Silverado (DVD)

...Chicago Sun-Times

Silverado
Genre: Western
Duration: 2 hrs. 07 min.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Producer: Lawrence Kasdan
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release Date: July 10, 1985
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, Mark Kasdan

It's been a good while since I have reviewed a good old western movie so after dusting off _Silverado_ and watching it again, I decided to ...
...Made as an epic film Silverado incorporates lots of characters with a main storyline as well as a pertinent number of side stories. Yet it does not detract from the quality of the film. In essence what Kasdan does is harness all these side stories offering sustenance to the main characters, all of which get adequate development to make the viewer relate to them either individually or when their personalities interact when they come together. Every ... more

Silverado- A Review By Addy

"… high-spirited, joyous, anarchic …" Chicago Sun-Times

Silverado
Genre: Western
Duration: 2 hrs. 07 min.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Producer: Lawrence Kasdan
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release Date: July 10, 1985
Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, Mark Kasdan

It's been a good while since I have reviewed a good old western movie so after dusting off Silverado and watching it again, I decided to do a review and tell you all about it.

Cast

• Kevin Kline
• Scott Glenn
• Kevin Costner
• Danny Glover
• Brian Dennehy
• Linda Hunt
• Jeff Goldblum
• Rosanna Arquette
• John Cleese

"… What makes this film really work is its ability to deliver old-style action while also planting a tongue firmly in cheek …" Apollo Guide

Synopsis

Silverado is an epic western released in 1985 and charts the adventures of four men who's four destinies become intertwined leading them all to the town of Silverado as well as having a common enemy when they get there. Chains of events actually bring these men together prior to reaching their destination and they develop a solid friendship along with their common goals. Cobb (Brian Dennehy) is the sheriff of Silverado and an evil man with a lot of back up on his payroll. As murder, corruption and theft all impact on the four men's lives, destiny calls them together one more time to a dramatic conclusion that will leave many dead in the dust and black powder smoke trickling from the barrels of many guns. Some things are worth fighting for but most are seldom of the importance than that of family and friends.

"… a sweeping, glorious-looking western …" New York Times

Characters

♠ Paden (Kevin Kline) is the handsome hero type. He has lots of wit and although he has a murky past riding with a bad bunch, he is moralistic, ethical and fair. Paden is an all rounder in terms as skills with firearms and can keep a cool head under pressure. Paden is a man after revenge against the men that robbed, beat him and left him to die in the desert. Paden has a real likeability factor and has a very big affection for dogs and horses. Paden is also the type that he is everybody's friend unless they cross him.

♥ Emmett (Scott Glen) is the broody, stoic, quiet, impassive type, a bit like a coiled spring ready to snap into action in the blink of an eye. Emmett certainly prefers his own company. Whilst not being the rugged handsome type Emmett's skills with firearms are exceptional and he is very fast on the draw. He has a great capacity for killing people but with that being said he is a decent man similarly to Paden he is fair, honest and ethical. Emmett is a very private man and seems to not particularly like giving much away about himself preferring to let others do most of the talking Emmett will chip in the occasional word or two where needed.

♦ Jake (Kevin Costner) is the younger brother of Emmett and is a real handful. With his youth and inexperience he tends to let his mouth run way too much. Without a doubt he has skills with revolvers choosing to sport a double rig so that he is carrying two Colt .45's, but he often gets himself knee deep in trouble and relies heavily on his brother to help him out. Sometimes that even means jailbreaks to deprive the town of seeing a tree dance, (Lynching). The cool thing about Jake is that with his cheekiness and brashness he is actually quite funny but he is a reckless person for sure. Jake also likes women......a lot. More often than not this is what leads him into trouble. An example of the humour derived from Jake is in a jailbreak where upon being sprung in the cover of the early hours of the cold morning, Jake reaches the porch of the Sheriff office and in a fit of childish excitement lets out a loud hearty giggle. Paden puts his finger to his pursed lips and whispers "Sssshh" Promptly after someone appears and Jake whips out his pistols firing virtually all his bullets in their direction to scare them off. Paden incredulously looks at Jake, puts his finger to his pursed lips and whispers "Sssshhh", a very funny scene.

♣ Mal (Danny Glover) is a black cowboy who tends to get a rough deal a lot of the time as did many Negro's and Indians in the frontier towns of the Wild West. Mal does not use a handgun but is very proficient with the rifle that he carries. Mal has a sister who has disassociated herself from the family and he also has an elderly father. Mal is friendly and courteous but fights very well with those that choose to take issue with the colour of his skin using his fists like pistols. In one scene where Mal is out numbered in a saloon where Emmett and Paden first lay eyes on him Paden asks Emmett if they should help saying "it doesn't seem fair" to which Emmett jovially replies, "who for, them or him?" Mal is a real family man at heart and is travelling to get back to his father in Silverado.

"… top-notch fun." DVD Town

My Opinion- for what it's worth

Directing

Lawrence Kasdan is not without his claims to fame having worked on films such as "The Empire Strikes Back", "Raiders of the Lost Ark," as well as "The Big Chill" and "Body Heat." Being very passionate about western movies as a child it was a question of when not if he would turn his attention to the western genre. Luckily for us his attempt paid off in the form of Silverado a film that carries a real essence of magic. Made as an epic film Silverado incorporates lots of characters with a main storyline as well as a pertinent number of side stories. Yet it does not detract from the quality of the film. In essence what Kasdan does is harness all these side stories offering sustenance to the main characters, all of which get adequate development to make the viewer relate to them either individually or when their personalities interact when they come together. Every character is unique and offers something different for spectator and it makes it easy for one to distinguish who they like and who they don't. Kasdan provides a strong script to coincide with the characters and it offers up a realism of the west seldom seen on the screen. But more monumental is that it injects into the film, humour and wit as well as aiding you as a viewer in recognising the plight of people or even the justification of revenge, if it can be justified. Even the reprehensible sheriff Cobb and his main hench- men get great roles and character development making the dramatic climax that much more stimulating and satisfactory. Kasdan also shows his flair for the things of a western nature that hold mass appeal to fans of the genre with the inclusion of a dramatic high noon style showdown, that whilst it doesn't have the same amount of tension Once Upon a Time In The West per se and the conclusive showdown in that film, it certainly holds enough excitement and tension to pacify any fan.

Acting

As you may or may not have noticed dependent largely on whether you skim read or read thorough there is a damn fine cast of actors in this film that among them have acquired a vast wealth of experience in film making. With a cast like this you could give them a $99 budget, some fancy dress and a few cap guns and they would still produce a blockbuster western. Ok, I joke a little but seriously the actors in this film do an incredible job and why shouldn't they? with their repertoire of skills. Even John Cleese who plays a town sheriff is fantastic. I didn't know how it would work with him, not because I doubted his acting ability but just the concept of such an English person as a frontier sheriff. However, I find it intriguing, odd in a good way and generally a bloody good idea by the director. It is actually hard not to see the Monty Python in him and he sort of feeds some of that into his character making him very real and refreshing. Goldblum plays a shifty gambler to perfection and when Glover, Costner, Kline and Glen are all on screen together the film oozes glorious perfection and professionalism and the film practically smoulders. Linda Hunt is Stella, a saloon owner and plays a sort of friend come mother figure to Paden and does a superb job. As for Dennehy as Cobb he plays the perfect villain that you just love to hate yet feel strangely drawn to, but you still look forward and anticipate is impending doom.

Storyline

The storyline is good as well as the side storylines and they do come together perfectly but as I say that is largely down to directional professionalism and skill. Everything just gels perfectly to enhance the plot and the action sequences are fabulous. The beginning of the film I believe borrows somewhat from the Once Upon a Time In The West film in creating a very powerful first five minutes where Emmett is ambushed in a log cabin and you only catch faint glimpses of the foes, as dust and wood fly into the air and gun shots ring out and yet the footsteps of the ambushers on the wood is amplified to the ears of Emmett on the inside and to us the viewers, creating a fast paced, vibrant, intense few minutes that tantalise the senses, brilliant. The storyline itself helps to generate an idea of different aspects of frontier life and keeps things tame enough to be viewed by an entire family including children and adult enough to maintain the interest of the parents and still giving action aficionado's plenty to entertain. This is all round entertainment that could be watched as quality family time together or just as a couple snuggled up on the sofa with a bottle of wine and some popcorn or Dorito's. The balance is also kept well between the storyline involving scenes in towns as well as open plains, prairies and deserts.

Conclusion

A film that's all round entertainment with plenty of top notch actors, quality storyline and a script that are all well developed by a great director.

Bloopers

WARNING! Before anyone gets on their high horse about plagiarism these bloopers were taken from a website that does film bloopers and I put them in for you readers as a bit of fun. I am in no way taking credit for something that is not my own work. Now I know at least one of you will either OFF TOPIC, NOT HELPFUL, with a big cheesy smile whilst typing in the comments "not necessary, supposed to be a film review." Hell, I even know the name of the one person who will do this. IT'S ONLY FUN! The review is above this and if you are not interested in the bloopers then don't read them, simple.
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When Jake gets his horse back during the shootout at McKendrick's ranch, McKendrick's men have the horse in a stall in a barn unsaddled but still wearing a bit, bridle and reins. With a bit in its mouth a horse can't eat or drink, and no one who knew anything about horses would stall one while it was still wearing them.

When Paden finds his horse he is unarmed, so he purchases a gun and runs into the street to confront the thief. The thief fires at Paden, and while Paden is loading his new revolver one of the thief's' shots blows a hole in the back of Paden's drawers. In the next shot we see Paden's reaction as he looks at the crotch of his drawers and there is no bullet hole in the front of them.

The night before the jailbreak at Turley, when Emmet and Paden are standing in the street discussing the plan to break Jake out of jail, on the roof of the building behind them is about 4 inches of snow. The next morning during the jail break we see at least 2 inches of snow on the ground, yet as the posse is chasing our heroes out of town suddenly the snow is gone and the ground is dry.

In Westerns, it is common to use several horses in place of one. However, after Kevin Klein's character makes a huge fuss over his bay, they use 4 different horses with distinctly different markings throughout the movie. They did a better job of matching Kevin Costner's horse although a pinto is a more difficult colour to match. Also, in one scene, Danny Glover's horse changes from a sorrel (red) to a bay (brown).

When Paden and Emmett are camped out you see Emmett pour himself a cup of coffee and he's holding the cup in his hand. The camera angle changes to a shot from behind him and you see him reaching down to pick up his cup of coffee.

In the bar fight in Turley, the bad guy breaks the bottle with his right hand, but when he lunges at Mal, it's in his left hand.

Things I Learned From This Film

• Attending a showdown in just your underwear is likely to earn you the nickname stumpy

• It is pointless killing a man for stealing your hat because it will be removed from your head to apply a noose, but at least you will look good before you die

• Wild West underwear is a problem and they need Gok-Wan and the How To Look Good Naked crew to help your mainstream gunfighter to at least look stylish whilst dying in the high noon sun, and with a slinky new outfit to tuck in your waistline they will have less to shoot at.

• If you are going to practice your fast draw have two guns so you always have one loaded still for when your enemies come to visit

• All wild west gamblers are shifty, ruthless sons of bitches

• English lawmen are funny

• Do not etch your name into the underside of your saddle cause they might only steal your saddle, carve it into the horse instead, or is it the other way round.....oh to hell with it just get an immobiliser instead, lol

•If you are in a wagon train with thousands of dollars in a chest, trusting two of the ugliest, scruffiest, meanest, craftiest, low down sons of whores who look like they are regular stars of crime-watch, will result in dearth and robbery of said chest of money.

• Trying to convince a large crowd that a horse is yours by saying that it loves you and snogging its face off can often draw large amounts of contempt from said large crowd.

Thanks for the reads/rates I just hope I am not wrong about gambling by putting in the bloopers, Addy.

© May 2008 

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