A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
In 1880, four men travel together to the city of Silverado. They come across many dangers before they finally engage the "bad guys" and bring peace and equality back to the city.Written by
Chris Makrozahopoulos <makzax@hotmail.com>
In keeping with his English character, Sheriff John Langston (John Cleese) of Turley is armed with an English Enfield Mark II double action revolver. Although correct for the time period of the movie, Silverado (1985) apparently marks the only appearance of this weapon in an American western film. See more »
Goofs
After the duel between Cobb and Paden and in the final scene, a 50-star US flag is visible hanging in front of a building. In the 1880s, this should have been a 38-star flag. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
[Emmett saves Paden's life with a sip of water from his canteen after discovering him abandoned and baking in the desert]
Paden:
Pleased to meet you.
See more »
That one line from Jake (Kevin Costner) as he, Paden (Kevin Kline), Emmett (Scott Glenn), and Mal (Danny Glover) are riding into town for the last battle against a corrupt sheriff (Brian Dennehy) exemplifies everything that is great about 'Silverado'. It's a high-spirited adventure that is fun, does not take itself too seriously (well, maybe a little), and cheerfully reenacts Western clichés. It's the kind of movie where you can tell the actors had fun making it, and you have fun too.
The acting is uniformly excellent. Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover all bring quiet dignity as well as low-key humor to their roles, but it's Kevin Costner who impressed me the most. As Glenn's cocky young brother, Costner doesn't even bother to contain his glee at being in a Western. He gives the most fun performance in the movie, and it's good to see a younger Costner not taking himself nearly as seriously as he does now. The supporting cast has some nice players: John Cleese shows up as a fair-minded sheriff who seems to have walked over from a Monty Python skit; Academy Award-winner Linda Hunt ('The Year Of Living Dangerously') steals scenes as a strong-willed bar owner who Kevin Kline befriends; and Brian Dennehy is thoroughly slimy as the villain.
The action is fun, and director Lawrence Kasdan shows a gift for this material (granted, he was the person who wrote 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'), and the screenplay (also by Kasdan) is joyous in the way it resurrects the Western. The movie also has one of the best action scores I've ever heard by Bruce Broughton, and I was humming the title theme as the movie concluded.
'Silverado' is a shining example of the Western genre, and it stands as one of the greatest pure entertainment Westerns ever made.
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That one line from Jake (Kevin Costner) as he, Paden (Kevin Kline), Emmett (Scott Glenn), and Mal (Danny Glover) are riding into town for the last battle against a corrupt sheriff (Brian Dennehy) exemplifies everything that is great about 'Silverado'. It's a high-spirited adventure that is fun, does not take itself too seriously (well, maybe a little), and cheerfully reenacts Western clichés. It's the kind of movie where you can tell the actors had fun making it, and you have fun too.
The acting is uniformly excellent. Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover all bring quiet dignity as well as low-key humor to their roles, but it's Kevin Costner who impressed me the most. As Glenn's cocky young brother, Costner doesn't even bother to contain his glee at being in a Western. He gives the most fun performance in the movie, and it's good to see a younger Costner not taking himself nearly as seriously as he does now. The supporting cast has some nice players: John Cleese shows up as a fair-minded sheriff who seems to have walked over from a Monty Python skit; Academy Award-winner Linda Hunt ('The Year Of Living Dangerously') steals scenes as a strong-willed bar owner who Kevin Kline befriends; and Brian Dennehy is thoroughly slimy as the villain.
The action is fun, and director Lawrence Kasdan shows a gift for this material (granted, he was the person who wrote 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'), and the screenplay (also by Kasdan) is joyous in the way it resurrects the Western. The movie also has one of the best action scores I've ever heard by Bruce Broughton, and I was humming the title theme as the movie concluded.
'Silverado' is a shining example of the Western genre, and it stands as one of the greatest pure entertainment Westerns ever made.