The Quick and the Dead
A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
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- Cast:
- Sharon Stone , Gene Hackman , Russell Crowe , Leonardo DiCaprio , Tobin Bell , Roberts Blossom , Kevin Conway
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Reviews
I love this movie so much
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
'The Quick and the Dead' was directed by Sam Raimi ('The Evil Dead'), and tells the tale of Ellen (The Lady), who in 1878 rides into the town of 'Redemption,' controlled by the 'ruthless' John Herod. Ellen joins a dueling competition in an attempt to exact revenge for her father's death. The names of the lead villain 'Ellen,''Herod' and the town 'Redemption,' were intentional allusions to the Bible. Herod Antipas (20BC – AD40), Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, ordered the death of John The Baptist, and the mocking of Jesus. 'Ellen' in Hebrew literally means 'God has answered me.''Redemption' of the first-born son, is a mitzvah in Judaism whereby a Jewish firstborn son is redeemed from God by use of silver coins.The 'Quick and the Dead' is an English phrase originating in the Christian Bible and popularized by the Apostles' Creed, one of the earliest statements of faith in the Christian Religion. Modern writers use the phrase in the secular context, because of the modern English meaning of the word 'quick,' as in fast or smart rather than 'alive.''Once Upon A Time In The West' was co-storied by Dario Argento, who is a stylistic influence on Raimi, and is referred to in 'The Quick and the Dead' with John Herod facing Ellen in the final gunfight. Her identity is a mystery until the end, when we see a flashback As with 'Frank' in 'Once Upon A Time ' Herod yells, "Who are you?" with the only response being the Sheriffs badge that Ellen throws at him. A trivial link that connects the films is Woody Strode, who appears in both films.Stylistically it could be argued that the film has the look of a western had Argento had the chance to make one; thematically the film has more in common with such classic westerns as 'Django' (1966) or 'High Plains Drifter' (1973).
It's a standard western shoot-em-up done up with a modern feminist twist. Gun fighters and lowlifes from all over the West head to the town of Redemption for a gunfight competition put on by the town's evil and corrupt leader, Herod, played by Gene Hackman.This movie is worth it just for Hackman's presence. He puts on an over the top performance as John Herod who proudly controls the very lives of the townspeople, and he's the deadliest shot of all- a man a lot of people would like to kill, especially Sharon Stone who comes to Redemption to settle an old score. Along the way she meets Russell Crowe, a real deal killer himself who's since reformed into a preacher. Sam Raimi gave this movie his usual great visual style, so you won't even notice most of the time that you're watching what's really an old movie, replete with every stock western character you ever saw. Some have said that The Quick and the Dead is really style over substance, and that's probably true. But if you're a fan of classic westerns, you'll like the fast pace & familiar characters.The only problem with this movie is the final resolution between Lady (Sharon Stone) and Herod. It's not too much of a secret in a movie like this that she finally puts a slug into the bad guy's chest at the end. They set her up as the mysterious gun fighter with an unknown motivation (although the audience gets told what it is), and Herod is the impossibly fast natural born killer that nobody can beat. Their confrontation is inevitable. However, the writers don't give you much to tell you that Lady has any chance in a gunfight against Herod. He should have blown her head right off. They should have set her up as a lightning fast natural with power handed down from her lawman father or foreshadow some type of secret edge over Herod. But we never really get that, so we have to assume she got him with just a lucky good-triumphs-over-evil bullet. If you can overlook that defect, you'll enjoy The Quick and the Dead.
I like odd, kinda weird movies, and this is an odd, kinda weird movie, but it was only decent, not exceptional. The characters were unusual and definitely ahistorical, but it wasn't supposed to be anything other than an offbeat fantasy western, so that was just fine; unfortunately the characters were not only eccentric, but also pretty much flat as a board in terms of character development. It was nearly impossible to really care about anybody in this movie, and it just highlighted the fact that Sharon Stone, while beautiful, is nothing special as an actress. The plot is also, on the whole, very predictable. I really, really do wish though that after DiCaprio went down in this movie it had been just a touch more real and he had never gotten up again--then I wouldn't still be suffering with the rest of his career both on and off the screen. Overall, you might want to watch it because it's different, done well enough, and not too long, but you're not really missing much either if you don't bother with it.
This mildly atmospheric western does have some redeeming features. For a start there is the stunningly beautiful Sharon Stone. A heartless, snarling villain that you want shot dead from the moment the movie begins. A host of OTT characters who are foolish enough to go up against the said villain in a gun fight. The flawed "hero" who is a preacher with a shameful past. The usual grimy faced close ups and spaghetti Western music. No,,,,,,,,,,it's not a classic (it does not pretend to be) but there are far worse movies out there. Yes the plot is stolen from OUATITW. Yes the premise of a fight to the death competition is a little far fetched. However, I loved it. Ms Stone is pure eye candy and if this film were on this evening I'd watch again.