The Quick and the Dead 4K review by Bobby Blakey
I love a good western, but these days we just don’t get as many as we used to, but hankfully some of the more recent ones have been really great. Before director Sam Raimi brought Spider-Man to the big screen for the first time he took on his own western with The Quick and the Dead starring Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Tobin Bell, Lance Henriksen, Keith David, and Gary Sinise. Now Sony is rereleasing the film on 4K Ultra for the first time.
The Quick and the Dead follows Ellen, an unknown female gunslinger who rides into a small, dingy and depressing prairie town with a secret as to her reason for showing up. Shortly after her arrival, a local preacher, Cort, is thrown through the saloon doors while townfolk are signing up for a gun competition. The pot is a huge sum of money and the only rule: that you follow the rules of the man that set up the contest, Herod. Herod is also the owner, leader, and "ruler" of the town. Seems he's arranged this little gun-show-off so that the preacher (who use to be an outlaw and rode with Herod) will have to fight again. Cort refuses to ever use a gun to kill again and Herod, acknowledging Cort as one of the best, is determined to alter this line of thinking even if it gets someone killed. It’s been years since I revisited this film and forgot how much I really dig it.
Part of the charm to this western is the simplicity of the story while still having a lot of layers for the varying characters. This is such a great cast who all do a great job at creating interesting characters that you want to see in action. While I enjoy them all for me it was Lance Henricksen’s Ace Hanlon that shined the most, but sadly didn’t get near enough screen time in my opinion. Even at a young age you could see DiCaprio was going to be a massive star as he brings a great swag to his character in every scene. The triple threat of Stone, Crowe and Hackman together pull you in with every interaction right until the very end.
Of course this great cast is a reason to watch the film, but the ongoing gun fights are what make it what it really is. Raimi took the aspect that fans loved the most in the genre and slapped it front and center. There are some great and memorable gunfights that are made all the better with some creative cinematography. This new release not only includes the film in beautiful 4K Ultra, but also 7 never before seen deleted scenes and the trailer. Strap on your six shooter and grab your copy of The Quick and the Dead 4K Ultra HD available now from Sony Home Entertainment.