The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Welcome back! We’re quickly approaching the end of the alphabet in our A-to-Z challenge. This week the letter “Q” brings us The Quick and the Dead (1995). Let’s get right into it.

Title: The Quick and the Dead

Director: Sam Raimi

Released: February 10, 1995

Runtime: 1 hour 48 minutes

Available to stream on: Netflix

IMDb synopsis: A female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father’s death.

Herod (Gene Hackman) is the man who “runs things” in town from his house at the end of Main Street. He collects a fifty percent tax on all businesses, has his henchmen eliminate anyone who steps out of line, and he also enjoys a friendly competition. What is his competition of choice, you ask? Quick draw competition. Anyone can enter, the last man standing wins the cash prize.

Surprisingly, there’s no shortage of entrants eager to get their hands on the cash prize, knowing they almost face a certain death, including the likes of Ace Hanlon (Lance Henriksen), Scars (Mark Boone Junior), and Sergeant Clay Cantrell (Keith David). We also have Kid, (Leonardo DiCaprio), a quick-talking cocky individual who enters into the competition confident that he’ll be taking home the cash prize of $123,000.

But what’s a competition without a few surprises? There’s Herod entering the competition himself, Ellen (Sharon Stone) surprising and humoring everyone in the saloon by announcing that she’s in, and then we have the priest, Cort (Russell Crowe), who is forced into the competition by Herod.

As the competition gets under way and begins to progress, motives become clear. Yes, everyone wants the cash prize, but some people want more. For instance, we learn that Kid is the son of Herod and determined to prove his worth to him. Then there’s Cort, he used to run with Herod before turning to a life of nonviolence. And then there’s Ellen. We know she’s here to get revenge on Herod for killing her father, Marshall (Gary Sinise). But as the flashbacks have shown us, we don’t know yet exactly how that situation unfolded. We’re teased with a little bit more each time she progresses in the competition.

To the surprise of no-one, the final four competitors wind up being Cort, Kid, Ellen, and Herod. Who takes home the cash prize? More importantly, who gets to settle their score? Well, you know I won’t be the one to spoil it for you.

Honestly, going into a western with Sharon Stone as the lead, I was admittedly skeptical. But when looking at the rest of the cast, it becomes easy to want to watch it just to see how everyone fits into their respective roles. It’s insane to see the who’s who of names that are here. Let’s look at where this was in the timeline of everyone’s career.

Sharon Stone – This was released in February and in November of the same year she’d have Casino release.

Gene Hackman – This was released between Wyatt Earp and Crimson Tide.

Russell Crowe – Up to this point he hadn’t been in much outside of Romper Stomper. Later this same year he had Virtuosity release and was still two years out from L.A. Confidential releasing.

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Basketball Diaries had just been released.

Yes, Sharon Stone had Basic Instinct prior to this, but Gene Hackman was really the only “established” star of the top-billed when this was released. And Hackman had the ability to just be great in everything. Doesn’t matter what the role was or what the scene called for, he had a knack to always be able to deliver and make it believable. Overall, the weakest of the group was probably Stone. Not for the performance itself but more so how she went about the performance. Ellen is here because she’s a bad ass who is hellbent on revenge. However, Stone gives this breathy soft-spoken delivery of each line of dialogue that seems out of place for the character.

Sam Raimi and cinematographer Dante Spinotti give us a stylistically visual treat. From the camera work focusing on sunlight shining through a hole, whether it be in the brim of a hat or the body of a human, to the way the shots are framed to give this town a bleak and depressed feel. Not to mention there are two of the coolest looking character deaths that I think I’ve seen in a western.

Yes, the plot here is paper thin. But when you have this cast and Sam Raimi at the helm, you don’t need an overly intricate plot. It is well paced and keeps you engaged throughout. And you know what, sometimes that’s all you need. The Quick and the Dead (1995) is a unique twist on the standard western and one worth watching.

So, what say you? What are your thoughts on The Quick and the Dead (1995)? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? Tell me all about it in the comments below or by reaching out across all of my social media!

Next up on our journey is the letter “R”. Do you have any suggestions for what the movie should be? You know the drill, get those suggestions in by Wednesday morning! Wednesday evening I’ll reveal the movie on my Twitter and Instagram.