john-hitchcock

The story of The Quick and the Dead is very simple: a young married couple and their son accidentally anger a gang of bandits and they begin pursuit, then a mysterious drifter begins helping them out and protecting them from said gang. However it is still a well-written story that manages to keep you interested in what's happening.

The acting is decent enough. Sam Elliot is no Clint Eastwood but he does a good job as the stranger who befriends the young settlers who are heading West. Kate Capshaw, who you may remember as Willie Scott in Indiand Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Tom Conti also deliver some great performances as the young married couple who are travelling to the West with their son in the hopes of starting a new life.

The villains are also well-portrayed. Matt Clark manages to be intimidating as the leader of the bandits, but he manages to be a fairly complex character rather than just a cardboard-cutout villain. The rest of the gang does have their own inner-conflicts which they deal with over the course of the story.

I also thought the historical references were interesting. It is mentioned that the film takes place shortly after Custer's Last Stand, although the actual events have little bearing on the main plot beyond a very brief sub-plot which I'm not going to go into detail about.

Overall, this is a very entertaining and interesting film and I'd recommend it to any fan of Westerns.

Apocalypse Now is a very unusual portrayal of the Vietnam War. It's not the most realistic interpretation of the conflict, and it is very surreal.

One problem that I frequently find with war films is that often, especially when showing intense battles, the plot can be difficult to follow. Another major issue is that, especially when there is a large cast, it can be hard to distinguish the main cast.

Neither of these problems are present in Apocalypse now. Despite it's surreal nature, the film's plot is actually reasonably straight forward and summed up in the trailer: Willard is ordered to find Colonel Kurtz and terminate his command, then takes a patrol boat with four other men up the Nung River o Kurtz's compound.

The majority of the main plot is confined to the patrol boat, dealing with various problems that the main cast encounters over the course of the journey.

The cast is actually pretty easy to tell apart. There are five main characters aboard the boat, and all of them have distinctive features which allow them to be recognized instantly.

The acting is also brilliant. Martin Sheen is great as Captain Willard, a soldier whose mind has been completely messed up by his experiences in the war. The rest of the main cast (including a really young Lawrence Fishbourne) does great as well, making them very easy to relate to.

Most of the other actors have very brief roles, and you won't see much of them, but they are still very memorable. The most famous is Robert Duvall's appearance as Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore, an air cavalry officer who takes a bit too much pleasure out of the war, playing 'Ride of the Valkyries' while attacking a village and then having his men surf in the middle of the battle.

Also notable is Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz, the insane officer whom Willard is sent to kill. His first scene is probably his best, in which both Kurtz and Willard are only partially visible in the dim light.

Other supporting actors include Harrison Ford's brief appearance as Colonel Lucas, the officer who assigns Willard his mission; and Dennis Hopper as an annoying photojournalist who admires Kurtz. Both manage to put on great performances.

Overall, Apocalypse Now is a very unusual and brilliant portrayal of the Vietnam War. It is very effective in illustrating the insanity that took place, and if you interested in war films, you will definitely have to check it out.