The Quick and the Dead
Rent & Buy
A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
What critics thought
Sam Raimi's spaghetti-Western pastiche divided critics almost evenly: admirers found his self-referential style and Dante Spinotti's cinematography energetic and fun, while detractors felt the Leone homage was all surface — stylish shots and clichéd beats without the emotional weight to back them up. Sharon Stone's casting was itself a fault line, with some seeing her as integral to the genre-bending premise and others finding her simply wrong for the role.
“Stone's presence nicely underscores the genre-bending tactics of Raimi, the cult filmmaker now doing his best to reinvent the B movie in a spirit of self-referential glee.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“The lowering skies around the isolated town make it look ripe for vengeance of biblical proportions, and there are quiet satirical touches, as when a man stands in a saloon door and his shadow seems about 6 miles long.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Raimi tries to do a Sergio Leone, and though The Quick and the Dead is highly enjoyable in spots, it doesn't come across as very convincing, perhaps because nothing can turn Sharon Stone into Charles Bronson.”
Jonathan Rosenbaum·Chicago Reader
“The Quick and the Dead plays like a crazed compilation of highlights from famous Westerns. Raimi finds the right look, but misses the heartbeat. You leave the film dazed instead of dazzled, as if an expert marksman had drawn his gun, only to shoot himself in the foot.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Genres
Western, Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Sam RaimiDirector
Sharon StoneEllen
Gene HackmanHerod
Russell CroweCort
Leonardo DiCaprioKid
Tobin BellDog Kelly
Roberts BlossomDoc Wallace
Kevin ConwayEugene Dred
Keith DavidSergeant Cantrell
Lance HenriksenAce Hanlon
Pat HingleHorace
Gary SiniseMarshall
Mark Boone JuniorScars
Alan SilvestriComposer
Simon MooreWriter
Dante SpinottiCinematographyThe Quick and the Dead
A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
What critics thought
Sam Raimi's spaghetti-Western pastiche divided critics almost evenly: admirers found his self-referential style and Dante Spinotti's cinematography energetic and fun, while detractors felt the Leone homage was all surface — stylish shots and clichéd beats without the emotional weight to back them up. Sharon Stone's casting was itself a fault line, with some seeing her as integral to the genre-bending premise and others finding her simply wrong for the role.
“Stone's presence nicely underscores the genre-bending tactics of Raimi, the cult filmmaker now doing his best to reinvent the B movie in a spirit of self-referential glee.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“The lowering skies around the isolated town make it look ripe for vengeance of biblical proportions, and there are quiet satirical touches, as when a man stands in a saloon door and his shadow seems about 6 miles long.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Raimi tries to do a Sergio Leone, and though The Quick and the Dead is highly enjoyable in spots, it doesn't come across as very convincing, perhaps because nothing can turn Sharon Stone into Charles Bronson.”
Jonathan Rosenbaum·Chicago Reader
“The Quick and the Dead plays like a crazed compilation of highlights from famous Westerns. Raimi finds the right look, but misses the heartbeat. You leave the film dazed instead of dazzled, as if an expert marksman had drawn his gun, only to shoot himself in the foot.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Genres
Western, Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Sam RaimiDirectorSharon StoneEllenGene HackmanHerodRussell CroweCortLeonardo DiCaprioKidTobin BellDog KellyRoberts BlossomDoc WallaceKevin ConwayEugene DredKeith DavidSergeant CantrellLance HenriksenAce HanlonPat HingleHoraceGary SiniseMarshallMark Boone JuniorScarsAlan SilvestriComposerSimon MooreWriterDante SpinottiCinematographyRent & Buy