The Quick and the Dead (1995)
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The story
In 1881, a gunfighter known as "The Lady" arrives in the Old West town of Redemption, which is ruled by a ruthless outlaw-turned-mayor named John Herod. Herod has announced a fast-draw single-elimination shooting tournament with a large cash prize for the winner. The rules stipulate that any contestant may challenge any other, no challenge can be refused, every contestant must fight once per day, and a fight continues until one contestant either yields or dies. The Lady joins the competition, declaring she is interested only in the prize, while others, including a former gang member turned preacher and a young man seeking his father's approval, enter the fray.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1881, 'The Lady' enters a high-stakes shooting tournament in the town of Redemption, ruled by the outlaw-mayor John Herod. The tournament features a single-elimination format where participants must fight daily until one yields or dies. Among the contestants are Cort, a former gang member who became a preacher, and 'The Kid,' a young man seeking his father's approval. As the tournament progresses, the stakes turn deadly. The Lady eventually learns her true identity as Ellen McKenzie, whose father was murdered by Herod's gang. She is guided by Doc Wallace to seek revenge. During the semi-finals, The Kid is fatally shot by Herod. In the final confrontation, Ellen fakes her death with the help of Cort and Doc, then emerges from a series of explosions to face Herod. She reveals her identity and kills him, ultimately leaving Cort in charge of bringing law and order to the town.
- First release year
- 1995
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Sam Raimi
- Writers
- Simon Moore · writer; Joss Whedon · contributor
- Cast and characters
- Sharon Stone · The Lady; Gene Hackman · John Herod; Russell Crowe · Cort; Leonardo DiCaprio · The Kid
- Genres
- Western; revisionist Western
- Themes
- Revenge; Identity
- Tone and mood
- Campy; Stylized
- Premise and plot tags
- Western; Action; Revenge
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 6.10 · scale: 10 · review count: 53; Metacritic · score: 49 · scale: 100 · review count: 21
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Actress · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The script was originally intended to be a $3–4 million independent film.; The names of the villain and the town were intentional allusions to the Bible.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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