Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Quick and the Dead (1995) - Raimi forgets a good story in tiring 90s western style exercise

8/18/2022

The Quick and the Dead (1995) - Raimi forgets a good story in tiring 90s western style exercise

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Two name stars are caught in shadows on this dubious poster for Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead

The local king of a small western town promises a fortune to the winner of a shooting competition, which all the local sharp-shooters naturally line up for.

The Quick and the Dead is written by Simon Moore (Inside Out (1985, TV-series)) and directed by great Michingader filmmaker Sam Raimi (It's Murder! (1977)).

As the plot outline above suggests, there isn't much of a riveting story to be found in this artificial 90s western, which is closer to pastiche than homage. Raimi meeting the western could possibly mean either gold or horse manure, and the latter unfortunately most resembles the case with The Quick and the Dead.

The film is loaded with elements (sunglasses, the absurdly high reward prize and much else), which is very 1990s, and at the same time the stars stand out like sore thumbs in an environment that never becomes remotely authentic, funny or thrilling, which could have compensated some for the lack of authenticity.

No one esteems themselves here, although young Leonardo DiCaprio (This Boy's Life (1993)) is worth looking at here in the threshold between boy and young man. There are outstanding effects, (among them are bizarrely enormous explosions near the end), and flashy, stylish photography (by Dante Spinotti (Slipstream (2007))). But this style exercise bores more than it excites.

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Drag Me to Hell (2009) - Raimi returns to horror in high style
Army of Darkness (1992) or, Medieval Death

Evil Dead II/Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) - Campbell, Spiegel and Raimi's crazy, gory classic

Watch a 3-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 35 mil. $

Box office: 47 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.34 times its cost)

[The Quick and the Dead was released 10 February (North America) and runs 108 minutes. DiCaprio was paid 150k $ for his performance, - reportedly Sharon Stone (Intersection (1994)), paid it out of her salary, because she so wanted him in the film. Gene Hackman (Lucky Lady (1975)) was paid 1.3 mil. $. Shooting took place from November 1993 - February 1994 in Arizona. The film opened #2, behind Billy Madison, to a 6.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent one more weekend in the top 5 (#5), grossing 18.6 mil. $ (39.6 % of the total gross). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Raimi has stated about his situation after the release of the film: "I felt very empty. And I felt that I cannot continue down this road of style. I need substance." He returned with A Simple Plan (1998). Stone returned in Roseanne (1995, TV-series)) and theatrically in Casino (1995); Hackman in Crimson Tide (1995). The Quick and the Dead is rotten at 58 % with a 5.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Quick and the Dead?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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8/18/2022

The Quick and the Dead (1995) - Raimi forgets a good story in tiring 90s western style exercise

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