Product Details

• Actors: Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobin Bell
• Directors: Sam Raimi
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: January 30, 1996
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0800139151
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,813 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #3 in	Video > Cult Movies > Westerns
  #34 in	Video > Westerns > Action & Adventure

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video
Director Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) tries gamely to recapture the exotic mysteries of spaghetti Westerns in this stylish but empty film, which stars Sharon Stone as a stranger who comes to the town of Redemption in time for an annual shooting contest. Her real motivations for being there are the stuff that might have found their way into a film by Sergio Leone--in fact, much of this film is a pastiche of Leone's greatest hits, including A Fistful of Dollars and Once upon a Time in America--but one can't quite believe Stone in the role. Gene Hackman gives a predictably solid performance as the town tyrant, and Leonardo DiCaprio is good as a lucky young gunslinger who gets to kiss the heroine. But not even the cast can help this failed project. Raimi brings a lot of razzle-dazzle to his camera work, but it doesn't make the film any more substantial. --Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker
A flashy, vacuous, and enjoyable helping of Old West hokum written by Simon Moore and directed by Sam Raimi. In the dead-end town of Redemption, nobody does anything much except pick fights and pay taxes to the local boss, a nasty piece of work named Herod (Gene Hackman). In rides the taciturn challenger, played by Sharon Stone. As in "The Specialist,'' she has a childhood horror to erase, which seems unnecessary-why do screenwriters think that Stone needs an excuse to make life hell for men? The film has no real suspense (it's pretty obvious who is set to win), but it goes ahead and whips up the nervous tension anyhow. The shock closeups and camera pans-fast as a speeding bullet, that kind of thing-are cheerfully over the top, though it's sad that the most venerable of movie genres has dwindled into a hatful of Sergio Leone rip-offs. With Leonardo DiCaprio, whose grin does a lot for the picture's cocky mood. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Entertainment, April 3, 2000

By	Thomas Kearney (Plainview, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Quick and the Dead (DVD)

I am not Sharon Stone's biggest fan and I did not expect to like this movie when I saw it, but now I find myself watching it every time it is on tv. Gene Hackman is great as the sadistic John Herod, he is even meaner than in Unforgiven. Russell Crowe gives a good performance as Cort, and Crowe is finally getting the attention that he deserves as a serious actor. Sharon Stone's role does not demand all that much of her and she does what is expected of her. Leonardo DiCaprio exudes the appropriate amount of cockiness as the young upstart gunslinger. There are some good minor roles in the film, including Lance Henriksen as Ace and Keith David as Cantrell, the man secretly hired by the oppressed townfolk to take out Herod. The most dramatic moment in the film comes when he faces Herod and the townspeople bend their heads in prayer for salvation only to be disappointed as Cantrell comes to a brutal end. Some of the other reviewers found the camera angles annoying and certain scenes unrealistic. Well, this movie doesn't strive for realism. It is part send off of spaghetti westerns and part live action adult cartoon. If you see the movie in this spirit, you cannot help but like it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Western as Modern Myth, February 6, 2002

By	Matthew S. Schweitzer "zohoe" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Quick and the Dead (DVD)

The Quick and the Dead has long been derided as a Sharon Stone star vehicle that flopped. However, there is much more to this film than meets the eye. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes, Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Sinise, Keith David, and Lance Henricksen, this film is a refreshing change from past takes on the western.

Stone plays a quiet and beautiful gunslinger, come out of the dusty plains to the town of Redemption, seeking revenge for the murder of her sheriff father years ago by the town dictator John Herrod, a dark and malevolent old gunfighter intent on maintaining his stranglehold on the frightened populace by staging a quick draw contest, the better to publically eliminate any opposition to his rule, and to squash any hope of salvation. Drawn into this dark contest are Herrod's former partner turned preacher Cort, a man whose tortured soul still seeks it's own salvation, and who Herrod seeks to pull back to Hell. Herrord's son, The Kid, enrolls in the contest as a way to seek fame and glory, and to prove himself to a aloof and uncaring father. Thrown into the mix are a number of colorful characters come to town to seek their own fortunes and the fireworks ensue. There is strong symbolism throughout this film, shades of death and rebirth, powerful archetypal figures in the charaters of Herrod, the powerful demonic ruler of the underworld, and Cort, the misguided but eventual redeemer and saviour.

This film boasts a strong and talented cast that give some wonderfully enjoyable performances. Sam Raimi does an incredible job once again of producing a stylishly directed tale of loss, redemtion, salvation, and revenge in this telling of the western as mdoern myth.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Raimi and his actors have some serious fun, November 20, 2000

By	Mike Stone (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

In the town of Redemption, the ultimate gunfighter tournament is held, organized annually by the town's fascistic dictator, Herod (Gene Hackman). Every hour on the hour, a duel is fought. Those who win ("The Quick") live to duel again tomorrow, and are another day closer to claiming the ultimate jackpot. Those who lose ("The Dead") end up as corpses, stripped bare by the town's penniless vultures. Among those entered in the contest are Herod himself (the unrelenting defending champion many times over), the Kid (he of questionable birth), Cort (an ex-virtuoso gunfighter who's now a man of the cloth entered in the contest against his will), and most mysteriously, Ellen (who's come to Redemption for redemption, natch). It is a fabulous setup for a movie, providing excellent sustained suspense during the tournament, and enough time between duels to flesh out the relationships between the characters and to try and understand what has gone on in their pasts to bring them to such an unenviable present.

Most of the actors are wonderful here, understanding that beyond the seriousness of the subject matter, the movie is really a comic book come to life, and should be imbued with a sense of fun. Hackman and DiCaprio (the Kid) give the best performances. The former is evil personified, fully relishing his role as the object of everyone's hatred, and knowing that he can crush the town like a bug if he chose to. The latter is brimming with youthful ego and energy, sure of his gunplay but tormented by his misidentity. Russell Crowe is also good as the brooding Cort. He is an actor of such visceral intensity that he could go through an entire film without saying a word, and you'd still be sure that he was a serious badass. Also good, in smaller parts, are Lance Henriksen and Keith David as arrogant gunslingers, and Gary Sinise as Ellen's father in flashback. His scenes are emotional and painful to watch, but quite central to the movie's themes.

Sharon Stone, well, what to say about her. Her overacting renders her bland. I guess the best impression I can give you about her performance is that, even though she is the central character and the above-the-title star, when I think of this movie I always forget that she's even in it. At least she doesn't get in the way of the other actors. That says it all, I suppose.

Anyone who's familiar with Sam Raimi's early work (the 'Evil Dead' films come directly to mind) will recognize his distinctive visual style. It's like Sergio Leone on acid. His camera moves this way and that, in a very kinetic and addictively campy manner. He gives you camera angles and shots that few others would dare to try (the famous bullet's-eye-view shot as it travels through a gunfighter's eye socket comes readily to mind). It's his directing that elevates this movie above the standard spaghetti western rip-off. He makes it great fun.