Last Man Standing (1996)

A drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.

Director:

Walter Hill

Writers:

Ryûzô Kikushima (story), Akira Kurosawa (story),

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, William Sanderson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	John Smith
Bruce Dern	...	Sheriff Ed Galt
William Sanderson	...	Joe Monday
Christopher Walken	...	Hickey
David Patrick Kelly	...	Doyle
Karina Lombard	...	Felina
Ned Eisenberg	...	Fredo Strozzi
Alexandra Powers	...	Lucy Kolinski
Michael Imperioli	...	Giorgio Carmonte
Ken Jenkins	...	Capt. Tom Pickett
R.D. Call	...	Jack McCool
Ted Markland	...	Deputy Bob
Leslie Mann	...	Wanda
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Finn
Luis Contreras	...	Comandante Ramirez

Storyline

John Smith is an amoral gunslinger in the days of Prohibition. On the lam from his latest (unspecified) exploits, he happens upon the town of Jericho, Texas. Actually, calling Jericho a town would be too generous--it has become more like a ghost town, since two warring gangs have 'driven off all the decent folk.' Smith sees this as an opportunity to play both sides off against each other, earning himself a nice piece of change as a hired gun. Despite his strictly avowed mercenary intentions, he finds himself risking his life for his, albeit skewed, sense of honor....

---

Plot Keywords:

prohibition | warring gangs | mafia | irish | hired gun | 

---

Taglines:

In a town with no justice, there is only one law... Every man for himself.

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller | Western

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong violence and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

20 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gundown

Filming Locations:

Cook Ranch, Galisteo, New Mexico, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$67,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

ITL 462,620,000 (Italy) (15 November 1996)

Gross:

$18,127,448 (USA) (20 December 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eclipse Catering, Lone Wolf, New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The weapon of choice for John Smith (Bruce Willis) is the government model Colt 1911 A1 45 Automatic of which he carries a brace in a double shoulder holster rig. In one scene it is evident that he also carries upwards of 25 spare 7 round magazines for his pistols.

---

Goofs

In opening scenes we see "Mr. Smith" coming into town and obviously sweating from the south Texas heat. In subsequent scenes we see gang members in wool suits and wool overcoats.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
John Smith: It's a funny thing. No matter how low you sink there's still a right and wrong. You always end up choosing. You go one way so you can try to live with yourself. You go the other, you'd still be walkin' around, but you're dead and you don't even know it.

---

Connections

References A Fistful of Dollars (1964)

---

Soundtracks

"Denver Blues"
Written by Whittaker Hudson
Performed by Ry Cooder

User Reviews

Stylish Mayhem

This is simply what the above headline states: an ultra-violent movie done is stylish cinematography. Walter Hill, a nasty director who does this sort of thing (violent, profane films but usually with great visual appeal) did it in spades on this one. This is testosterone gone berserk.....and very entertaining.

Actually, I enjoy watching this film and don't apologize for it, although it has no "redeeming qualities." However, I love the old-fashioned narration, here done by Bruce Willis in great Mickey Spillane/Mike Hammer-style, the period in which it's done (1930s) and the great colors in here. Love those orange colors!! This looks tremendous on DVD with a good flat-screen set.

If I'm feeling in the need of seeing a violent crime film, this usually fills the bill. It's a fun flick. I could do worse.