lets her character be vulnerable and show doubts and fear.
Gene Hackman: Hackman gives another great performance as John Herod, the evil boss of the town. I've always thought Hackman was a better villain than hero and this movie shows him in one of his best villainous roles. He is truly heartless and remorseless.
Russell Crowe: This is one Crowes earlier performances before he became a huge star. Crowe always turns in a solid performance and this is no different. He plays a outlaw turned preacher named Cort. He used to run with Herod's gang but is now a man of peace but is forced into killing or being killed.
Leonardo DiCaprio: I'm also not the biggest DiCaprio fan in the world but he almost stole the movie in his role as Herod's son the Kid. He did a great job as a cocky young gunfighter who only really wants his fathers respect.
The rest of the cast gave solid performances in their roles as well. Standouts include Lance Henriksen as Ace Hanlon and Keith David as Sgt. Clay Cantrell.
CONTENT:
There is some bad language here but not a whole lot and there is violence of course but it's not very graphic. There is also a very brief split second of nudity that I only noticed during the third time I saw this so it's nothing to really get upset about.
FINAL WORD:
This a great movie that deserves a better reputation than it's got.
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| Rating | | | Date | April 18, 2005 | | Summary | The WORST movie I have EVER seen!!! | Content
| I don't write many reviews, and only a few are negative. But I feel compelled to spill my guts on this "movie". In one word, "AWFUL!".
My wife wanted to see Russell Crowe (what's he got that I don't?). Crowe's performance was excellent even though the movie sucked. (He's done some great movies and some terrible ones such as this, but his acting is consistently very good.)
At first I thought "..the Dead" was a satire or parody. Unfortunately it was neither. It was contrived and not believeable (not a fantasy either). The acting was terrible except for Crowe and to a lesser extent for Hackman. The story had no substance, and the drama and suspense were as deep as Jacques Cousteau diving in a wading pool.
Sharon Stone was terrible. (Did she finance this film? It's the only explanation I can think of.)
Even the costuming was comical. In this dirty, dusty, (and muddy) town some of the attire looked like it came straight off the rack from Saks. How Sharon got so many clothes on the back of her horse is beyond me!
A leading actor or actress should have at least some quality going for her such as being attractive, strong, sympathetic, mean, intelligent, witty, sexy, ugly, weak, stupid, intriging, something, anything!; Sharon Stone had none in this movie. Off the top of my head, Sigourney Weaver, a young Sophia Loren or Marilyn Monroe, or even Rosie O'Donnell or Hillary Clinton would be better personalities for the Sharon character.
Hackman was good, but every time he spoke I couldn't help but think of the villian and comical character Lex Luther (from Superman). The dialogue was very similar. His character was contrived and shallow.
DiCaprio was ok given his part, but what's a prissy, GQ, preppy sort of guy, with a perfect complexion doing being the son of of the bad guy in a dirty little town where the average person bathes maybe once a year? And yet despite their relationship, there was no chemistry and little dialogue between them. Casting DiCaprio in this part is like casting Michael Jackson to play Kobe Byrant in a non-comedy.
I could go on and on, but I'll conclude with two other comments. The scenes look like they're done on a set, and just one set at that. And if there are any "special effects", I must have missed them - except for Hackman doing a backflip!
Oh My, What a Terrible Movie! |
| Rating | | | Date | December 20, 2004 | | Summary | When "Evil Dead" Met "Gunsmoke"... | Content
| Director Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spiderman) made an impressive departure from horror in this old fashioned spagetti western with an impressive (yet virtually unknown) cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Sharon Stone (lead actor at the time, boy has time changed!) and the ever so western bad dude Gene Hackman.
There's not much difference between a horror film and a western really. Usually there is more killins in a western. Raimi skillfully uses his many techniques and quirky camera work to redifine the western. Not destined to become a classic, but can hold its own. Well acted and filmed, great score, and loads of action. If you are a western fan, then this one should not be missed. If yoy are a Sam Raimi fan, you need this one for your collection. |
| Rating | | | Date | December 11, 2004 | | Summary | Watchable | Content
| Sharon Stone is the star of this Western, in which she plays a vengeance minded gunslinger. In this movie, she is supported by a strong cast, including Gene Hackman and Leonardo DiCaprio. Look for Russell Crowe as the preacher.
Predictable, sometimes corny, other times just plain entertaining for all the wrong reasons, this is still a pretty watchable movie. I am generally picky about my Westerns, and while this movie will likely never be in any top ten lists of best Westerns ever made, it is the type of movie that when it came out on cable, I ended up watching every time I was channel flipping and it was on. It has its appeal.
Sharon Stone pulls off this role, and because she did, I respect her a lot more than I ever did before seeing this movie. Not because it was such a stellar acting job, or because the idea of a female Clint is so believable, but because after you get past the Stone bias that seems to exist among fans and critics, and once you get past the idea of a female in the Clint role (c'mon, folks, it's the 1800s!), it's a fun movie.
Sometimes, fun is what it's all about.
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