Mid 90’s saw a lot of ‘revisionist’ western cinema being made and also become popular in the Western part of the globe.
So when Sam Raimi set out fresh after his ‘The Evil Dead’ became a cult item in the US, he set out to make a revisionist cinema, The Quick And The Dead!
The law of the west, if you are not fast then a rattler can get you before your enemy can! There have been western classics by Louis L’Amour, who has made the series of the Kid and Dusty so famous that people swear about these not being stories but actual legends of the west. They were faster than the rattler and were the best hunters to hunt the prey in these dry vast plains of the wild Wild West!
Why was I impressed with this film? It had the essential ingredients of a cast that consisted of:
Gene Hackman(Herod)
Sharon Stone(Ellen)
Di Caprio(the Kid)
Cort(Russell Crowe) and then the typical Ace, Scars and the works.
It has a whistly quality accompanied by strummed guitars which reminds you of the Good the Bad and the Ugly.
Sam opens his film with the same aplomb of Sergio in GBU and you have a flanky, rippling stallion galloping across this rough patch of dry land that gets whooped in a lasso and then you realize that it’s Ellen who is tough as nails and sure enough she nails her predators with such alacrity…. Sharon Stone has arrived in this town of Redemption ruled by a madman called Herod, Gene Hackman.
The premise of any western is always money, want or lack of it and revenge. If I have been impressed at all with anything western it’s the surprising love these guys have for their parents. Ellen has come to seek revenge!
Gene Hackman, for a long time has been the last man standing in this arena of a town filled with rotten toothed cowboys, scarred and ruthless. The plunder and pillage that they have been a part of has given them a sinister recognition!
Consider this, Ellen has entered this town with a purpose and then you have Cort, Russell, chained and made an example out of for seeking religion abhorring his partner Herod’s strategies and being chained for the rest of his life. Enter the Kid, Di Caprio, blue eyed, cocky, funny and definitely eyes on the money.
This town holds the competition called the ‘Last Man Standing’ at the stroke of noon and the winner fights the next day till he is the last man standing.
It’s obvious that till now, Herod has been and is the last man standing.
Ellen purpose to understand and then finally nail her rival is understood later as she stands in the glinting noon sun facing her obvious killer where we are taken through a lynch mob hanging of a man with a small daughter being dragged and hanged in public. The small daughter is Ellen.
The Kid also has an agenda, to win the$1, 00, 000 reward, be called the last man standing and prove to the world that he has a father here somewhere and he has come to ask some questions.
Cort has taken to religion not being able to digest the hard, brutal and gory ways of Herod. He has a purpose too. To stop this mad maniac from holding these deadly draws for the competition and then get some peace and administration in this town!
Cort gets his piece, piece of Ellen as she decides to befriend him and try to get more inside info on Herod!
Who stands alone? Is Ellen successful in her purpose? Who is the Kids father? Will Cort be redeemed or will he lie eating the dirt at the feet of Herod?
Well I was sufficiently impressed with this western. Maybe its my fetish or my simple awe of seeing such superb actors on screen together that I did not bother too much about a clichéd story!
Sharon Stone as Ellen, has worked her body, toned it and has worn some outfits that are just too good! She has a very simple impression of grim written all over her face and she is focused to her job. Her demeanor in looking tough is just made to look good because she is extremely camera friendly. She knows where her angles are and looks at them to give her best look. She has been given those mean one liners for her tough image and she has practiced drawing a gun! She is FAST!
Gene Hackman as Herod has put sufficient mean quality in his character. His ruthless, cigar chewing nonchalant behavior is worth watching. A death is just a natural happening for him and its even more better if its his gun that has done it! I was really impressed with his accent and his swiftness.
Di Caprio as Kid is witty, cocky and all that the girls would swoon over. Picture this; He is standing at high noon in front of his opponent and at the strike of twelve he draws and kills. He says, “I am fast”. And then while celebrating his victory, “how can you perfect perfection?”… That’s his attitude. For me he is a million bucks worth.
Russell as Cort has a small but significant role in this film. He is sufficiently pained and has done what is required out of him. I felt that a smaller actor could have been used here but for his involvement with Sharon… I am sure she wouldn’t have done the love making scene with just anybody!
All in all, Sam has done a good job at a western after his horror days with Evil Dead and Darkman days. He has even tried to stylize his film with his cinematographer Dante Spinotti doing a Sergio here but with a little gore, e.g.
showing a ray of sunlight through the bullet(w)hole in the body of the dead cowboy panning the towns landscape,
The camera panning on Herod from the gaping(w)hole through a mans head showing us the stillness that has descended on the town and there is indeed death hanging there!
The climax which is full of raging flames and a burst of charred bank notes scattering on the ground.
These are my scenes. Watch it if you like the westerns. Mind you its clichéd but I liked it because of its style, cast, cinematography and the background score. If you are quick enough the DVD should be there with you now if not watch your players crumble!