Following its disappointing box office takings three decades ago, the star-studded WesternThe Quick and the Deadis gaining belated attention on the Netflix streaming charts. Coming fromdirector Sam Raimiand starring Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Sharon Stone, thiscult favoriteunderperformed at the time and only grossed $47 million against its $35 million budget.
As arevisionist Westernabout a female gunfighter joining a deadly dueling competition in the Old West town of Redemption,The Quick and the Deaddelivers a stylish, genre-bending spectacle that wasn’t appreciated in its own time. Withover-the-top early performances from future Hollywood stars, in hindsight, it’s striking just how much talent was involved in this underappreciated Western.
This Sam Raimi Film Has Seen Renewed Success On Streaming
The Quick and the Deadhas earned some reactive attention as it’s now a streaming hit on Netflix, with recent figures revealing its 2.9 million viewers and 5 million hours logged last week. With strong performances, beautiful cinematography, and an impressive score, it’s not surprising that mainstream audiences are at last appreciating the appeal of this underrated Western.
Sharon Stone starred as The Lady, a talented gunfighter on a quest to exact revenge for her father’s death. With the late actor Gene Hackman as the ruthless outlaw-turned-mayor John Herod, she arrives in a frontier town where life is nasty, brutish, and short, and bandits are fast wiping themselves out as they participate in shootouts for cash prizes.
With the same enjoyable sense of fun that can be seen across Raimi’s work,The Quick and the Deadknowingly played up B-movie clichés, and it leaned into the absurdist elements of the Western genre. Russell Crowe played the henchman Cort, while Leonardo DiCaprio showed up as the brash young man who believes Herod is his father.
The Quick and the Deadreceived mixed reviews back in 1995, and Raimi was criticized for the way he mimicked aspects of spaghetti Westerns, particularly Sergio Leone’sDollars Trilogy. However, in retrospect, it’s clear Raimi was juggling many genres at once, and the references and allusions in the film come across more as a touching tribute than outright thievery.
The Quick and the Dead feels incredibly modern for the way it subverted the machismo of Westerns by focusing on a female lead.
As a film that’s bursting with energy,The Quick and the Deadfeels incredibly modern for the way it subverted the machismo of Westerns by focusing on a female lead. Stone gave an exceptional performance, and the rest of the cast list was so impressive that it’s amazing to imagine how Raimi got all these acting legends to come together.
The Quick and the Deadnever really got its due at the time, and it’s only after all these years that the true appeal of the film has revealed itself. As a fun-filled, self-aware exploration of everything great about Westerns, audiences who haven’t seen it should do themselves a favor and check out this underrated Raimi classic.
