The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Good acting overcomes a lame plot

Action movies are only as good as their villains. Heroics require really nasty bad guys.

Gene Hackman skillfully portrays an antagonist so mean you know he'd kill his own son. Sharon Stone, for the most part, credibly plays the protagonist, but her motivation for revenge seems filched from Harmonica in Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.

The remaining cast of bad guys are cartoonish and the plot stretches credulity beyond the limits, but fine acting and a unique premise work to make this an engaging film.

It also fun to watch Leonardo Di Caprio and Russell Crowe in secondary roles before they could demand eight figure salaries per movie.


The Shopkeeper
The Shut Mouth Society November 4, 2008

The Quick and the Dead

Well cast and acted. This is a fantastic movie if you prefer violence to substance and story. This one should be one of the dead and forgotten.
October 31, 2008

Not Thr Complete Film

It"s a shame that you cannot purchase an American copy of this American film in America. I had to send to Austrailia for a copy [ must be viewed on region-free player] that is complete. Europeans and Austrailians can see the complete movie but not us.
The love scene between Ellen and Cort is vital to connect the action in the first half of the movie with the second. We see Ellen's flight from the town of Redemption but not her return, nor do we see what caused the change of attitude between them. One moment we hear of her indifference to what happens to Cort and the next they are conspiring together to avoid killing one another.
Cutting a sexy scene out of a R-rated film is ridiculous especially one vital to the understanding of the movie. Since Sharon Stone is both star and producer of this film,I would hope she would try to restore one of her best movies. No work on the film is required, just the release of the foreign edition in America. With many films being released on DVD in several versions there is nothing unusual about that.
As far as the film is concerned. the great disparity in the reviews is explained by whether the reviewer likes this kind of western or not. I do, and i liked this film very much. Besides, how many films have a cast like this; Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman [always a great villian], Lance Hendrikseb, Pat Hingle, not to mention Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio just before their big breaks. Let's hope for a complete DVD. August 4, 2008

An Epic Western with Gunfights Galore

Brilliantly weaving classic western themes into tantalizing backstories, unfolding through the interactions of allegorical characters that represent legends such as Calamity Jane and Billy the Kid, combined with the most duel-style gunfights of any movie in history, this is a singularly wonderful work of western cinema. I've seen The Quick and The Dead at least a half a dozen times, and I've loved it more each time. This movie makes your heart beat faster, touches a myriad of emotions, and provides the unique entertainment satisfaction of classic westerns such as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; and High Plains Drifter. Indeed, The Quick and The Dead is a "must own" for anyone who loves westerns or action films. This is a movie that receives a lot less attention, favorable reviews, and fame than it deserves. It's a guilty pleasure in which I richly indulge. June 11, 2008

Great Gift

I bought this for my Father who is into all the old western, war time movies. He looked all over the place for this movie and could not find it, so I looked on Amazon and tah-dah! I ordered it and recieved it within three days, my Father didn't know I had found it. He was so happy, he's watched it at least four times, and now his DVD collection is at around 250 movies. If I need to find something, I know where to go from now on. It's quick and easy. April 9, 2008

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