Quick and the Dead, The (1995)
Starring: Gene Hackman, Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe, Leonardo Di Caprio
Director: Sam Raimi
Synopsis: wonderfully quirky parody of the spaghetti western - a good chuckle
Reviewed by: Omar Khan

A mysterious lone rider - a man with a mission - arrives to the town of Redemption looking to set a record straight. Redemption is the fiefdom of twisted and maniacally evil town Marshall Herod (Gene Hackman) who has terrified and pulverized the town populace into a cowering mass. This man with a mission it turns out is not a man at all but the delectably shaped and statuesque Sharon Stone for whom the film serves as a perfect showcase.

Ms. Stone who had been a Hollywood hanger-on for ages before was 'discovered' in Basic Instinct co-produced this film which was seen as the perfect vehicle for the lady's talents. Sam Raimi of Evil Dead fame was roped in from relative backwater obscurity to direct this wonderfully nonsensical and equally whimsical parody spaghetti western. Here the lone ranger rides into town with her long tresses hidden below a weather beaten Stetson looking every inch a reincarnation of Clint Eastwood in a female form. Marshall Herod, with whom Shazza has more than one score to settle, announces a dueling showdown in the town centre and goads participants into signing up. A bunch of fried morons with tiny brains but an inflated sense of machismo duly sign up for Herod's mid day showdowns. A late entrant is the handsome preacher who has recently renounced violence but who is forced by Herod to be part of the festivities. Stone also signs up despite objections against the eligibility of a woman.

In age old spaghetti western style the showdowns dominate proceedings here on even though through the odd flashback and the odd interlude we discover that Stone's father had been the town's Marshall in years gone by and that he had been executed by Herod in front of her very eyes. Meanwhile Stone also has a past with the preacher (Russell Crowe) who has more than an axe to grind with Herod - it's the usual typical cowboy movie grudge based wars of righteousness and courage and machismo. The farcical events unfold with a dead pan seriousness that completely belie the comic flavour of the film - its actually a piss take of the entire spaghetti western machismo thing with the ultimate humiliation for the genre being a woman's casting in the Eastwood role!

The results of this farcical parody are also thoroughly satisfying due largely to the infectious humour and the energy that director Raimi is able to impart to proceedings. The other aspect of the movie that works terrifically is the deadpan seriousness in which the absolutely ludicrous events on screen are depicted. The acting is largely spot on all around with Hackman taking top honours (as ever) as the evil marauding towns Marshall while Sharon Stone turns in what is probably her best ever performance other than in Casino in a film that sadly slipped by without receiving the acclaim that it deserved. It's also another example of the quirky brilliance of Sam Raimi slipping by somehow without being noticed and receiving the kind of attention that he ought to.

Russell Crowe is decent in the supporting cast though his accent is still making its mind up while Leonardo Di Caprio is entertaining if just a little theatrical and over cooked with his style - on the other hand that goes quite in keeping with events on screen which are totally OTT and farcical in the way that From Dusk Till Dawn was a year or so later. In fact it's pretty safe to say that if you enjoyed the wonderfully zany events and the crackling one liners of From Dusk Till Dawn you will probably take to The Quick and The Dead as both movies are from the same genre of deadpan farce, and both succeed in their aims with hysterical results. When a grease-ball attempts to pick Cowgirl Stone up with the less than subtle line "You need a man" he is stunningly put in his place with the fabulously deadpan reply "and You need a bath!"

The Quick and the Dead is so much more than just a Sharon Stone vehicle with its excellent supporting cast, its crackling quirky humour and its stunning visual style courtesy of Sam Raimi's approach to movie making. Sadly its a film that slipped by largely unnoticed and though Blazing Saddles still remains the best known and most successful parody of the Western this one has an educated wit while Saddles was largely just funny Ha Ha!