Mort ou vif

Yes, I know the critics at the time panned it. But if that was the baseline for greatness, films like Wonderful Life and Citizen Kane would be lost to obscurity. Bottom line, this is a "high concept" film that is much more entertaining than you would guess. The timeline is fascinating. In the 1960s, after a half-century run, and massive exposure on the new medium called Television, the classic western started to disappear. But, as they say, nature abhors a vacuum; and at the same time the sun started to set on the traditional western, it started to rise on something called the "italian westerns" or re-imaginings of the genre from Europe. This is for example how Clint Eastwood went from forgotten TV actor (Rawhide) to #1 box office attraction. This new genre lasted barely 15 years or so and soon disappeared as well. Yet out of nowhere, 20 years later someone in Tinseltown gets the idea to re-imagine the ALREADY RE-IMAGINED western, this time starring a female. Sharon Stone was past the apex of her career by this point, making the project more of a challenge. The other talent was awesome. A pre-Oscar Russell Crowe, a pre-Titanic diCaprio, and all backstopped by Hackman, I mean, wow. The big question, did it actually work? Answer yes. It was uneven in parts and an argument could be made that Hackman overdid the "bad guy" role or, alternatively, the part was over-written. Stone was awesome, proving she had the chops to take on a bizarre role and make it hers. Actually gets better with each successive viewing. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

A woman rides into town and finds herself caught-up in shooting duel competition, which fits her agenda for revenge.

Simon Moore's basic story and director Sam Raimi's staging is a homage of sorts to the Spaghetti Westerns of Sergio Leone, particularly the Dollars Trilogy. What makes Raimi's Quick and the Dead appealing is the star studded cast and an array of supporting actors including Lance Henriksen, Keith David, Gary Sinise and Pat Hingle... There's really too many to mention.

Moore's revenge/redemption script has a moral core, some heartfelt moments and surprise deaths but essentially it is a series of showdowns. Raimi's offering is not as gritty looking as it could be but it has some nice setups, special effects, explosions and shootouts. Each of the actors have clearly put a lot of effort into handling their weapons, particularly notable is Russell Crowe. The great (now retired) Gene Hackman, a fresh Crowe, a young Leonardo DiCaprio and of course Sharon Stone (who is also one of the producers) to name a few in the lead roles are a joy to watch.

With a fitting score from Alan Silvestri complimenting Raimi's trade mark and snappy camera work, holes in heads, rain storms and the burning sun it adds up to an entertaining enough Western. It's just too glossy and stylized to feel like the classic material it's trying to emulate. Nevertheless, it's still worth viewing for the performances alone.

Now I enjoy western movies and although this doesn't have that traditional western vibe going for it, it's still pretty darn entertaining. This movie is like watching a comic book western movie come to life and although the plot is a bit absurd it's creative and has substance to it. Despite the it going in a narrow direction but it goes in a narrow direction with at least some substance. The plot is about a woman named Ellen aka Lady(Sharon Stone) who is a badass cowgirl that comes to a western town with a motive and ends up in a quick draw tournament with bunch of contestants. Anyone can challenge anyone in this tournament. The reward for winning the tournament is 120,000 dollars and the last man standing takes it all. What I liked about this movie besides it being a movie about a quick draw tournament in the west is how fun, intriguing and creative the action scenes are. A bit wacky at times but still pretty cool to watch, even the dialogue is a bit comic book like. Sharon Stone is charismatic and very attractive in this, especially with the cowgirl attire. Leo is pretty good as the Kid even if he can be a little annoying at times. Gene Hackman stands out as the villain without overdoing it and actually backs up what he says for the most part unless when he is unsure. So it isn't a shock why he owns the whole western town but this isn't the first western Gene has been in. Russell Crowe is in this and although he plays decent part in the story his character ain't nothing special and sort of comes off mundane but he was in good shape. Despite his mysterious past. Overall I enjoyed this movie, not one of the best western I seen but it's a pretty cool one.

7.8/10

A great western by Sam Raimi starring some super power talent in Russell Crowe, Sharon Stone, Leo Di Caprio and Gene Hackman. The cinematography is really good and clearly a homage to The man with no man movies. Direction is crisp and Sam Raimi should be applauded for that. On the cinematography, the great Ebert wrote that it reeks of biblical vengeance. Just watch this for the setting.

Not a bad movie at all, but it does take a bit to really settle into. For a while, Sharon Stone is really trying to sell the macho gunslinger with baggage, but she's doing it with her Hollywood looks and pearly whites; she's missing grit. And that does improve later on, but like I said, patience is needed.

That said, Sam Raimi is clearly having fun in a sandbox full of Western cliches. The draws, the face zooms, the shots. It looks fantastic. If that's not enough, then it's worth a look for Gene Hackman's performance. No trace of Unforgiven here; dude's a genuine scumbag.