The Quick and the Dead (1995)

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.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writer:

Simon Moore

Stars:

Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sharon Stone	...	Ellen
Gene Hackman	...	Herod
Russell Crowe	...	Cort
Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Kid
Tobin Bell	...	Dog Kelly
Roberts Blossom	...	Doc Wallace
Kevin Conway	...	Eugene Dred
Keith David	...	Sgt. Cantrell
Lance Henriksen	...	Ace Hanlon
Pat Hingle	...	Horace the Bartender
Gary Sinise	...	Marshall
Mark Boone Junior	...	Scars
Olivia Burnette	...	Katie
Fay Masterson	...	Mattie Silk
Raynor Scheine	...	Ratsy

Storyline

Ellen, an unknown female gunslinger rides into a small, dingy and depressing prairie town with a secret as to her reason for showing up. Shortly after her arrival, a local preacher, Cort, is thrown through the saloon doors while townfolk are signing up for a gun competition. The pot is a huge sum of money and the only rule: that you follow the rules of the man that set up the contest, Herod. Herod is also the owner, leader, and "ruler" of the town. Seems he's arranged this little gun-show-off so that the preacher (who use to be an outlaw and rode with Herod) will have to fight again. Cort refuses to ever use a gun to kill again and Herod, acknowledging Cort as one of the best, is determined to alter this line of thinking ... even if it gets someone killed ...

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Plot Keywords:

female gunfighter | arizona | street shootout | showdown | gun duel | 

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Taglines:

In this town, you're either one or the other

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Genres:

Action | Romance | Thriller | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for western violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Raimi said that Russell Crowe is "what we imagine the American cowboy to have been like."

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Goofs

When Ellen shoots Herod in the chest, the hole that goes clear through him allows light to be visible through him, yet when Herod lands on his face the back of his jacket has no such hole.

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Quotes

John Herod: All I hear from you, you spineless cowards, is how poor you are; how you can't afford my taxes. Yet somehow, you managed to find the money to hire a gunfighter to kill me. If ya got so much money, I'm just gonna have to take some more. Because clearly some of you haven't got the message! This is my town! I run everything! If you live to see the dawn, it's because I allow it! I decide who lives and who dies!

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Alternate Versions

During the dinner scene with Herod and Ellen, he gives two different versions of his family history. In one, he says that his father found out his mother was unfaithful, and infers that he killed her. In the other version, he says his father was a judge who made him and his mother watch hangings. One day, his father decided there was too much evil in the world, so he put one bullet in a gun and pointed it at his wife, his son, and himself in turns, pulling the trigger each time. He ended up "blowing out the back of his head."

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Connections

References The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

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Soundtracks

Un Mexicano En El Norte
Written by Demetrio Farias
Performed by El Mariachi Tepalcatepec De Michoacan
Courtesy of Discos Dos Coronas
(A Division of Two Crowns International Inc.)

User Reviews

Shocking!! This movie is actually good!

Think there's no way that a movie with Sharon Stone playing cowgirl can be good? Yep, that was my first impression, too. But Raimi actually pulls it off. The acting (Hackman, Crowe, and even Dicrapio) is top notch and fits the story well. And there are plenty of other great actors with small parts. And it's really cool how you get to know just enough about each character to make them interesting before... well, they get dead. See this movie, if not for the cool characters, for the amazing camera shots that Raimi comes up with.

8.5 out of 10

Details

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

10 February 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Quick and the Dead

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,515,861, 12 February 1995

Gross USA:

$18,636,537

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,636,537

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Japan Satellite Broadcasting (JBS), IndieProd Company Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS (8 channels) Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1