Silverado (1985)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan (written by) &
Mark Kasdan (written by)

Release Date:

10 July 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Western

Tagline:

Get ready for the ride of your life.

Plot:

A misfit bunch of friends come together to right the injustices which exist in a small town.

Plot Keywords:

Small Town | Famous Score | Cavalry | Horse | Long Ride

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Kevin Kline	...	Paden
Scott Glenn	...	Emmett
Kevin Costner	...	Jake
Danny Glover	...	Malachi 'Mal' Johnson
Marvin J. McIntyre	...	Clerk at cavalry outpost
Sheb Wooley	...	Cavalry Sergeant
Jon Kasdan	...	Boy at Outpost
John Cleese	...	Sheriff John T. Langston
Todd Allen	...	Turley Deputy Kern
Kenny Call	...	Turley Deputy Block
Bill Thurman	...	Carter
Meg Kasdan	...	Barmaid at Sang's Saloon
Dick Durock	...	Turley Bar Fighter
Gene Hartline	...	Turley Bar Fighter
Autry Ward	...	Hat Thief

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:12 | UK:PG | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In the scene where Augie tries to jump on Kevin Costner's character Jake's horse and falls to the ground, the horse is wearing Jake's hat. This was Costner's idea just before the cameras rolled to keep with his character's goofy nature. Kasdan loved the idea and it stayed in the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After saving the wagon trains money from the gang in the canyon, Emmet, Paden and Mal are sitting on horseback talking as the wagon train moves from right to left behind them. One wagon can be seen with the wagon tongue clearly broken and being dragged behind the lead team. The only way the team is attached to the wagon is by the reins in the drivers hands.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Emmett saves Paden's life with a sip of water from his canteen after discovering him abandoned and baking in the desert]
Paden: Pleased to meet you.

Movie Connections:

References Go West (1925)

Cult Classic Tribute to Western Clichés...

By 1985, the movie 'western' was a genre long dormant, with film critics quick to point out that audiences had become far too 'sophisticated' for old-fashioned "shoot-'em-ups". Two film makers decided to test the waters, however; Clint Eastwood, reviving an older version of his "Man with No Name", directed and starred in his SHANE homage, PALE RIDER; and Lawrence Kasdan, fresh from the huge success of THE BIG CHILL, fulfilled his life-long dream to make a western, with SILVERADO. Neither film was successful at the box office, and pundits predicted they would soon be forgotten...but a new force in the movie industry was emerging, video rentals, and SILVERADO, with it's spectacular action sequences, charismatic heroes, and sweeping, unforgettable music score (by Bruce Broughton), was an unexpected and overwhelming hit, drawing Hollywood's attention to the new market, and lifting the film to the near-classic cult status it enjoys today.

While PALE RIDER would focus on Clint Eastwood's continuing demythologizing of the West (which would culminate in 1992's UNFORGIVEN), SILVERADO embraces all the 'classic' Western clichés, serving them up with such exuberance that they seem 'fresh'. The story of four likable 'shootists' of nearly superhuman skills, bonding, and ultimately taking on a corrupt sheriff and his brutal gang of deputies in the town of Silverado, trots out one traditional element after another, from the classic 'bushwhack' (with a John Ford 'Doorway Framing' homage shot) to the 'pretty widow' in a wagon train; from the 'saloonkeeper with a heart of gold' to the 'crooked gambler with a concealed weapon'...and even climaxes with that most traditional of finales, as two ex-partners face off on a dusty street in an old-fashioned Western shootout.

The four leads couldn't have been cast more perfectly; Scott Glenn channels Gary Cooper as a laconic cowboy fresh from an undeserved 5-year prison stretch; Kevin Kline exudes his signature charm as an ex-gang member whose life changed because of "a dog"; Danny Glover is warm and reassuring as a man moving west from Chicago to help his family, armed with a legendary Henry rifle; and, best of all, young Kevin Costner, in his breakout performance, is irresistible, wild and acrobatic, as Glenn's ever-optimistic, carefree younger brother, a part Kasdan wrote specifically for the actor, after his scenes were cut from THE BIG CHILL.

The supporting cast is equally superb, with standout performances by giant Brian Dennehy, John Cleese (as a sheriff who knows 'where' his jurisdiction ends), Jeff Goldblum, Linda Hunt, James Gammon ("You led a posse to my best hide-out??"), Jeff Fahey, and, in a wonderful if brief role, breathtaking Rosanna Arquette, as the widow courted by both Kline and Glenn. With a cast THIS good, it is remarkable that the film had to 'go to video' to achieve success!

The final line of SILVERADO, "We'll be back!", shouted by Costner as he and Glenn ride 'into the sunset', has had countless fans wishing that a follow-up movie had been made (a 1999 nationwide video poll chose SILVERADO as the film "Most Deserving of a Sequel"), but time has, sadly, eliminated that possibility. The film that 'failed' when released, in a genre that 'experts' considered passé, is, after nearly 20 years, still winning new fans.

As Kevin Kline and Linda Hunt say, as a toast: "Here's to the good stuff...May it last a long time!"