Appaloosa (2008)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Ed Harris

Writers (WGA):

Robert Knott (screenplay) &
Ed Harris (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

3 pa¼dziernik 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Western

Tagline:

Feelings get you killed.

Plot:

Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.

Plot Keywords:

Rancher | Marshal | New Mexico | Gun | Small Town

Awards:

2 wins

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 8	4:30 PM	MAX
Wed. Nov. 18	2:30 PM	MAX

Cast

Ed Harris	...	Virgil Cole
Viggo Mortensen	...	Everett Hitch
Renée Zellweger	...	Allison French
Jeremy Irons	...	Randall Bragg
Timothy Spall	...	Phil Olson
Tom Bower	...	Abner Raines
James Gammon	...	Earl May
Ariadna Gil	...	Katie
Benjamin Rosenshein	...	Town Boy
Cerris Morgan-Moyer	...	Tilda
Timothy V. Murphy	...	Vince
Luce Rains	...	Dean
Erik J. Bockemeier	...	Fat Wallis
James Tarwater	...	Chalk (as Jim Tarwater)
Freddie Hice	...	Bragg's Third Man (as Fred Hice)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:15 | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | France:U | USA:R (certificate #44389) | Argentina:Atp | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Greece:K | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Africa:13V | Netherlands:9 | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

A sequel was in talks before the film was even released.

Goofs:

Continuity: Immediately after Virgil and Everett capture Bragg, they are surrounded by Bragg's men. This all happens at sunrise and they would not have had time to get dressed, saddle their horses and surround them that fast.

Quotes:

Randall Bragg: I told you you'd never hang me, Cole.
Virgil Cole: Never ain't here yet.

Movie Connections:

Edited into "De wereld draait door: (#4.162)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Streets Of Laredo

A fascinating Western about two lifelong friends…

There are two tough partners in justice Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) that have been riding together for more than one decade and they understand each other just fine… So they're not initially supposed to talk about their easy, warm, intuitive solidarity… We intuitively catch there's something between them, that special bond, that profound respect, and obviously that sense of esteem, of attention and sympathy and most of all each other's needs…

Ed is particularly fine… It may not be a romantic conception, but he gives his role great vitality… He's melancholy, laconic and assured as the cool, nerveless professional hired gun who becomes the town's peace keeper... His justice is rapid and simple… Follow his law or get locked up; if you deny, you're going to be shot… He's also very faithful, and you see this in his friendship with Everett Hitch…

Virgil trusts Everett completely because Everett is very sincere and truthful with him…

With his formidable shotgun, Everett is a kind of Virgil's straight man, his worshiping right hand and conscience… Mortensen is a sharpshooter… He's never seen on foot, in any scene, without his huge weapon… His heavy rifle has become almost another character in the film… It doesn't matter where, either in his hands or right next to him… And that's in the bar, in the restaurant, in the office, and even in the bedroom…

Renee Zellweger plays the role of Allison French, a mysterious woman who seduces everyone…After Cole and Hitch meet her in a restaurant, they knew that she is a refined widow, that she arrives to the brutal New Mexico town with one dollar in her purse, that she plays piano and likes to be called Allie…

Cole takes a liking to her, and makes a very tough decision to stick with her… Zellweger plays the malicious new-gal with a great sense of sweetness and gaiety… She brings liveliness and refinement to her role…

Another strong character in "Appaloosa" is the miscreant cold-hearted rancher Randall Bragg… The film starts with the killing of the town's last Marshall and his deputies at the hands of the nefarious Bragg played by Jeremy Irons… Bragg is a wealthy man whose ranch henchmen run menacingly and aggressively over the town…

"Appaloosa" is a Western of real depth and sophistication… Every punch seen in the film is like a word of dialog moving the story forward, creating tension and drama…