A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

As a cowardly farmer begins to fall for the mysterious new woman in town, he must put his newly found courage to the test when her husband, a notorious gun-slinger, announces his arrival.

Director:

Seth MacFarlane

Writers:

Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin

Stars:

Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seth MacFarlane	...	Albert
Charlize Theron	...	Anna
Amanda Seyfried	...	Louise
Liam Neeson	...	Clinch
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Edward
Neil Patrick Harris	...	Foy
Sarah Silverman	...	Ruth
Christopher Hagen	...	George Stark
Wes Studi	...	Cochise
Matt Clark	...	Old Prospector
Evan Jones	...	Lewis
Aaron McPherson	...	Ben
Rex Linn	...	Sheriff / Narrator
Brett Rickaby	...	Charlie Blanche
Alex Borstein	...	Millie

Storyline

Set in 1882 in the American west, Albert is a lowly farmer with a nice girlfriend. But when she leaves him for the more successful and handsome owner of a moustachery store, Albert returns to his lonely daily life of trying to avoid death. Then the mysterious Anna rides into town and captures Albert's interest and heart, but with her deadly husband in town, Albert is going to have to become the western gun-slinging hero he never was. It won't be easy because there are a million ways to die in the west.

---

Plot Keywords:

western spoof | 1880s | abraham lincoln impersonator | loud sex | poison | 

---

Taglines:

Bring protection

---

Genres:

Comedy | Western

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong crude and sexual content, language throughout, some violence and drug material

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the beginning, where the narrator talks about the different ways the Wild West could kill you, a picture of a dead man under a white sheet is shown around the time the narrator mentions disease. The photo actually shows the body of train robber Cole Estes (a.k.a., Cole Younger) shortly after he was shot to death by a U.S. Marshal. The marks on his face are gunshot wounds.

---

Goofs

The shooting gallery at the fair has only 10 targets (2 rows of five), but Anna shoots 12 for a perfect score. When she shoots, short cuts to the gallery show 10 targets, but 12 shots are heard and Anna wins the prize for perfect score.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Some people are born into the wrong time and place. This was the American frontier in 1882, a hard land for hard folk. Food was scarce, disease was rampant, and life was a daily struggle for survival. Hell, this was Miss America in 1880.
[picture of a leathery middle-aged woman]
Narrator: Holy shit. To build a home and a life in this harsh, unforgiving country required that a man be bold, fearless, and tough as iron. The men who were courageous and resilient were the men who prospered. But ...
[...]

---

Crazy Credits

There is a post-credits sequence involving the gunman at the fair from the final scene.

---

Connections

Featured in Chelsea Lately: Episode #8.84 (2014)

---

Soundtracks

Tarzan Boy
Written by Maurizio Bassi and Naimy Hackett

User Reviews

Funniest western since Blazzing Saddles

I seem to be in the minority here and probably a different age group, the upper one. Raised on westerns, my favourite source of drama in films, I have avoided this movie because of poor reviews and poor box office. I watched it last night, mainly to see Charlize Theron and was amazed how much I loved it. It opened with majestic scenes of what I took to be Monument Valley, used to such great success by John Ford in his classic westerns with John Wayne. My thoughts went almost immediately to Blazzing Saddles for comparisons, although it is much cruder but I'm used to that now in modern entertainment. Strangely I don't usually like vulgarity in humour but for some reason I overlooked it in this movie. That may be due to the likeable performances from Seth MacFarlane and Theron. Amongst all the sillyness is a completely straight performance by Liam Neeson playing his best violent persona which is another reason why I found it worked. I never realised MacFarlane was the same actor who made Ted, which I really didn't like and for me the crude humour in that was everything I don't like about modern entertainment. Why I forgave him that for this picture is a riddle. Still, I really didn't want this film to finish. I loved the relationship build-up between MacFarlane and Theron and the supporting actors, the violent gags and the cinematography were terrific. Perhaps you have to be an old time western fan to enjoy and sadly it's a bygone genre to modern audiences judging by other comments here. 9 stars from me for the most entertaining movie of the year for me so far.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Facebook [Netherlands]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Navajo Mandarin

Release Date:

30 May 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Filming Locations:

Monument Valley, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,797,385, 1 June 2014

Gross USA:

$43,139,300

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$87,189,756

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bluegrass Films, Fuzzy Door Productions, Media Rights Capital (MRC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 136 min (Unrated)

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (ACES)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1