Though it wasn’t the first or best Western movie I ever watched, The Quick and the Dead was one that my older brother and I watched countless times growing up. Like the criminally underrated Toy Soldiers, this great Sam Raimi movie starring Sharon Stone, the late Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, and a pre-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio was on TNT whenever I would flip to channel 17 back in the day.
However, 30 years after this gunslinging epic about a mysterious drifter named “The Lady” coming into an Old West town to enter a duel tournament and get some old-fashioned revenge, I rarely hear people sing this movie’s praises or even know what it is. That’s a shame, a crying shame. If, for some reason, you’ve never watched The Quick and the Dead, here’s why you should change that…
The Quick And The Dead Pulls Off So Many Great Western Movie Archetypes
Though it’s not one of the best films of 1995 (that was a stacked year, so this isn’t a knock on it), The Quick and the Dead is a fun, violent, and outrageously fun Western that feels like both a love letter to the genre and a slight reinvention at the same time. Not only are there the time-honored tropes like duels, revenge, and redemption (it’s the name of the town, for crying out loud), but the movie also features some wonderful archetypes.
You have the mysterious drifter coming into town in the form of Sharon Stone’s “The Lady.” You have the former outlaw-turned-preacher with Russell Crowe’s Cort, and the flipside with Gene Hackman’s ruthless outlaw-turned-sheriff John Herod. And then there’s “The Kid,” Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, who wants nothing more than to earn his dad’s acceptance. All of these work really well and don’t come off as feeling cheap, unnecessary, or overdone.
The Movie Showcases Leonardo DiCaprio And Russell Crowe’s Talent Before They Were Megastars
Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman were already on top of the world when The Quick and the Dead came out in February 1995, but the same can’t be said for Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe. Going back and seeing these two future A-listers when they were on their respective ascents to stardom is so much fun to watch, especially considering they’d share the screen again a decade later in Body of Lies.
Both seem so eager, so fresh, and so believable in their parts. DiCaprio, barely 20 years old at the time, is especially electric in his portrayal of a young gunslinger trying to make a name for himself and win the affection of his iron-fisted and mercilessly cruel father. I know hindsight is 20/20, but you can see that spark in DiCaprio’s eyes whenever he’s on screen.
However, don’t let my praise of a young Leo take attention away from Russell Crowe. Released two years before L.A. Confidential and five years before his Oscar-winning performance in Gladiator made him one of the most recognizable faces on the planet, this Western was an early showcase (at least in the United States) of Crowe’s capabilities. His charm, command of the screen, and believability can all be felt.
While The Quick and the Dead isn’t streaming anywhere right now (that changes all the time), you can rent a digital copy with an Amazon subscription or pick up a physical copy to see what all the fuss is about. Hey, maybe enough people will watch, and we can start talking about this awesome 1995 Western again.
