Groundswell Productions
New Line Cinema
Not part of a collection.
Appaloosa
Feelings get you killed.
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.
- Original title
- Appaloosa
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $20,000,000
- Revenue
- $20,211,394
John Chard
Feb 9, 2017 · via TMDB
We can't have our law officers beatin' people half to death for no reason. Appaloosa is based on the 2005 novel of the same name written by Robert B. Parker. It's directed by Ed Harris, who also co-writes the story with Robert Knott. Harris also stars alongside Viggo Mortensen, Renée Zellweger, Jeremy Irons & Lance Henriksen. Music is by Jeff Beal and Dean Semler provides cinematography on location in Albuquerque, Austin and Santa Fe. Appaloosa is in the grip of bully boy rancher Randall Bragg (Irons), who finally oversteps the mark when the latest Marshall and his deputies are killed in cold blood. The townsfolk decide enough is enough and hire no nonsense travelling lawmen Virgil Cole (Harris) and his sidekick Everett Hitch (Mortensen) to protect and serve the town. Ruling with a rod of iron, Cole & Hitch start to bring order to Appaloosa, but the arrival in town of pretty Allie French (Zellweger) causes quite a stir between the two men. Bad timing too since the guys are trying to get Bragg to his rightful execution. In the modern era the Western has been the hardest genre for film makers to tackle. You can probably count on one hand the number of great or agreeable ones that have surfaced post Costner and Eastwood's efforts of 1990 and 1992 respectively. Enter Ed Harris, who undaunted by the long odds of getting a Western to be successful; and suffering worrying overtures from his backers at New Line Cinema, got Appaloosa made. Well made as it happens. Since the story itself is etched like the Wyatt Earp legend, there's really no fresh perspective on offer here. In fact, anyone familiar with Edward Dmytryk's excellent Warlock from 1959 will feel some narrative déjà vu. But Appaloosa does have strong performances and lush landscapes to see it successfully home. Slotting in a good helping of action, romance and humour also goes some way to making Harris' movie a worthy modern day Oater. True, the cliche's are many, but Harris wasn't after revisionism, he wanted (and got) old fashioned Oater values. A film that follows those old beloved B movie Western conventions, but one that still retains a topical criminal thread. The best reward in the film comes from spending time with Harris & Mortensen. Their characters are nicely drawn and not over cooked by the script. Cole & Hitch are devoted to each other, lots of straight love and respect exists between the two men. Their bond is believably brought to life by Harris & Mortensen, who formed a friendship when making A History Of Violence for David Cronenberg in 2005. Zellweger and Irons too are not without high merit value. She (stepping in when Diane Lane walked over delays), is pleasing and captivates in what is the critical glue role. While he is dandy dastardly supreme, a well spoken villain of much intelligence and crafty as a cat. Appaloosa is a subtle film, both in story and as a technical production. Beal's score is unobtrusive, while Semler's photography manages to deliver that old fashioned feel that Harris was after (the low lighting for the interiors is particularly on the money) . Harris' direction is smooth and unhurried in pace, with the odd inspired bit thrown in for good measure (check out the up-tilt camera work during a train on a bridge sequence). While the production design can't be faulted. All that and you got the likes of Henriksen and Timothy Spall in the support cast too. A lovely film that is as tight as the friendship at its core. 7.5/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Viggo Mortensen
Everett Hitch
Ed Harris
Virgil Cole
Renée Zellweger
Allie
Jeremy Irons
Randall Bragg
Timothy Spall
Phil Olson
Ariadna Gil
Katie
James Gammon
Earl May
Cerris Morgan-Moyer
Tilda
Tom Bower
Abner Raines
Timothy V. Murphy
Vince
Luce Rains
Dean
Boyd Kestner
Bronc
Freddie Hice
Bragg's Third Man
Tim Carroll
Wagon Driver
Neil Summers
Bragg's Fourth Man
Mike Watson
Night Rider
Rex Linn
Clyde Stringer
Lance Henriksen
Ring Shelton
Adam Nelson
Mackie Shelton
Rachel de la Torre
Citizen of Appaloosa
Luce Rains
—
Waldemar Kalinowski
Production Design
Ralph Watson
Camera Operator
Dean Semler
Director of Photography
Ralph Watson
Steadicam Operator
Rachel de la Torre
Stand In
Mark De Alessandro
Stunts
Ed Harris
Director
Janice Williams
Associate Producer
Michael London
Executive Producer
Toby Emmerich
Executive Producer
Ed Harris
Producer
Ginger Sledge
Producer
Robert Knott
Producer
Ginger Sledge
Unit Production Manager
Kira Roessler
Dialogue Editor
Jeff Beal
Original Music Composer
John Pritchett
Sound Mixer
Aaron Glascock
Supervising Sound Editor
Ed Harris
Screenplay
Robert Knott
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