Information about The Quick And The Dead (1995 Film)

The Quick and the Dead
The Quick and the Dead Theatrical poster
Directed by	Sam Raimi
Produced by	Joshua Donen Patrick Markey Allen Shapiro
Written by	Simon Moore
Starring	Sharon Stone Gene Hackman Russell Crowe Leonardo DiCaprio
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Cinematography	Dante Spinotti
Editing by	Pietro Scalia
Distributed by	Columbia TriStar
Release date(s)	February 10, 1995
Running time	107 minutes
Language	English
Budget	$32 million USD
IMDb profile

The Quick and the Dead is a film directed by Sam Raimi, released in 1995. It stars Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lance Henriksen, and Keith David. The script was written by Simon Moore.

Tagline: Think you're quick enough ?

Plot summary

The Quick and the Dead follows the course of a single elimination gunfighting contest held by John Herod (Hackman), a former outlaw and murderer who rules the small town of Redemption, Arizona with an iron fist. Herod sponsors the contest with one goal in mind - to eliminate anyone who might pose a threat to him. The contest attracts a variety of contestants, including several outlaws, an adventurer (David), a Swedish gunfighting champion (Sven-Ole Thorsen), a trick shooter and braggart (Henriksen), Herod's alleged son (DiCaprio), and a mysterious woman (Stone) bent on killing Herod. Shortly after entering the town, Herod has his men drag an old friend of his, whom helped him in his robberies, into town. Herod wishes to beat this man (Eventually called 'Cort') in a gunfight. After Cort declines, Herod instructs his men to prepare a hangmans knot, forcing Cort into the contest with the consequence of death. Instead of accepting the demand, Cort tells Herod to "go to hell". The lady seems to have a sence of compassion towards this man, and a split second before Herod shoots and destroys the chair that Cort stands on holding his life, she shouts to the bartender, "Sign me up". Unfortunatly, this does not stop Herod, but only causes a two-second diversion. Herod shoots the final bullet from his gun destroying the chair holding Cort's life, which destroys it. The lady then jumps out of her seat, and shoots the rope holding Cort, saving his life. Cort and the Lady start a friendship, but it becomes sporadic after Herod reveals what Cort did years earlier. She then walks away from him angrilly saying, "I should have let you die." It is revealed through a series of flashbacks that Stone's character is no crusader or savior; her mission is one of personal vengeance. As a young girl, Herod manipulated her into killing her father (Gary Sinise), the town's marshal. After several gunfights, it comes down to Herod and his son. The lady tells the boy that he does not have to do this, but he states that he must prove that he is his son, and that if it must be like this, then so be it. Unfortunatly for the kid, Herod draws first, (But the kid did technically hit Herod in the neck), shot him in the heart, and kills him. When the time come that Cort and the Lady must kill one or the other, the two say that they won't fight each other. Herod intervenes at the second and says if the two refuse to fight, his henchmen will gun them down. The lady (Stone) and Cort find they have a common enemy in Herod and devise a plan to kill him and free the town from his oppression. When the time comes for the two to finish each other off, Cort fires the first shot, which "kills" the lady. After this battle, one of Herod's henchman, Ratsy, breaks Cort's right hand. When the battle of Cort and Herod came, Herod asked who broke his hand, which Ratsy willingly admits to. Herod gives Ratsy 20 seconds to leave town before Heord kills him, (which he does), and the battle is on. The exact second the clock hits dawn, the whole clocktower explodes. Seconds later, the motel explodes. Then the Saloon, then the general store, and so on. When the town is completely destroyed, the Lady walks out of the dust. She bought red dye from the blind color-dye maker to simulate the blood which would make Herod think that Cort shot her. It is shown that the two stand to kill each other. The lady fires one shot through Herod's stomach, Herod blows off a chunk of the lady's shoulder, and the lady finishes Herod off by shooting him straight in the eye. She then throws a Marshal badge at Cort and says, "the law's come back to town." The film finishes as it shows the lady riding away on her horse.

This film bears no relation to Louis L'Amour's western novel The Quick and the Dead nor the 1963 film.

Characters in depth

Dog Kelly (Tobin Bell)- Kelly is an outlaw bent on finding some buried loot, but he seems to have forgotten its location. He tries to kill Ellen, mistakenly believing she was a rival for said treasure. In retaliation she punches him out, chains him to his cart and takes his hat to replace the one he destroyed. He joins the tournament to get a chance to shoot her. A deleted scene shows Ellen teasing Kelly about his nickname telling everyone else about how he was forced to eat his own dog or face starvation. Wounded by Ellen and eliminated.

Doc Wallace (Roberts Blossom)- Doc was the town's local doctor for as long as anyone can remember. He even remembers Ellen from long ago.

Scars (Mark Boone Junior)- Scars is an escaped outlaw. He was sentenced to 35 years for murder, he served a mere three days. He still wears the prisoner garb from his escape. He gets his nickname from the fact he cuts himself after every time he kills someone. He is bald, filthy, and blind in one eye. Killed by "The Kid".

Eugene Dred (Kevin Conway)- Dred is a local pedophile. Fee goads him into joining the tournament and he shows a liking to Horace's young daughter Katie. Killed by Ellen in an unofficial duel. Shot four times in chest.

Cort (Russell Crowe)- Cort used to run with Herod and his gang, but he had a change of heart and has tried to make up for his past sins (Herod made him kill a minister who had nursed Herod's gang) as a preacher in a mission. Herod insists that Cort participates in the town's gunfighting tournament and has Ratsy burn the mission to the ground and abduct Cort back to town to do so. Even then he still dresses as a preacher. Cort has a brief fling with The Lady and in the end of the film is heavily suggested to become the new sherriff.

Sgt. Clay Cantrell (Keith David)- Cantrell is a former Union soldier of the American Civil War. Even now he still wears his old uniform. He has been hired by the town to participate in the tournament in the hopes he will eliminate Herod in the process. First disarmed and later shot in the head by Herod.

Fee Herod aka "The Kid" (Leonardo DiCaprio)- Fee claims to be the son of John Herod. Herod denies he is the boy's father, claiming his wife (Fee's mother) had an affair with a farmer. Fee makes a living as the town's gunsmith and enters the tournament hoping to earn his father's acknowledgment and respect. Killed by Herod (shot once in the stomach).

Ace Hanlon (Lance Henriksen)- Ace is a trick shot performer. He has an appearance similar to that of Wild Bill Hickok. In addition to his trick shooting he also entertains people by telling tall tales of his exploits. He is however a fraud on several accounts and far less skilled than what he says he is so is thusly killed easily by Herod (shot twice in the chest).

John Herod (Gene Hackman)- For many years Herod and his marauding band of outlaws roamed the countryside. They then settled on the frontier town of Redemption, extorting the town's citizens in return for their own survival. Herod dictates the town from his mansion in the center of town. His gang members enforce his will posing as the town's "Councilors". Shot in the chest and later in right eye by Ellen, in revenge for tricking her into killing her father.

The Councilors- Herod's gang, masquerading as the town's law enforcers. They are recognized by their clean black suits and armed with long rifles.

Swede Gutzon (Sven-Ole Thorsen)- Gutzon is a prideful man. He proudly states that he is a champion shooter from his native Sweden; a title nobody really takes all that seriously. Wounded by "The Kid" in the first round and eliminated.

Horace (Pat Hingle)- Horace is the proprietor of the town's only saloon and is the manager of the town's gunfighter tournament.

Katie (Olivia Burnette)- Katie is Horace's daughter and helps her father run the saloon. She appears to be in her mid-teens and idolizes Ellen.

Mattie Silk (Fay Masterson)- A local prostitute who has her eye on Fee.

The Marshal (Gary Sinise)- The town's local law enforcer, who was killed by Herod and his gang 20 years before. His burnt down office is all that remains of any sign that law and order ever existed here. Ellens father, whom she is seeking "redemption" for.

Ellen aka "The Lady" (Sharon Stone)- The tournament's only female gunfighter. Has a personal vendetta against Herod.

Simp Dixon (David Cornell)- Dred's first round opponent. Killed by Dred.

Red Ford- Scars' first round opponent. Killed by Scars.

Flat Nose Foy (Lennie Loftin)- He is a gunfighter with bad teeth and a brood of ill-tempered young children in tow. Wounded by Cort.

Virgil Sparks (Joseph Rainer)- A debonair southern gentleman who refers to himself as, "The Pride of Texas". In the scene where he is introduced, a poster showing him as wanted for murder and rape is visible next to Ellen. Defeated in the first round by Sgt. Clay Cantrell.

Carlos Montoya (Arturo Gastelum)- Mexican gunfighter. Spotted Horse's first round opponent. Killed by Spotted Horse.

Spotted Horse (Jonothon Gill)- Sioux gunfighter who has a reputation for being impossible to kill in a gunfight. His body is covered with old bullet wounds, and his battle cry is "Spotted Horse cannot be killed by a bullet!". Killed (shot in the head) by Cort after surviving a shot in the stomach.

Ratsy (Raynor Scheine)- Ratsy is an errand boy for Herod. He's not very bright and is only partially tolerated by Herod himself. Killed by Herod because he wounded Cort's hand before their duel, ruining his aiming. In reality Herod ordered him to injure Cort, but publicly blamed Ratsy.

Blind Boy (Jerry Swindall)- Town's bootblack and merchant of unusual things such as printer's ink, perfume, and loose bullets.

Awards and nominations

1996 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (Saturn Awards)

• Nominated - Best Actress (Film) — Sharon Stone

External links

Sam Raimi
1980s	The Evil Dead | Crimewave | Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn
1990s	Darkman | Army of Darkness | The Quick and the Dead | A Simple Plan | For Love of the Game
2000s	The Gift | Spider-Man | Spider-Man 2 | Spider-Man 3
Shorts	It's Murder! | Within the Woods | Clockwork