Western Weekends: The Quick and the Dead

It's been a while since I've done a Western Weekend, but I've been running Deadlands and kind of have it on the mind. Also, there's some déjà vu in this. Anyway, The Quick and the Dead is a Western film released in 1995, directed by Sam Raimi and featuring an ensemble cast (including Russell Crowe in his first American film role).

Sharon Stone plays a mysterious drifter known only as "The Lady", who travels to the frontier town of Redemption to take part in a quick draw tournament with a substantial cash prize. The tournament is organised by John Herod, the town's self-appointed mayor and a ruthless extortionist, played by Gene Hackman. Of course, they're not the only people competing in the tournament:

• Leonardo DiCaprio plays Fee "The Kid" Herod, a local gunsmith who's quick on the draw and popular with the townsfolk. Believing that Herod is his father, he joins the tournament in order to win his respect.
• Russell Crowe plays Cort, a former member of Herod's gang who has since renounced violence and become a preacher. He's been kidnapped by Herod and forced to compete, almost getting lynched when he initially refuses. He nonetheless provides some helpful advice to The Lady.
• Lance Henrikson plays Ace Hanlon, a talented trick-shooter known far and wide as "The Terror of Tucson". He carries a special deck of cards with an ace for each person he's killed.
• Keith David plays Sergeant Clay Cantrell, a gentleman adventurer with his own hidden purpose in Redemption. It's later revealed he's been hired by the townspeople to kill Herod.
• Other gunfighters include Spotted Horse, a Native American gunfighter who claims he can't be killed; Gutzen, the "Swedish champion" whom nobody takes seriously; Scars, a convict with a talent for escaping from prison; and Eugene Dred, a local tough who has an unhealthy obsession (this does result in an off-screen incident of SA, so viewer discretion is advised).

Yeah, there's an eclectic mix of characters. Some of them, like Cantrell and Spotted Horse, made me want to know more about them. Others, like Eugene, made me want to see them get their comeuppance. 

Of course, we can't lose focus on The Lady. She insists that she's in it for the money, but it's clear that she has a history with Herod. She gets some badass moments, including shooting the noose when Herod's men attempt to lynch Cort, right after she signs up for the contest and is ridiculed for it. At the same time, she is genuinely afraid of Herod. She overcomes her fear, yet she still shows that there's fear to overcome. She soon finds allies in a blind shoe-shine boy and the town doctor who seems to recognise her.

One notable scene involves Herod's first duel against Ace Hanlon, in which he reveals that the Terror of Tucson might be a talented trick-shooter, but his famous gunfights are not exaggerations but outright fabrications. I've been drawing parallels to Unforgiven, which also starred Gene Hackman, where he exposed another fake gunfighter played by Richard Harris. In Unforgiven, he tells a biographer that his subject's most famous gunfight was not a showdown at high noon, but occurred because his rival slept with someone he was sweet on, and he tried to shoot him in the back in a fit of drunken jealousy. The Quick and the Dead builds on this scenario, but takes it a step further: Ace had been claiming credit for killing somebody who had actually been killed by Herod. I wonder if there's a third film in which Gene Hackman exposes a fake gunfighter. It would be a cool hat trick.

The showdown between Herod and Ace also helps paint how bleak and cruel the world is presented in the film. As soon as Herod kills Ace, several townspeople go to loot his body. This also occurs when Herod kills Cantrell. In fact, I noticed in my recent viewing that Scars is wearing Cantrell's vest when he duels The Kid. Speaking of cruelty, Herod's henchmen subject Cort to all manner of abuse, with one even inviting his children to beat him up before his duel. Most of the townsfolk jeer him, but the argument could be made that it's to avoid losing face with Herod (who is actually afraid of Cort).

I must admit that the cinematography looks kind of silly at times. Especially a lot of shots that involve the camera suddenly zooming in on people's faces. I don't know if this is the actual term, but I call this the "extreme close up" based on its use in Wayne's World. I hear the term being said by Mike Myers, and just can't take it seriously. 

One notably over-the-top moment I can't help but laugh at is Cort's duel against Spotted Horse. Cort beats his opponent to the draw, but his shot doesn't kill. His rival gets back up and tries to shoot at him. As Herod had only given him one bullet (so he couldn't shoot his way out of town), he has to beg for another. The shoe-shine boy throws him a bullet, with Cort jumping up to catch it. I couldn't help but draw a parallel with a similar shot in Raimi's earlier film, Army of Darkness, with Ash leaping up to catch his chainsaw. In fact, the shots of Bruce Campbell and Russell Crowe leaping up are almost identical.

All-in-all, The Quick and the Dead was an enjoyable film which doesn't take itself too seriously. I found it on Netflix, and it's still on there at the time of writing. There's a great cast of characters, with some truly poignant moments.

Happy writing.