The Quick and the Dead (1987)

**SPOILERS** All the critical acclaim and other opinions, okay. I'm just gonna add my two cents because I think this is one terrific little western. It isn't all hazed up with dark, political motives, just good guys and bad guys. Let me get something off my chest, here. The OTHER movie of the same name? THAT'S the stupid one, as a matter of fact, I'm surprised that they didn't have the transformers (or maybe Batman), doing battle right along with all the other super gunfighters.In THIS H.B.O. movie, the story is a lot more down to earth. Given that ALL westerns are fantasy, and are for entertainment I think that we have to look at just a couple items. The actors- you have to be able to find an identity for each one of them; Done, and Done. The scenery, is it sufficiently "western"? Yup, (more on this later). Dialogue? A small problem; too late twentieth century in places. Story? Good. Direction, Pretty darn good.Just a couple of points... These things are prevalent in almost all westerns, and it's a P.O. Why, oh why, did Valion leave Dobbs' gunbelt, horse and gear? It's is his by right of booty. Plus, you DO NOT leave a horse saddled and tied up. If you're not gonna take it, unload it and set it free. You won't be doing it any favors, though; it's a domesticated animal, and needs to be taken care of. Same thing for Ute's pony and gear.Another reviewer mentioned the fact that the relationship between Valion and the Ute (both are half-breeds) should have been explored. I agree. It would have taken a minute of dialogue or less to explain the fact that They were half-brothers, don't you think? Possibility - calling The Ute by name right before he killed him. Another "He led a raid on a Blackfoot village, killed a lot of women and children; including our mother". Oh, well...How about this relevant issue? there is an outbuilding in Bender's Flats, so it MIGHT have been an outhouse, and once they left the area, they were doing their business in mother nature, but, Susannah's brother not putting up a privy? Inhuman.Back to the scenery. When I first saw this movie on H.B.O., I was struck by how beautiful the surroundings were in Cinematography. I've owned a couple copies of this movie in VHS and DVD, and in High Def, it is striking to say the least. One of my favorite Westerns, and I recommend it for all who want an uncomplicated story that's entertaining and very well done on all points.

With a title that was later reused for another movie, one would expect that this western would show at least one gun fight, you know like the one at the OK corral, but this movie hasn't one. What the title is referring to is a mystery and that is probably the key word for this western.Now the first mystery is the mysterious stranger played by Sam Elliott. Sam Elliot? Yep, the same. I am probably like many other people who instantly respect a man like Sam Elliott without actually knowing why. Sam Eliott is known, but if you ask me to tell you what from I have a hard time to tell you. Sam Elliott is a decent actor, but apparently not considered to be able to carry a leading part in a major movie. Or at least.. I can't recall one. But never mind about that. Here Sam has a leading role. Now the mysterious part about the mysterious stranger points to an overarching mystery. The question to ask is: why? Why does Sam Elliot help this family that is riding out, all alone, into the wilds? Why is this family braving the wilds on there own? The reason supplied is that they go to some place to breed cattle on the invitation of a family member, but still.. is traveling on your own such a good idea? Why are the bad guys sitting around in some forlorn village, consisting of 4 houses, lacking any inhabitants? Were they waiting for this single family to happen along so they could rob them, kill the men (a man and his son) and rape the woman? It remains a mystery.Another mystery: there is an half breed Indian helping them.. why? He just happens along, gets a drink and he is the best of mates with these bad dudes. Again we don't know why.So these bad dudes steal the horses of the family.. and thus the story kicks in. The husband of the family gets the horses back, covered by the mysterious stranger who shoots one of the bad dudes. And the bad guys then want revenge. While the family treks through the wild hoping to outrun the bad dudes, the bad dudes try to catch up with them. Several times they do catch up, which results in some fighting which whittles down the group of bad dudes.. who thus thirst even more for blood. The story then follows a rather linear plot and ends in a predictable way. It is nothing to write home about. And again another mystery rises: the family went out in the wilds to do some cattle raising. Where is the cattle? They didn't bring any along.. and the hut they end up in seems to be in some valley in between mountains. Not the kind of country one would associate with cattle raising.The whole story is like that: a mystery as to why people do what they do. But the greater mystery is just the failure to make more of this story. The mysterious stranger confesses himself to be a half breed, just like the half breed Indian who helps the bad guys. One would expect something to result from this. They could have been brothers. They could have been anything more than adversaries, but nothing develops. There is a potential conflict between the mysterious stranger and the husband in the family, but even that sizzles out to nothing.The story is bland. It is not the acting that makes this movie mediocre on it's own. It is the lackluster plot that is pretty linear and shies away from anything interesting.This movie is a forgettable movie.

I'm a western fan and a Sam Elliott fan, so this should have been right up my alley, but I felt the film fell drastically short. The story had potential, but the writers of this film made some questionable choices in dialog. Also, I feel that the director should have demanded more of his actors, especially those playing Mr. McKaskel and his son. Their dialog in particular seemed stilted most of the time. In addition, there are several cuts that seem off-timing and distract from the story. However, Sam did do a good job, and had his supporting cast's talents been brought out better and exhibited more, I feel that the movie would have been much more enjoyable

Sorry I didn't read the original book, so I enjoyed the film but, I was always thinking on "Shane" updated, but I can't say if the original plays are similar. A film to be seen for all western lovers that retrieve us the bravery and sense of honor of prairies men.