The Quick and the Dead (1995)

Elevator Pitch: A female gunslinger rides into the town of Redemption to take part in gunfighting competition organised by the town overlord John Herod. She has an agenda, but this does not stop her from spending the night with “The Kid” who runs the town’s gunstore and is also to participate in the competition.  She also seems to have her sights set on Cort, a former gunman, now missionary who is being forced by Herod to enter. The townspeople have also hired a gunman to get rid of Herod, but he seems invincible. How will it all end?

Content: There is implied sex and a bit of female nudity. When it is suggested that a girl has been raped, the female gunslinger goes out into the rain and hunts down the rapist. Herod is a brooding presence and the gunfights take place, each one at the chime of the clock on the hour. At one point The Kid takes time to present  number of different types of six gun, effectively to us, the audience. There are flashbacks telling us why “The Lady” has returned to the town.

A View: This outing was dislikes by both the critics and the general public at the time of its release, and lost a lot of money, but apparently it now has a bit of a cult following. There are problems with the presentation, and on thinking about it, it may be because no-one ever misses. The emphasis on the draw, rather than the accuracy of the shot makes the presentation a bit one dimensional. One of the critics called Sharon Stone “sexually inert” which is a bit cruel. All in all, if you enjoy westerns, probably a watch for nothing.

Additional Info: A good thing and a bad thing about Sharon Stone: She is said to have paid Leonardo DiCaprio’s wages herself because the studio did not want him in the film. She is also said to have sacked her stand-in, who was getting more attention from the crew than she was.