Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-26 03:57:18

A great popcorn movie... don't take it seriously and enjoy!

Most of the reviews I have read concerning this movie focus on how "unrealistic" the plot appears. Clearly I must be in the moviegoing minority, because the day I want to see a "realistic" Western is the day I lick razor blades and ask for a salt chaser. Hello, the reality of the American West was poor dental hygiene and short, brutal lives. Really, who wants to see a putrefying belly shot? Sam Raimi pays a stylish homage to Spaghetti Westerns (like Sergio Leone made realistic films). Even the music tips its hat to these classic films. Bottom line? A great popcorn movie with some great lines and one truly great performance. Russell Crowe is the most underrated actor working today. Anyone who does not think so should watch this movie back-to-back with the great(but very disturbing) Aussie film Romper Stomper. These characters, polar opposites, are played with the same intensity and energy to totally different effect. The viewer can palpably feel the coiled anger, barely kept in check when Cort is forced to prepare for his first duel. Watch this movie for that reason alone, then realize that in the upcoming film The Insider, that the role of the whistle blower is played by the same, 35-year old Crowe.

2012-05-25 11:23:01

Director Sam Raimi Does A Wonderful Job

In a western town, a female gun-slinger appears with a chip on her shoulder and vengance in her heart. She enters a quick draw contest and quickly climbs toward the finals. Excellent acting by Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, and Russell Crowe. Sam Raimi fills this movie with amazingly interesting and effective shots, keeping you at the edge of your seat. Would definately watch over and over again.

2012-05-19 23:59:12

One of my favourate westerns to date

Despite the film's down-sides, the screenplay and the silly gunfight effects, the Quick and the Dead remains a fun film to watch. Stylish directing from Sam Raimi and exellant performances from Leonardo Di Caprio, Russel Crowe and Gene Hackman make this my one of my favourate westerns to date. Sharon Stone is pretty good too if you can accept her in a Clint Eastwood 'man with no name' role. This homage to Sergio Leone is about as daft as they come so don't take it seriously, but still loads of fun.

Darth_Stat 2012-05-19 07:47:39

Some over-used devices (a B-Horror vet director) cant entirely trample some good drama.

No comments that I have read give kudos to Leo for what really is a verymemorably if not in-all demanding performance. Its an image that slidesright into familiarity; a lean, blond, good looking kid mouthing off anddrawing down on guys many times his age, think James Dean, River Phoenixetc. 'The Kid' is far removed however from Jack Dawson or Romeo.(he couldalmost be Stones son to look at the two of them!)'Spider-man', predictably, was the first Sam Raimi movie I caught. 'EvilDead II' came second, a conscious decision, and I did not even realise untilopening credits that this was to be No. 3. The gags, occasionally gross orsimply used to excess get in the way of some undeniably effective drama.Raimi was still in his experimentation phase, as can be easily seen. With Bhorror classics saturating his career he obviously lost it a bit when thebudget and calibre, and consequently expectation was raised. Hackman is asbelievable in this 'Unforgiven'-ish performance as in comedy roles, 'GetShorty' his best that I know of.Much like Van Damme's 'The Quest' this cuts it back to exactly what theaudience wants to see, fights, fights and, well...fights. There is nodefinable plot and the location hardly varies. Beneath that we have aschmorgasboard of western stereotypes. Its a club-project for vets, formerlyunknowns and one-offees. Remember Bishop from 'Aliens' the droid that endsup half what he should be? Well he has a rather unpleasant piece of thisaction as well. The old Snow-Shoveler from Home Alone drops by too. As youwill know, Rusty Cheerful with no Oscar to Crowe about, post-'RomperStomper' and pre-'L.A. Confidential' (his breakout) contributes, as noneother than a Preacher in this, well probably the only calibre of preacherRussel could ever be. Stone peaked with 'Fatal Attraction', this movie isone of the proverbial 'others'. She is hardly astounding, and basically theperformance is a recap of hers in "The Professional". Her looks also dontsit with the character.It also feels like an experimentation with unpleasantness in the genre. Itactually works better for that than Silverado and despite 'Unforgiven'having some mood to it, even it doesn't have as much impact (BestPicture?!?!) A few key moments will turn your gut with no excess of gore.Leo steals the show. He'll tear your heart out with just a few minutes ofhis screen time. There is something inherently dynamic between him andHackman. Not much comes across from the relationship between Russel andHackman, but something nevertheless. The draw-downs are thrilling, and thecharacters (and performances) are what keep us interested. One of thosemovies that doesn't blow you away but does prove memorable.Effective and entertaining? Very definitely. Unforgetable high art? now befair!Watch it if you enjoyed 7/10

Franck 2012-05-16 19:33:38

worth seeing for the 15 first minutes and the general idea

As most Raimi's movies, this one has for main characteristics: it's fun,it's visually exciting, it has a very good start, and it's finallydisappointing.There is a lot of visual invention in "Quick and the Dead", evenconsideringprevious works with the Evil Dead trilogy. Some shots arestunning.The first five minutes, I was very amused at the way the Westernstereotypeswere perversely played with, with an even more perverse casting. SharonStone trying to play Clint Eastwood is real fun.Sadly, as the movie goes on, it becomes pretty obvious that behind theglossy and clever parody, "QatD" is actually an attempt to produce ablockbuster, as it turns into a more pedestrian, average storytelling,andeventually comes to a rather uninteresting development. Collision betweentwo visions: the filmmaker's one, who has a vision and wants to have funbyputting it on screen, and the producer's one, who wants the cash (becausethat's the way he has fun I guess...).Add to this that the editing is rather inconsistent in places (such ashameas some other parts shows brilliant editing), plus the sloppy post-syncforCrowe's voice, and finally what do you get? Another Raimi movie: partlybrilliant, partly awkward, partly independant, partly commercial, andfinally as a whole, none of these.What a shame. Raimi, with his visual invention and his crazy ideas, isIMOable to create a really great movie sometime. I'm waiting for it sincethetime I almost died of laughing when seeing "Evil Dead 2". But as timegoeson, I'm starting to wonder if I'll live long enough to see one. "A simpleplan" was a very nice premise, yet I'm sure it's NOT the best this guycoulddo. Or maybe I'm wrong, and he'll simply forever keep on makinghalf-genioushalf-crap flicks like this one or "Spider-man"... Time willtell.

2012-05-16 18:10:24

The Quick and the Dead - A marvelous western!

The Quick and the Dead is an old time favorite of mine that is of course if you can count an eight year old movie as an "old time" favorite. One thing is for sure, it couldn't go wrong with this phenomenal cast; Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise and a Sci-Fi favorite of mine, Lance Henriksen. This wonderful western is also quite blessed with the original idea of having a heroine in Sharon Stone, given the rarity of a female lead in a western. Given her exceptional beauty and her extraordinary acting skills, she melds into this role with perfection.The premise:Welcome to Redemption, your typical old west town. Herod, played by Gene Hackman, is in the villain role, which befits his talents well, since he's at his best as the villain. Herod is a long time criminal who controls Redemption from the ground up. He's arranged for a "Quick Draw" contest for gunslingers. Ellen, played superbly by the ever beautiful Sharon Stone comes to town with more than just a quick draw competition on her mind. Cort, played by the then burgeoning superstar, Russell Crowe is a former outlaw and friend of Herods, who has found the lord. Kid, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, prior to his huge break in "Titanic" does an acceptable job as the Herod's son and competitor. Let the competition begin! Also mentionable along with these outstanding actors are several others, and a number of actors that always to seem to find their small parts in westerns, with an outstanding script, a traditional "western" score and here we have a fantastic western.I highly recommend this exceptional film to any and all fans of the western genre or to those that rarely allow themselves to be taken back to the wild, wild west, for it is indeed a wonderful trip and just a plain old fun western.Special features: If you're a special features hound, this one will leave more than disappointed, as its one and only special feature is a theatrical trailer. For me, as far as this movie is concerned, who cares because this one is just about the escapism of the movie itself! {ssintrepid}

carney2 2012-05-10 04:48:32

An inane piece of crap!

I'm not sure if this is a "spoiler." If so, I apologize, but you havebeen put on guard.It's bad enough that Hollywood perpetuates the myth of the wild westgunfight with two characters, one in a white hat, the other in a black,meeting at high noon for a quick draw contest to the death. In factthis sort of thing rarely happened. If two men with a "reputation"happened into the same town at the same time they generally went out oftheir way to avoid each other. Now we are to believe that a large sumof money (much of it contributed by a corporation) is offered for a"single elimination" gunfight contest. I realize that this is fiction,but c'mon! The dialog is ludicrous, the gunfights ridiculously staged,the ending beyond belief, and the characters are cartoonish cardboardcutouts. A marvelous cast is wasted. With offerings like this it'ssmall wonder that the public no longer flocks to westerns.

mm-39 2012-05-09 16:30:51

Sucks but not that badly

This film is awful, but has its moment. Stone as a gunfighter, well Idon'ttake this movie too serious. Hackman makes a good villain, and a no nameCrowe does an Ok job. Who could have told. I would watch it on TBS.4/10

kay 2012-05-05 04:54:13

Redemption

This story is compelling becouse it deals with a beautiful lady gunslinger.She returns to her girlhood town to seek justice for her dead father.Sharon Stone-The Lady/Ellen.Gene Hackman-John Herod is the cruel man who runs the town with his gang.Russel Crowe-The Preacher/Cort tries useing pacifism in this town it does not work.The entire cast does a wonderful job.Director Sam Raimi combines The Western with a Black Comedy.The visual are good due to the cinetography.One of the best scene's is a gunfight between The Lady and Kevin Conway-Eugene Dred.This film is very entertaing to watch.

2012-05-04 12:14:35

Well worth watching.

Sure it was unbelievable but great fun to watch. Was great to see a female play the heavy in a weatern for a change. If you like spagetti type westerns you love this one.

vanToom 2012-05-02 02:05:16

A Woody Strode makes no epic movie

I think someone tried to write the next "Once upon a time in the west"according to some references "The quick and the dead" obviously take tothe story: A heroine that is driven by her past what comes clear insome flashbacks, a villain that is ruthless and doesn't count onanybodies lives, subplots from the past for different characters,close-ups from gunslingers and so on. But one Woody Strode - he has ashort appearance at the beginning making some coffins and is one of thegunfighters in the famous opening scene of "Once upon a time in thewest" - does not make an epic movie. The plot, the score, the dialog,it is all some kind of exerted and does not make up "The quick and thedead" for a movie you will remember or you want to see again. I likethe actors, the camera and the setting and "The quick and the dead" isquite nice entertainment. If you are not too experienced in western, goand watch "The quick and the dead", you may like it. If you have seenLeone, Eastwood and others, there is a good comparison.

blackjacque 2012-05-01 20:11:54

Weak Homage to Classic Westerns

If Raimi/Stone had played this one for laughs, or at least irony, it wouldhave been a better picture. Or maybe if Stone's character hadn't been anobvious Distaff Man With No Name. I dunno. As a woman, I love "GirlsKickinA" movies as much as the next one. But as I (who love those spaghettiwesterns) watched "The Quick and the Dead," I found the disingenuoussimilarities to (for example) "High Plains Drifter," "Fist Full ofDollars"and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" more and more hilarious with eachrecognition. I mean, the girl wore the hat and the long rider, smoked thecheroot, and used dynamite! If she'd painted the town red, it wouldn'thavebeen more derivative. (Wait. There is the matter of the red ink. ...)

2012-04-30 22:16:42

Raimi and his actors have some serious fun

In the town of Redemption, the ultimate gunfighter tournament is held, organized annually by the town's fascistic dictator, Herod (Gene Hackman). Every hour on the hour, a duel is fought. Those who win ("The Quick") live to duel again tomorrow, and are another day closer to claiming the ultimate jackpot. Those who lose ("The Dead") end up as corpses, stripped bare by the town's penniless vultures. Among those entered in the contest are Herod himself (the unrelenting defending champion many times over), the Kid (he of questionable birth), Cort (an ex-virtuoso gunfighter who's now a man of the cloth entered in the contest against his will), and most mysteriously, Ellen (who's come to Redemption for redemption, natch). It is a fabulous setup for a movie, providing excellent sustained suspense during the tournament, and enough time between duels to flesh out the relationships between the characters and to try and understand what has gone on in their pasts to bring them to such an unenviable present.Most of the actors are wonderful here, understanding that beyond the seriousness of the subject matter, the movie is really a comic book come to life, and should be imbued with a sense of fun. Hackman and DiCaprio (the Kid) give the best performances. The former is evil personified, fully relishing his role as the object of everyone's hatred, and knowing that he can crush the town like a bug if he chose to. The latter is brimming with youthful ego and energy, sure of his gunplay but tormented by his misidentity. Russell Crowe is also good as the brooding Cort. He is an actor of such visceral intensity that he could go through an entire film without saying a word, and you'd still be sure that he was a serious badass. Also good, in smaller parts, are Lance Henriksen and Keith David as arrogant gunslingers, and Gary Sinise as Ellen's father in flashback. His scenes are emotional and painful to watch, but quite central to the movie's themes. Sharon Stone, well, what to say about her. Her overacting renders her bland. I guess the best impression I can give you about her performance is that, even though she is the central character and the above-the-title star, when I think of this movie I always forget that she's even in it. At least she doesn't get in the way of the other actors. That says it all, I suppose.Anyone who's familiar with Sam Raimi's early work (the 'Evil Dead' films come directly to mind) will recognize his distinctive visual style. It's like Sergio Leone on acid. His camera moves this way and that, in a very kinetic and addictively campy manner. He gives you camera angles and shots that few others would dare to try (the famous bullet's-eye-view shot as it travels through a gunfighter's eye socket comes readily to mind). It's his directing that elevates this movie above the standard spaghetti western rip-off. He makes it great fun.

PotterPhile7 2012-04-30 17:34:27

Hilarious!

I'm not such a big western fan in general, but this film had melaughing within the first five minutes. Maybe people don't expect it tobe funny, but once you see how over the top the whole style and storyis, it's incredibly enjoyable. The dialogue is smart and quick, andit's great to watch these actors shooting them at each other. The filmis very modern despite being a western (or perhaps because it is one)and the "lady" as the main character is cool to watch (especially forgirls). Solid performances all around, and great early ones fromDiCaprio and Crowe. There's some very showy and enjoyablecinematography. Great fun.

ted00043 2012-04-25 07:53:36

The Perfect Week For Movies: Day 4: The Quick & The Dead

Ellen, an unknown female gunslinger rides into a small, dingy anddepressing prairie town with a secret as to her reason for showing up.Shortly after her arrival, a local preacher, Cort, is thrown throughthe saloon doors while town folk are signing up for a gun competition.The pot is a huge sum of money and the only rule: that you follow therules of the man that set up the contest, Herod. Herod is also theowner, leader, and "ruler" of the town. Seems he's arranged this littlegun-show-off so that the preacher (who use to be an outlaw and rodewith Herod) will have to fight again. Cort refuses to ever use a gun tokill again and Herod, acknowledging Cort as one of the best, isdetermined to alter this line of thinking ... even if it gets someonekilled...This Perfect Week For Movies Has Just Gone Over Half Way So IDecided To Use Something Completely Different From The Other Three(ForThose Who Want To Know The Previous Movies Were "Alive In Joburg","Next"(The Aardman Animation Not That Supposed Awful Nicholas Cage One)& "Stargate") So I Chose "The Quck & The Dead".This Film Is Pretty Much The Classic Standoff Scene In Westerns BeingPlayed Over. The Movie Is Just A Small Little Piece Of The "Fun Movie"Legacy(I Can't Name How Many I Have Seen) & This Is A Great Fun Movie.Out Of All The Films In This "Perfect Week" Thing This One Is The PrizeWinner For The Calibur Of Actors. If You Like Westerns Or Even FunMovies Then I Really Suggest You Buy This. I Personally Think That ThisIs One Of Sam Raimi's Best Movies & That Says A lot Particularly WhenYou Consider "Spiderman 2"(& Yes I Am A Fan Of Comic Books) But OverallYes This Is His Overall Best Movie.

colin_farrell 2012-04-24 17:53:32

Fast!

SPOILER ALERTO.k, so I'm a bit biased as I'm a Russell Crowe (Cort) fan. But, when Ifirst saw this film I didn't like him and I still enjoyed it! I like thewayfamily and lovers are played against each other, and there's a goodbalancebetween action and romance (which i usually find painfully boring infilms).I also find the fact that Leonardo DiCaprio gets killed an added bonus(sorry to all his fans looking at this film just because of him)! Overallit's great.

2012-04-24 18:23:52

A western that is fun to watch!!

Although released in early 1995, this was one of the last westerns to come out at the height of the western craze of 1993 & 1994>>(Tombstone, Maverick ETC.) After baring all for "Basic Instinct" & The Specialist", Sharon Stone decided to do somthing that not only kept her clothes on, but was different, In this she is a modern day man-with-no-name type who rides into town on a secret agenda to take revenge against the town's owner & sherriff(Gene Hackman, who almost plays the same character here that he played in "Unforgiven") who murdered her widowed father when she was a child, & as she puts it, stole her life, she soon signes up for a gunfight contest as a possible way to get him, which has some of the most funniest & most memorable characters, with Leonardo DiCaprio as the cocky son of Hackman, with Lance Henrickson(The Terminator) as an ace shooter, with Keith David(Armageddon) as a secret assasin, & Kevin Conway("Streets of Laredo") as a dirty old man who likes to fondle teenage girls, to a whacked out Indian who can't be killed by one bullet to Russell Crowe in his screen debut as a preacher that has renounched violence & is constantly harassed & intimidated by Hackman who wants to bring out the killer that Crowe once was, every whacked out character is here, as they compete in the gunfight one after the other, in scenes that are somewhat comical in their approach, Directed by Sam Raimi(Spiderman), this is a crowd pleaser for western fans!!!

2012-04-24 03:55:01

Plenty of action to keep this western spoof interesting

This 1995 film is certainly not to be taken seriously. It's a western that's a spoof of westerns and sure is enjoyable. There's a big name cast - Sharon Stone as the avenged lady gunfighter, Gene Hackman as the cruel boss of the town, Leonardo DiCaprio as the son of the boss, and Russell Crowe as a former gunfighter turned preacher. There's a big contest going on, with pairs of gunfighters fighting to the death until there's no one left standing. And plenty of action as yet another poor loser bites the dust. Cinematography is excellent and so is the directing. This is the typical western town etched in all of our minds. But the characters use some modern slang. And Sharon Stone wears designer sun glasses. The acting is good and the story moved fast. It held my interest throughout and I recommend it as good escape viewing.

2012-04-23 05:12:19

Fun for what it is

If you take this as a serious western, you'll be disappointed. But if you approach it as a nicely crafted, almost satirical hommage to the spaghetti westerns ( especially "Once Upon a Time in the West"; if you are not familiar with this film, you won't get a lot of the references),this is a lot of fun to watch. Of course the story is predictable and vacuous; but Hackman is great (the man is incapable of bad acting), diCaprio is adequate, and Crowe turns in a nice, understated performance. The only miscast is Stone, who acts as if she doesn't know what the heck she is doing in this movie. The music is good, the camera work very nicely done, and the shootouts well-staged. This isn't great movie-making, but I think Sergio Leone would consider this film a compliment.

tedg 2012-04-22 20:49:40

Premodern Values, Postmodern Attempt

Spoilers herein.Every couple years, somebody takes another whack at bettering the postpostmodern western, or whatever they think the champion is. A common and to my mindsimpleminded strategy is to simplify and exaggerate around one component ofthe genre, here the quickdraw showdown. This is in fact an element of the mythof the west that is wholly fictitious.Gene Hackman had already done an excessive bit for Eastman's more nuancedentry into this contest. He reprises it here. Raimi is one of the more superficial"artsy" directors. He and "I'm really a genius" Sharon Stone are well matched for this.I have no complaint with cinematic excess. I think "Last Man Standing" issomething of a masterpiece in this subgenre. What I hate is sheer stupidity. This is bluntand stupid. It should be shot.Ted's evaluation: 1 of 3 -- you can find something better to do with thispart of your life.