Gunfighter

The closing song by Johnny Rivers was the only great thing about this movie. Unfortunately that is all the positive I can say about this western movie. I have to write 8 more lines for my comments to be posted, but there is more than 8 lines of awful in this western. I am not sure if the movie was a tribute to Hopa Along, or just a spoof. The hero and the villain in this movie were too plastic. Not realistic at all. A lot of the supporting actors in this movie looked authentic, but the shooting scenes were a joke. A previous commentator thought this movie was great, and in the comments took a cheap shot at President Bush. This was not a democratic or republican western. It was just a bad western movie to be sold commercially. I wonder if it made any money. At times I thought I was watching a movie made by college movie students. If that was the case, then it was a great movie.

In this day and age of incredible special movie effects, this one was a sore disappointment. The actors seemed stiff and uninspired, as was the dialogue. Westerns are not common fare for Hollywood so much these days, but movies like "Silverado" prove that somebody out there still knows how to make a good one. Considering that, it is hard to conceive that anyone would go to any expense at all in releasing, much less creating such a weak film as this one. If you love and are looking for a good western, keep looking!

We saw this on the shelf at the local video store, saw "Coppola" in the credits and got excited. That was the one and only time this movie raised any interest. I could never quite work out if it was an attempt at a humourous film that failed miserably, or an attempt at a serious film that failed miserably. In general, the entire production seemed incredibly amatuerish. The sound in particular was absolutely dreadful, especially in the scenes shot in the little bar; the dialogue was so corny in parts it was unbelievable. Very disappointing.

"Gunfighter," aka "Ballad of a gunfighter," (1999) stars Chris Lybbert as Hopalong Cassidy in a story more akin to creator Clarence E. Mulford's yarns than William Boyd's films, although it's really a marriage of both. The Bar 20 Ranch, where Hopalong's babe (Adrienne Stout) and her uncle (Clu Gulager) reside, is raided by an embittered enemy (Louis Schwiebert) and his rustlers. Cassidy aims to get his girl back and set things a'right.

The movie poster proclaims in huge letters "Francis Ford Coppola presents" but, actually, Francis had nothing to do with the making of this picture; he didn't even produce it. The film was written/directed by his nephew Christopher Coppola, who's the brother of Nicolas Cage. Francis' name (which was still revered in the industry in the late 90s) was attached to the movie simply to attract viewers, which worked with me because, otherwise, I would've never checked it out.

In any case, this is a very low-budget production, falling somewhere between the micro-budget of Glenn Ford's last film, the made-for-Turner "Border Shootout" (1990), and the quality TV production "Purgatory" (1999), but closer to the former. If you can't stomach the micro-budget vibe of Westerns like "Border Shootout," I suggest skipping this.

That said, the flick has several highlights if you can acclimate. For instance, unlike the town-bound "Purgatory," there are several scenes with a glorious Western backdrop. Also, Lybbert is stalwart as the noble gunfighter protagonist. It is stressed that he embraces limited pacifism, which only resorts to violence when absolutely necessary (as opposed to the idiotic total pacifism, which foolishly refuses to ever turn to violence, even when family members are threatened with murder or rape).

Meanwhile, Adrienne Stout is hot and formidable as Mary and Schwiebert is daunting as the resentful black hat antagonist, Tex. I also liked the story-within-a-story framework wherein Martin Sheen conveys the Hopalong tale to a dispirited minstrel played by Robert Carradine. Lastly, I appreciate how the tale mixes the mythical with the realistic and leaves you with a pleasant aftertaste, rather than sour.

The movie runs 1 hour, 34 minutes and was shot in Elko, Nevada and Los Angeles, California. Johnny Rivers wrote the superb theme song "Ballad of a Gunfighter," which plays over the end credits.

GRADE: B-/C+

I recently viewed Gunfighter (1999) on Tubi. The plot unfolds with a wandering singer entering a nearly empty saloon, striking up a conversation with the lone man in the corner. The man shares a tale from his past involving two rivals whose animosity escalates to a final shootout.

Directed and written by Christopher Coppola (Deadfall), the film features Martin Sheen (The Departed), Robert Carradine (Revenge of the Nerds), Clu Gulager (The Return of the Living Dead), and Will Hutchins (The Shooting).

Despite a solid cast, the movie has a peculiar made-for-television vibe. It's disappointing as one would expect more from such talent. Regrettably, the writing is average, the acting feels awkward, and the dialogue lacks authenticity. Even the background music is just passable, and the action scenes fail to salvage the overall experience.

In conclusion, Gunfighter is a lackluster addition to the western genre. I would give it a 3/10 and suggest skipping it.