VHS : Silverado [1985]

Rating: - Recycled Western
To be fair, I must admit - I'm not a great fan of Westerns - endless rounds of grudges being taken, then scores settled with endless supplies of ammunition as literally dozens of people are cheaply slaughtered. There's also chasing around on horses that seem to be at full gallop sometimes for days. If you do happen to like all these things and it's why you watch Westerns, they are all here in Silverado. Such an evocative name, but it's just another generic small Western town you've seen a thousand times before.

The film takes has all the bits you'll find in other cowboy-epics. There are lots of small-scale plot-lines but the overall story just isn't really there - various cowpokes fall out, shoot each other to bits over and over, then the film finally decides it's had enough (rather late in the day at over two hours), sufficient bad guys are dead and the so-called good guys go their separate ways.

Kline, Costner and, especially, Glenn are watchable characters, Glover and Dennehy are alright in a 2-D sort of way, why Jeff Goldblum is involved at all is a mystery and the entire female side of the cast seem to have no impact on proceedings (except possibly Linda Hunt's improbable Stella.) When it's all over you may wonder what if anything it was all about. The only surprise element is the out-and-out Englishman sheriff played by John Cleese, suddenly different and fascinating, and dropped (by his own discretion in law-enforcement rather than by a bullet) far too soon, in a genre-cliché film that at times is as dragging and predictable as an evening round a camp-fire.

This is why they don't make them like this any more - it's all been done before.

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Rating: - It lacks the spaghetti style,charm and music
A good western, and yet. For one it is slightly too slow at times. That makes the film a little bit lengthy and that is not good in a western that must have a constant rhythm and when it slows down it is to create suspense in a situation that requires it. Here we have slow scenes that are not in anyway suspenseful. The second reason is that this film has little originality. It is a clear assemblage or patchwork of many references and borrowings from all the previous westerns ever made. And it is very difficult to invent anything in 1985 after also the Morricone and Clint Eastwood films, not to speak of the black and white TV series mile Dead or Alive. It is entertaining because of the way things are assembled and that is nearly all. Two elements create some perspective. First the presence of black settlers that reveal the strong racist trend in the West. Then the character of Stella, a midget saloon manageress. But apart from these two elements the rest is pretty standard. But I must admit the setting, the scenery is particularly beautiful. Some of the mountain and desert scenes are in gorgeous natural surroundings. Then the theme of the rotten sheriff (two in the film mind you, one rotten by authority and the other rotten by the local rancher) and the theme of the rancher who decides to push away, and kill if necessary, the farmers are very ordinary and common place, and once again nothing new is really added to the theme. All these borrowing, even in 1985, make the film systematically anaphoric and that is a shortcoming. Even the street duel is banal: check in Back to the Future III, the "character" of Clint Eastwood makes that anaphoric reference a lot more creative. Not here.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

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Rating: - Good fun, but a little wobbly under the weight of the story
The all-star cast doesn't prevent the storyline from getting in the way at times - I watched this with my partner and we both agreed that there were too many characters with too many small plotlines all tangled together making it a bit confusing to remember who was who and what their motivation for their actions were. This movie certainly could have benefited from more focus. All that said, we did enjoy it, the director obviously is a big fan of the western genre as he recreated the feel and style very well.

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Rating: - A Rip-Roaring comedy Western For all Fans
Starring Kevin Klin, Scott Glenn and Kevin Costner this is charming tale is a must for all western fans. Directed by Kevin Reynolds this homage to the classic genre is both thrilling and funny. Watch out for appearnaces from such stars as John Cleese and Jeff Goldblumm in this charming, action packed comedy western.