Appaloosa (2008)

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.

Director:

Ed Harris

Writers:

Robert Knott (screenplay), Ed Harris (screenplay)

Stars:

Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Jauregui	...	Marshall Jack Bell (as Bobby Jauregui)
Jeremy Irons	...	Randall Bragg
Timothy V. Murphy	...	Vince
Luce Rains	...	Dean
James Tarwater	...	Chalk (as Jim Tarwater)
Boyd Kestner	...	Bronc
Gabriel Marantz	...	Joe Whittfield
Ed Harris	...	Virgil Cole
Viggo Mortensen	...	Everett Hitch
Benjamin Rosenshein	...	Town Boy
Cerris Morgan-Moyer	...	Tilda
James Gammon	...	Earl May
Timothy Spall	...	Phil Olson
Tom Bower	...	Abner Raines
Erik J. Bockemeier	...	Fat Wallis

Storyline

1882, New Mexico Territory. Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) are itinerant lawmen, hired by desperate towns as Marshal and Deputy, respectively. The city fathers of Appaloosa hire them after Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), a newly-arrived rancher with money and a gang of thugs, disrupts commerce and kills three local lawmen. Cole and Hitch contrive to arrest Bragg and bring him to trial, but hanging him proves to be difficult. Meanwhile, a widow has arrived in town, Allison French (Renée Zellweger), pretty, refined, and good-natured. Virgil falls hard, and it seems mutual, but there may be more to Allison than meets the eye. Can friendship and skill with a gun overcome a pernicious villain and green-eyed jealousy?

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Plot Keywords:

horseback riding | tooth knocked out | train | unfaithfulness | telescope | 

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Taglines:

Feelings get you killed.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Viggo Mortensen committed to this movie during a busy stretch of work. When filming was delayed, he tried to beg off, asking Ed Harris to try to find another actor. Harris interviewed twenty others for the role, but they either declined or weren't right for the part. Viggo agreed to do it, and according to Harris, "Two days before we started principal photography, Viggo shows up in New Mexico. He's ready to go. He's done research on the period. He's given really great thought to his character. He had detailed ideas about his wardrobe and his props. He was in excellent shape and good spirits, and he subsequently played Everett Hitch to perfection. Viggo Mortensen is a man of his word."

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Goofs

In the final showdown, the shadows on Hitch and Cole vary between shots, depending upon whether the shot is from the front or the back.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marshall Jack Bell: [arriving on horse] Randall, I'm afraid I gotta take two of your boys back into town with me.
Randall Bragg: [standing with his gang] You're outside your jurisdiction, marshal. And you're trespassing on my land.
Marshall Jack Bell: They murdered that fellow from Chicago, and then they raped and killed his wife. I'm taking 'em in.
Randall Bragg: No. I can't spare them.
Marshall Jack Bell: [after a long survey of Bragg's men] Them two on the end. Cut them out.
Marshall Jack Bell: [then to his balking man] Do like I tell you.
Randall Bragg: [...]

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Crazy Credits

While being credited, items relating to positions and roles are displayed. Examples: Producers are listed as money is shown, an antique ink dryer is shown for the editor, production designer shows an antique tin cup and costume designer shows the top of a hat.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Episode #7.113 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Hanon Exercises
Written by Charles-Louis Hanon
Performed by Kate Jewell

User Reviews

An OK western but a great character study

Appaloosa as a western is okay, as a movie its okay, but as a character study it's great. Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen are two of the most underrated actors (not stars) in Hollywood. Viggo should have had two or three Oscars by now. His rendition of Everett Hitch made the whole movie more than worthwhile. He's a man of little words but great thought. He also an observant man, of things and people. He's loyal but with practicality. He knows what the two of them do and why they do it and he know enough about Virgil not to step on his toes. But he also knows when to say what he as to say and leave it at that. I'm never that impressed by Renee Zellweger but in this movie she sort of fit in. 7/10

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Apache languages Spanish

Release Date:

3 October 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Appaloosa

Filming Locations:

Elgin, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$248,847, 21 September 2008

Gross USA:

$20,211,394

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,712,362

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Axon Films, Groundswell Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1