OK Lynn. You asked and here it is.
Shaped like an old fashioned western this may be the ultimate buddy picture for this genre. Filled with good action, good humor, every story line ever thought of in a western, good villains, cool sounding gunfire and a great musical score. What is not too like? It seems to me it was made with great affection and respect for the genre.
For their day they were a relatively new cast, as least for feature films, though Glenn had made the popular "The Right Stuff" most everyone was still a year or two from hitting it big. John Cleese being the most notable exception.
Maybe a bit long, maybe a bit glorified in parts but still a rousing good film. 1985 must have been an ok year as Eastwood released "Pale Rider" as well.
Silverado
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movieman1957
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movieman1957
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I think Cleese was a genius pick. It is a nice touch having an Englishman playing sheriff.
My favorite line is when he breaks up the fight in the saloon where he mentions "It is hard on the peace and it's hard on the furniture." Great line. Where he is playing chess. You fully think he is playing the man sitting across from him. It's all played straight but all fun for him.
132 minutes is a bit long for a western but I don't have anything to complain about. My 18 year old daughter and I watch it when we get a chance. In fact she often comes into a room - "What's all this then?"
What a lovely story line on Hunt and Kline.
My favorite line is when he breaks up the fight in the saloon where he mentions "It is hard on the peace and it's hard on the furniture." Great line. Where he is playing chess. You fully think he is playing the man sitting across from him. It's all played straight but all fun for him.
132 minutes is a bit long for a western but I don't have anything to complain about. My 18 year old daughter and I watch it when we get a chance. In fact she often comes into a room - "What's all this then?"
What a lovely story line on Hunt and Kline.
Last edited by movieman1957 on January 26th, 2009, 11:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Chris
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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klondike
If not a "love" for this movie, I can at least state that I have a deep & abiding affection for it.
In particular, for the opening credits, which roll leisurely as the restrained brassish theme canters along, and the camera softly & lingeringly plays about the warmly shadowed interior of the high country line shack in which Glenn's character of Emmett has overnighted; soon that pastoral, rustic, sunbeamed shanty will be bombarded with a fulisade of gunfire, and Emmett will transform rattler-fast from a sleeping saddlebum into a fight-finishing Man of the West, thundering death at the drygulchers who dared bully him into a corner! Now the camera become a whirling dervish with a racing heartbeat, speeding to capture all the best angles of the attack, as light & shadow & billowing dust & crashing wood & exploding rifles collide, and the music swells to telegraph that rapid-fire excitement.
Those credits come to a still leisurely close as Emmett steps out into a sunbright hill-country morning (the like of which hadn't been seen since True Grit), and the camera helicopters up & away as our lonesome protagonist saunters around the shell-riddled shack, surveying his body count with his Winchester still smoking in his relaxed right hand.
C'est magnifique!
The balance of this film will never again quite achieve this pinnacle of brilliant artistic vision, but you are compelled nonetheless to hang-in til the end-credits roll, and chances are very good, you will enjoy it to some degree, start to finish!
In particular, for the opening credits, which roll leisurely as the restrained brassish theme canters along, and the camera softly & lingeringly plays about the warmly shadowed interior of the high country line shack in which Glenn's character of Emmett has overnighted; soon that pastoral, rustic, sunbeamed shanty will be bombarded with a fulisade of gunfire, and Emmett will transform rattler-fast from a sleeping saddlebum into a fight-finishing Man of the West, thundering death at the drygulchers who dared bully him into a corner! Now the camera become a whirling dervish with a racing heartbeat, speeding to capture all the best angles of the attack, as light & shadow & billowing dust & crashing wood & exploding rifles collide, and the music swells to telegraph that rapid-fire excitement.
Those credits come to a still leisurely close as Emmett steps out into a sunbright hill-country morning (the like of which hadn't been seen since True Grit), and the camera helicopters up & away as our lonesome protagonist saunters around the shell-riddled shack, surveying his body count with his Winchester still smoking in his relaxed right hand.
C'est magnifique!
The balance of this film will never again quite achieve this pinnacle of brilliant artistic vision, but you are compelled nonetheless to hang-in til the end-credits roll, and chances are very good, you will enjoy it to some degree, start to finish!
Being a girly-girl, I don't mind saying I adore Silverado. I love the cast. I love the music, although Bruce Broughton seemed to be revering Elmer Bernstein a little more than he should have. At times I thought it was Elmer's music and looked it up for the heck of it.
Somebody mentioned Kevin Kline and Linda Hunt - I agree their friendship was a wonderful touch of humanity. This might have been Director Kasdans' apology to Kevin Kostner for cutting him up and leaving him on the cutting room floor when it came to editing The Big Chill.
Believe it or not, I also like the fact that the only true love affair (if you want to call it that) was the developing friendship of Kevin and Linda. It was a cowboy movie and one not muddied up with midnight meetings and such. Anyway, again, I adore this movie and watch it as often as I can.
Anne
Somebody mentioned Kevin Kline and Linda Hunt - I agree their friendship was a wonderful touch of humanity. This might have been Director Kasdans' apology to Kevin Kostner for cutting him up and leaving him on the cutting room floor when it came to editing The Big Chill.
Believe it or not, I also like the fact that the only true love affair (if you want to call it that) was the developing friendship of Kevin and Linda. It was a cowboy movie and one not muddied up with midnight meetings and such. Anyway, again, I adore this movie and watch it as often as I can.
Anne
Anne
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movieman1957
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