Appaloosa (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Ed Harris

Writers (WGA):

Robert Knott (screenplay) &
Ed Harris (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

Feelings get you killed.

Plot:

Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.

Plot Keywords:

Rancher | Marshal | New Mexico | Gun | Small Town

Cast

Ed Harris	...	Virgil Cole
Viggo Mortensen	...	Everett Hitch
Renée Zellweger	...	Allison French
Jeremy Irons	...	Randall Bragg
Timothy Spall	...	Phil Olson
Tom Bower	...	Abner Raines
James Gammon	...	Earl May
Ariadna Gil	...	Katie
Benjamin Rosenshein	...	Town Boy
Cerris Morgan-Moyer	...	Tilda
Timothy V. Murphy	...	Vince
Luce Rains	...	Dean
Erik J. Bockemeier	...	Fat Wallis
James Tarwater	...	Chalk (as Jim Tarwater)
Freddie Hice	...	Bragg's Third Man (as Fred Hice)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | France:U | USA:R (certificate #44389) | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Greece:K | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Africa:13V | Netherlands:9 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Ed Harris originally intended his character to have hair. He selected a wig and screen tested it before eventually deciding to play the part bald.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first shot of the hotel after Bragg has bought it, the hotel sign has three lines, indicating "Bragg's", "Boston House", "Hotel". A few minutes later, Hitch watches Ally walk up the stairs inside the hotel. On the pullback, the sign is down to two lines, "Bragg's" "Hotel". A later view of the hotel shows "Boston House" back.

Quotes:

[after a shoot-out]
Everett Hitch: That was quick.
Virgil Cole: Yeah, everybody could shoot.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "De wereld draait door: (#4.162)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Streets Of Laredo

A Real Western

I saw Appaloosa last night. Absolutely fantastic. Whether it is because he is a bit older I don't know, but Ed Harris obviously actually understands westerns.

A straightforward western tale with very little revisionism, with real men doing "what men have to do". The sense of space, the wish to be part of civilization, the bad men resisting that encroachment, the sense of the mythic; it was all there.

A little bit more modern in approach than a classic 50's tale, particularly in how Renée Zellwegger's character developed, but a real story nevertheless; good guys, bad guys. Jeremy Irons is very good as the baddie. Timothy Spall is good comic relief and Ed Harris and Vigo Mortensen a terrific pair, carefully nurturing their relationship while understanding exactly what they have to do.

The pace was very good, allowing the story and character to develop properly. Even so, it could have and should have been shorter - John Ford, or more likely Anthony Mann would have got through this story in about 90 minutes, but very satisfying nevertheless.

Costner did a pretty good job on Open Range (that was really miles too long), 3:10 to Yuma was pathetic (why they bothered to remake it when the makers so totally misunderstood the thrust of the original I will never know).

But this was the real deal, or at least as near to the real deal as we are ever likely to get nowadays. Too bad it will disappear without a trace.