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Special Features
- Commentary by director Ed Harris and screenwriter/producer Robert Knott
- Additional scenes with selectable Ed Harris/Robert Knott commentary
- Bringing the Characters of Appaloosa to Life
- Historic Accuracy of Appaloosa
- The Town of Appaloosa
- Dean Semler's Return to the Western
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Western has been an endangered species, on and off, for something like 40 years now. Welcome to Appaloosa, Ed Harris's film of the Robert B. Parker novel--first because it exists at all, but even more because Harris as star, director, and co-screenwriter (with Robert Knott) has managed to bring it to the screen with no hint of fuss or strain, as if the making of no-nonsense, copiously pleasurable Westerns were still something Hollywood did with regularity. Harris plays Virgil Cole, one of those ace gunfighter-lawmen whose name need only be mentioned to make a saloon go still. Cole and his shotgun-toting partner Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) accept a commission to enforce law and order in the New Mexico town of Appaloosa. That basically means protect it from rapacious rancher Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons, looking right at home on the range), who murdered the previous town marshal like swatting a fly. Life becomes complicated when, about the time Bragg has been jailed to await trial, a fancy-dressing piano player calling herself Mrs. French (Renée Zellweger) steps down off the train. Cole commences to have feelings, and as he ruefully reminds Hitch, "Feelin's can get ya killed."
In his second directorial effort (following the 2000 biopic Pollock), Harris takes his cue from novelist Parker's often deadpan-comic touch, allowing action and character to accumulate in accordance with an overall eccentric rhythm. (The film's main disappointment is that it would benefit from more running time to allow things to stew a bit longer, especially in the second half.) The character work is choice, from the moment Tom Bower, James Gammon, and Timothy Spall step into view as Appaloosa's civic leaders; the director's father Bob Harris contributes a cameo as a mellifluous-tongued circuit judge, and an age-thickened Lance Henriksen turns up midfilm as gunman Ring Shelton, trailing affability and menace. In collaboration with Dances With Wolves cameraman Dean Semler, Harris sets up shots and scenes in such a way that we often see into and out of Appaloosa's various buildings simultaneously, to excellent dramatic and atmospheric effect, and there's a thrillingly vertical dynamics to a scene involving a train at an isolated water stop. The action is lethal when it needs to be, but never dwelt upon. "That was over quick," Hitch observes after one gun battle. Cole's response says it all: "Everybody could shoot." --Richard T. Jameson
Product Description
Paired as rivals in A History of Violence, Ed Harris (who also directs, produces and co-scripts) and Viggo Mortensen stand together as friends and for-hire peacekeepers Cole and Hitch in a character-driven, bullet-hard Western based on Robert B. Parkers novel. As the woman who arrives in town with only a dollar and a keen sense of survival, Renée Zellweger adds feelings--things that can get you killed--to a quest to bring murderer Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) to justice. Blood will spill in the town called Appaloosa.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
67 of 74 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase
The story of Appaloosa is very similar to that of the excellent Warlock. Two mercenary "lawmen" are summoned to a town being terrorized by a local band of cowboys (led by a powerful and particularly ruthless rancher -- in Appaloosa's case, Randall Bragg played by Jeremy Irons). These lawmen are close friends and have worked together for many years, moving from town to town killing bad guys for money. They are called upon when the town's previous sheriff is murdered. They agree to clean up the town, but only if the town agrees to grant them any power they wish to do so.
Here the stories of Warlock and Appaloosa diverge. Warlock makes great use of the idea that fighting outlaws with mercenaries is a morally questionable solution, while Appaloosa features only one scene that ponders the question, even though the setup seems tailor-made for further conflict. Harris' character, Virgil, has been made uncomfortable and embarrassed by a conversation with his romantic interest (played by Renee Zellwegger), so he takes it out on some workers having a drink at the bar. Though drunk, they are doing no harm, and Harris' explosive temper and sense of impunity are first exhibited as he viciously pummels one of them before being restrained by Viggo's character (Everett). One of the town's officials questions this behavior, but beyond that it is never addressed again.
Other story similarities include a confrontation at the jailhouse (though the specifics of the scene were more reminiscent of one in ), a love interest that may lead to the retirement of one of the characters and the dissolution of their partnership, a final shoot-out that ends the partnership and that the title of each movie is simply the name of the town in which the action takes place.
Beyond those the story plays out in a very different fashion. There is no character equivalent in Appaloosa to Richard Widmark's outlaw-turned-lawman, Everett doesn't have any of the shadiness that Anthony Quinn's "Doc Holiday" had, and there is no betrayal among the old friends. The romantic interest also plays out very differently in Appaloosa.
Overall, the story is good, but there did seem to be a few too many Acts. I didn't mind that much, because I enjoyed all the possibly extraneous scenes, but it did feel a little long, a little less tight, even though the movie ran just under two hours. And there was one bone-headed decision that you see coming from a mile away. If you're a smart guy who has been cleaning out towns of bad guys for years now, what's the dumbest thing you can do? Very publicly fall in love with a girl who now lives in the town. I said out loud "liability and leverage" as soon as I saw Virgil go after her.
Other good points: Harris demonstrates a talent for writing (and delivering) comfortable, funny, and natural sounding dialogue. (A friend of mine said the dialogue at the beginning was bad, but I don't remember.) The relationship between Everett and Virgil is great. They effectively demonstrate respect, loyalty and love in subtle believable ways. Renee Zellwegger's character surprises you several times and turns out to be as interesting as the two leads. Irons' character doesn't have much substance to him other than "I'm a jerk," but he does have some good moments of interaction with the Virgil and Everett.
Harris, along with his DP, has a good eye for the scenery. Everything is shot on location, and it looks great. He also shoots within these locales well; I always knew where the characters were in relation to one another (which sounds simplistic, but I'm thinking of the scene on the river with the Indians where Everett rides up to meet them). I appreciated the unique camera work in the scene on the train where Allison is brought out from underneath the bridge.
Of course, I have to comment on the action and perpetrators there-of. This isn't 3:10 to Yuma (2007) or Tombstone, so the gunplay is pretty sparse. But when it happens, it's well-staged, and often unique in consequence. Virgil and Everett rescuing the kidnappers from the Indians, for example, plays out differently than you might expect. Allison has been kidnapped in order to secure Bragg's release, and Virgil and Everett have tracked them to a canyon. Before they can act, they notice a party of Indians about to raid them. They allow this until the Indians start to take Allison. Rather than shooting the Indians, Virgil and Everett shoot the pack-horse that Allison is on, and fire up into the air to scatter the raiding party. Later, Everett offers the group Bragg's horse to make up for the one they shot. Another unique scene is the shoot-out in the Mexican town. It's close-quarters and over in seconds. It also leads to one of the funniest lines in the movie.
Virgil and Everett lie on the ground, wounded but alive.
Everett: That was quick.
Virgil: Yeah, everybody could shoot.
The sound design is excellent, right up there with Open Range in terms of power and realism.
And the guns! Well, The Gun, anyway.
As you may have read, Everett carries a very unique item: an 8-gauge double-barreled shotgun. Until Appaloosa, I didn't even know 8 was a possible gauge. I'd heard of 10-gauges, and only seen one or two at all the gun auctions I've been to. For those unfamiliar with the gauge system, the smaller the number, the larger the bore. 12-gauge is the most popular. My double-barrel is 12. So the 8-gauge that Everett wields is HUGE, and is mentioned specifically about five times in the beginning of the movie. There are only one or two scenes where Everett is without it, too. He lugs that honkin' thing around everywhere he goes. And you only get to see him use it twice! The other guns are all pretty standard, though I noticed Everett's sidearm is a Colt open-top conversion, which is also unique.
I recommend Appaloosa to Western fans and fans of Viggo & Ed.
The Blu-ray edition of this film sports a nice transfer, great sound, and a few decent supplements. Read more ›
Here the stories of Warlock and Appaloosa diverge. Warlock makes great use of the idea that fighting outlaws with mercenaries is a morally questionable solution, while Appaloosa features only one scene that ponders the question, even though the setup seems tailor-made for further conflict. Harris' character, Virgil, has been made uncomfortable and embarrassed by a conversation with his romantic interest (played by Renee Zellwegger), so he takes it out on some workers having a drink at the bar. Though drunk, they are doing no harm, and Harris' explosive temper and sense of impunity are first exhibited as he viciously pummels one of them before being restrained by Viggo's character (Everett). One of the town's officials questions this behavior, but beyond that it is never addressed again.
Other story similarities include a confrontation at the jailhouse (though the specifics of the scene were more reminiscent of one in ), a love interest that may lead to the retirement of one of the characters and the dissolution of their partnership, a final shoot-out that ends the partnership and that the title of each movie is simply the name of the town in which the action takes place.
Beyond those the story plays out in a very different fashion. There is no character equivalent in Appaloosa to Richard Widmark's outlaw-turned-lawman, Everett doesn't have any of the shadiness that Anthony Quinn's "Doc Holiday" had, and there is no betrayal among the old friends. The romantic interest also plays out very differently in Appaloosa.
Overall, the story is good, but there did seem to be a few too many Acts. I didn't mind that much, because I enjoyed all the possibly extraneous scenes, but it did feel a little long, a little less tight, even though the movie ran just under two hours. And there was one bone-headed decision that you see coming from a mile away. If you're a smart guy who has been cleaning out towns of bad guys for years now, what's the dumbest thing you can do? Very publicly fall in love with a girl who now lives in the town. I said out loud "liability and leverage" as soon as I saw Virgil go after her.
Other good points: Harris demonstrates a talent for writing (and delivering) comfortable, funny, and natural sounding dialogue. (A friend of mine said the dialogue at the beginning was bad, but I don't remember.) The relationship between Everett and Virgil is great. They effectively demonstrate respect, loyalty and love in subtle believable ways. Renee Zellwegger's character surprises you several times and turns out to be as interesting as the two leads. Irons' character doesn't have much substance to him other than "I'm a jerk," but he does have some good moments of interaction with the Virgil and Everett.
Harris, along with his DP, has a good eye for the scenery. Everything is shot on location, and it looks great. He also shoots within these locales well; I always knew where the characters were in relation to one another (which sounds simplistic, but I'm thinking of the scene on the river with the Indians where Everett rides up to meet them). I appreciated the unique camera work in the scene on the train where Allison is brought out from underneath the bridge.
Of course, I have to comment on the action and perpetrators there-of. This isn't 3:10 to Yuma (2007) or Tombstone, so the gunplay is pretty sparse. But when it happens, it's well-staged, and often unique in consequence. Virgil and Everett rescuing the kidnappers from the Indians, for example, plays out differently than you might expect. Allison has been kidnapped in order to secure Bragg's release, and Virgil and Everett have tracked them to a canyon. Before they can act, they notice a party of Indians about to raid them. They allow this until the Indians start to take Allison. Rather than shooting the Indians, Virgil and Everett shoot the pack-horse that Allison is on, and fire up into the air to scatter the raiding party. Later, Everett offers the group Bragg's horse to make up for the one they shot. Another unique scene is the shoot-out in the Mexican town. It's close-quarters and over in seconds. It also leads to one of the funniest lines in the movie.
Virgil and Everett lie on the ground, wounded but alive.
Everett: That was quick.
Virgil: Yeah, everybody could shoot.
The sound design is excellent, right up there with Open Range in terms of power and realism.
And the guns! Well, The Gun, anyway.
As you may have read, Everett carries a very unique item: an 8-gauge double-barreled shotgun. Until Appaloosa, I didn't even know 8 was a possible gauge. I'd heard of 10-gauges, and only seen one or two at all the gun auctions I've been to. For those unfamiliar with the gauge system, the smaller the number, the larger the bore. 12-gauge is the most popular. My double-barrel is 12. So the 8-gauge that Everett wields is HUGE, and is mentioned specifically about five times in the beginning of the movie. There are only one or two scenes where Everett is without it, too. He lugs that honkin' thing around everywhere he goes. And you only get to see him use it twice! The other guns are all pretty standard, though I noticed Everett's sidearm is a Colt open-top conversion, which is also unique.
I recommend Appaloosa to Western fans and fans of Viggo & Ed.
The Blu-ray edition of this film sports a nice transfer, great sound, and a few decent supplements. Read more ›
74 of 85 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Appaloosa" combines the best of traditional and modern Westerns. Ed Harris, who directs as well as stars in the film, has created a great combination of the two perpectives in this adaptation of the Robert B. Parker (Spenser For Hire) novel.
Harris plays Virgil Cole, who with his partner Everett Hitch (played by Viggo Mortensen), roams the West as hired guns who come in and tame towns where lawlessness reigns. Such is the case in Appaloosa, which is run by rancher Randall Bragg, who killed the town marshal (an old friend of Cole's) and his two deputies. Cole and Hitch begin the cleanup process straightaway, but everything becomes complicated with the appearance in town of Allison French (played by Renee Zellweger), a young widow who captures the heart of crusty Cole and soon, the hardened lawman moves in on her. But later, she comes on Hitch, setting the stage for issues of life, future, and loyalty to be explored while the lawmen deal with the woman and the wily Bragg, who has a few tricks up his sleeve.
The look, feel, and the tone feels very traditional, but the screenplay and action are more modern in their staging, which means the language is saltier, and the action faster, just as it would be in real life. Harris and Mortensen seem like they have been acting in Westerns their entire career. Zellweger hits the right notes as a woman who does what she has to do to survive.
This is a great film, and one that most Western fans should readily enjoy.
Harris plays Virgil Cole, who with his partner Everett Hitch (played by Viggo Mortensen), roams the West as hired guns who come in and tame towns where lawlessness reigns. Such is the case in Appaloosa, which is run by rancher Randall Bragg, who killed the town marshal (an old friend of Cole's) and his two deputies. Cole and Hitch begin the cleanup process straightaway, but everything becomes complicated with the appearance in town of Allison French (played by Renee Zellweger), a young widow who captures the heart of crusty Cole and soon, the hardened lawman moves in on her. But later, she comes on Hitch, setting the stage for issues of life, future, and loyalty to be explored while the lawmen deal with the woman and the wily Bragg, who has a few tricks up his sleeve.
The look, feel, and the tone feels very traditional, but the screenplay and action are more modern in their staging, which means the language is saltier, and the action faster, just as it would be in real life. Harris and Mortensen seem like they have been acting in Westerns their entire career. Zellweger hits the right notes as a woman who does what she has to do to survive.
This is a great film, and one that most Western fans should readily enjoy.
16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A western for grown-ups.It's not about the guns, horses or bullets. It's about friendship, sex and, ultimately, love.
November 21, 2009
Format:DVD
Be warned right now - this movie review is mostly one giant spoiler. Here's the non-spoiler parts right up front. This is a movie that strives to look authentic. The two main characters have known each other for years and have no need for a lot of dialogue - they know each other well, they know each other's habits and their conversations are spare.
Many reviewers have missed the whole point of the movie. It was not about two buddies/lawmen bringing peace to a town, although that does happen (mostly) and the gun fights are quick, brutal and ugly. The movie is about what happens when such a partnership is disrupted by a woman. Look at the DVD cover art and you can see it symbolically represented - there is Renee Zellweger standing between Mortensen and Harris.
****Spoiler alert****The rest of the review is just full of spoilers******
In this case, the woman is a pathetic, despicable thing. The movie comes from a Robert B. Parker book and his books are full of people (mostly women, but not always) that claim to be in love but really they are psychologically needy and act out sexually in strange, disruptive ways.
There are four main characters in this story: Marshal Virgil Cole, Deputy Everett Hitch, Bragg (a rancher/hotel owner) and Mrs. French, a pathetic woman that leeches onto powerful men out of some deep seeded need that we never quite have explained. Suffice it to say, Mrs. French is a survivor because she uses sex to endear herself to the most powerful man in her immediate area.
Many have misinterpreted (in my opinion, anyway) the "big" fight scene at the end. Here's my take
Hitch kills Bragg, but not to defend the honor of Zelweger character, Mrs. French, because she has none to defend.... Read more ›
Many reviewers have missed the whole point of the movie. It was not about two buddies/lawmen bringing peace to a town, although that does happen (mostly) and the gun fights are quick, brutal and ugly. The movie is about what happens when such a partnership is disrupted by a woman. Look at the DVD cover art and you can see it symbolically represented - there is Renee Zellweger standing between Mortensen and Harris.
****Spoiler alert****The rest of the review is just full of spoilers******
In this case, the woman is a pathetic, despicable thing. The movie comes from a Robert B. Parker book and his books are full of people (mostly women, but not always) that claim to be in love but really they are psychologically needy and act out sexually in strange, disruptive ways.
There are four main characters in this story: Marshal Virgil Cole, Deputy Everett Hitch, Bragg (a rancher/hotel owner) and Mrs. French, a pathetic woman that leeches onto powerful men out of some deep seeded need that we never quite have explained. Suffice it to say, Mrs. French is a survivor because she uses sex to endear herself to the most powerful man in her immediate area.
Many have misinterpreted (in my opinion, anyway) the "big" fight scene at the end. Here's my take
Hitch kills Bragg, but not to defend the honor of Zelweger character, Mrs. French, because she has none to defend.... Read more ›
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ed Harris + Viggio Mortensen = An Old Fashioned Western With A Few Modern Twists!
April 10, 2009
Format:DVD
Freelance law enforcers Virgil Cole, (Ed Harris), and Everett Hitch, (Viggio Mortensen), ride into the New Mexican town of Appaloosa one afternoon in 1882. Close-up shots reveal that neither man moves so much as a muscle on his face as each surveys the near-empty streets. And such stern faces they have!! Obviously, these two are not men to be messed with. Cole, a hardened Civil War vet, with a hair-trigger temper, has been hired by Appaloosa's local leaders to act as marshal until the area is rid of Randall Bragg, (Jeremy Irons), a wealthy rancher. New to the territory, Bragg wants to take over the region's copper mines. He and his sidekicks are a grungy band of murderous thugs. They terrorize the small town's residents, making their own rules and disrupting business as usual, often with a lethal effect. When Apaloosa's former sheriff and two deputies rode out to pay Bragg a "visit," the villain shot and killed all three men. So, Cole and Hitch are hired, and are given power to impose order, by whatever means necessary.
Everett Hitch is the deputy with a capital "D," and the film's narrator. A West Point-trained ex-cavalry officer, he has been working with Cole, traveling and cleaning up the frontier, for many years. I was really drawn to this character of many contrasts. Highly educated, articulate, introspective, and clearly a leader of men, he gave up soldiering because he was tired of fighting in the Indian Wars. Yet, Hitch makes his living through violence - shooting and killing within the limits of the law, except for once. Virgil Cole, on the other hand, is explosive, a self-taught man, who is almost the exact opposite of his partner. The two, however, share a great rapport and are completely at ease with one another.... Read more ›
Everett Hitch is the deputy with a capital "D," and the film's narrator. A West Point-trained ex-cavalry officer, he has been working with Cole, traveling and cleaning up the frontier, for many years. I was really drawn to this character of many contrasts. Highly educated, articulate, introspective, and clearly a leader of men, he gave up soldiering because he was tired of fighting in the Indian Wars. Yet, Hitch makes his living through violence - shooting and killing within the limits of the law, except for once. Virgil Cole, on the other hand, is explosive, a self-taught man, who is almost the exact opposite of his partner. The two, however, share a great rapport and are completely at ease with one another.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Appaloosa
This is a VERY dark movie. Quite violent and probably does portray a side of the raw West that was less than savory. Read more
Published 20 days ago by William A. Averill
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Appaloosa" is excellent!
"Appaloosa" is excellent! This is how the story goes: When two gunmen, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, arrive in Appaloosa they find a small, dusty and lawless town suffering at the... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Kris King
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good movie
Enjoyed it, like Ed Harris, be is good in westerns in my opinion. Its a shootem up movie where the good guys win in the end.
Published 25 days ago by Rix Rat
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure Western Nostalgia
Ed Harris & Viggo Mortensen were fabulous as authentic western lawmen per se. It has a crispness about it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Jon Gutierrez
4.0 out of 5 stars
Appaloosa
I enjoyed this movie. Wish they had choosen another actress. It's not that Miss Zeliwiger is a bad actress, I just think she didn't fit this movie.
Published 1 month ago by Adrian Bailey
4.0 out of 5 stars
good, could have done without the few curse words.
I like westerns, so what can I say? I thought Viggo and Ed both did good jobs of portraying their characters. Can't say it impacted me in any great way.
Published 1 month ago by ellen sherrill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Once upon a time in the West...
A generation ago, 2008's Appaloosa" might have been just another entertaining Western drama. Horse operas are now relatively scarce, and good ones scarcer still. Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. S. Thurlow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best movie based on a book
Put Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons in one picture and it will be good. Add the fact that the novel was written by Robert B Parker it's GREAT! Read more
Published 1 month ago by Antal Adam
1.0 out of 5 stars
Someone call the undertaker, please...
I found this movie was just plain bad, so bad I had to keep watching in horror at the money spent in it's creation. By the midpoint my opinion had sunk to "pathetically bad"... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. Faust
4.0 out of 5 stars
above average, underated movie
I like ed harris,, He has played good guys and bad guys with equal skill...In his film he is hired to clean up a town and he does just that...... Read more
Published 3 months ago by the bear
