Silverado (1985)

Forty years ago after half a decade of undeniable success (The Big Chill, Body Heat, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark) four-time Oscar-nominated writer/directed Lawrence Kasdan cashed in that blank check to make his dream project....and old-fashioned Western.  And to do so, he assembled an All-Star cast lead by Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Kevin Costner, and Scott Glenn for this sprawling tale of corrupt sheriff's, reluctant heroes, land disputes, family vendettas, benevolent bar-matrons, small towns under siege,  dangerous posses, and of course lots of shootouts. :) Sadly it got lost in the shuffle of a summer dominated by the likes of Back to the Future and Rambo but forty years later, this remains one of THE premiuer modern westerns.  Also co-starring Brian Dennehy, Jeff Goldblum, Rosanna Arquette, and Linda Hunt AND featuring a rip-roaring score from Bruce Broughton (Tombstone), it's time to saddle up and head on out to.....SILVERADO!!!!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon

Editor: Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

SILVERADO - 1985

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan

Starring Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, Kevin Costner, Brian Dennehy, Rosanna Arquette, Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, Ray Baker, Lynn Whitfield, Joe Seneca, Jeff Fahey, Brad Leland, Marvin McIntyre, Bill Thurman, Autry Ward, James Gammon, Richard Jenkins, and John Cleese

Genre: Western (Audio clip)

Wow I don't know which modern Western has a more STACKED cast....this or Tombstone? 🤔 Kevjn's - Kline AND Costner, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn, the late great Brian Dennehy, Jeff Goldblum, John Cleese, Linda Hunt, Lynn Whitfield, Rosanna Arquette and a slew of "that guys" from the '80's! This cast is SO overstuffed that there's even a brief stint as a corrupt dealer by a barely recognizable future Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins in his on-screen debut....WITH hair no less. 😮

Costner is a high-energy kick as Jake, the actor was 30 at the time playing it like he's 17....as is Dennehy pretty much playing an Old West version of Sheriff Teasle. And Kline is kinda slightly miscast (second Kasdan joint in a row after The Big Chill where he's drifting in and out of a Southern accent) but is fine overall as the default protagonist, Paden. Though to me, the REAL stars are Glover as Mal and Glenn as Emmett (of course) - both were just BORN to be in Westerns, have the most on-screen charisma, and look great on a horse and/or sporting a Henry rifle! 

The overall plot? Well nothing we haven't seen before or since within this genre: land rights disputes, corrupt sheriff's, reluctant heroes, benevolent bar-matrons, small towns under siege, sleazy pimps (Goldblum of course), loud posses, and of course lots of shootouts. ;) It might be a BIT overstuffed with characters - there's apparently a land baron ABOVE Dennehy's memorable Cobb who's really pulling the strings though he hardly registers as a villain. And it also clocks in at around 130 minutes but it's always entertaining. 

What's crazy is that more time has now passed (forty years) since this film's release than the amount of time which had passed in '85 from even the OLDEST classic Westerns (Stagecoach in '39) which this was clearly inspired by. 🤫 So it's basically a throwback of a throwback at this point. Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan likely wouldn't have had it any other way....as this does work well as a generally breezy old-school Western. It's also definitely his most actiony movie which he does a great job with and it might also be among his best-LOOKING thanks to no shortage of gorgeous vistas well-shot by the late great DP John Baileywho had also done exemplary work 0on some other notable films from this era including American Giggolo and In the Line of Fire. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Now the real secret weapon weapon for how this movie works SO well just might be composer Bruce Broughton – LA born and bred – who truly delivers a genuinely rousing orchestral score filled with wonder and bombast....and wouldn’t you know it, he ALSO composed the score for likely my OTHER favorite western from this era, previous episode Tombstone which would come out about eight years later. That was a good score too but probably somewhat darker. (Audio clip) 

Where the main theme for THIS movie just kills – we first hear it during the FIRST time our main four main protagonists – Emmett, Mal, Paden, and Jake – have all cleared out of Turley and are finally riding TOGETHER, awe-inspiring shots of Western vistas to boot.  This remains one of the most hummable themes from this era. (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Oh yeah did I forget to mention that this was film was a pretty big disappointment at the box office when it first came out forty years ago this month?  Unfortunately it opened at #7 and even with solid WOM AND reviews it just never quite gained any real traction – the movie ended up grossing around $32 million on a $25 million budget.  I don’t quite remember the marketing campaign but I would gather that Columbia just never quite figured out how to promote amidst a marketplace filled with more R-rated action along the lines of Rambo: First Blood Part II OR the fantastical elements of Back to the Future….which happened to be the dominant film at that time.  Honestly since their ‘50’s and ‘60’s hey day in cinema AND on TV, releasing Westerns has always been tricky.  Outside of a few years later when we had a mini-boom of Westerns in movies thanks to the success of Oscar-winning films like Unforgiven and Dances With Wolves AND the breakout success of previous episode Tombstone….audience response to Westerns have just been a mixed back.  And this EXCELLENT old-fashioned Western just fell victim to that…..it’s a shame because I would have welcomed MORE adventures with this crew. (Audio clip) 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

So many standout sequences but probably my personal favorite would be about 40 minutes in when our four main protagonists embark on what you could refer to as their FIRST mission.  Funnily enough the scene cited for the best needledrop leads RIGHT into this - they just escaped Turley, riding through the country and….suddenly they come upon a wagon train of settlers who were just robbed by a posse of thieves… (Audio clip) 

So our gang decides to help them – they find this band of robbers settled within hidden ravine and these robbers are lead by Dawson played by the late, great James Gammon.  Gammon was one of THE great scene-stealers from this particular era, most notably as the Manager Lou Brown in previous episode Major League.  Always a delight to see this guy….and his interaction with Glenn’s Emmit is pretty fun. (Audio clip) 

Of course this is all a clever ruse by the good guys to get that money box back….it involves some goofy improv on Emmett’s part, some VERY good sharp-shooting on Mal’s part….and OFF they go with the money box after freeing the horses of the bad guys.  Just a fun sequence which almost represents a mini-heist and genuine showcase for Scott Glenn who gets to show off his lighter side….ESPECIALLY with one key moment where he gives off an funny exasperated expression when one of Mal’s shots gets a BIT too close…. (Audio clip) 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

It’s pretty obvious isn’t it?  After the surprise success of both Body Heat AND The Big Chill…..PLUS having written the screenplays earlier in the decade for both previous episodes Empire Strikes Back AND Raiders of the Lost Ark, Kasdan was considered one of the new golden boys….really not THAT far off in stature from other up-and-coming filmmakers who had risen within the orbit of Steven Spielberg….like Robert Zemeckis for instance who coincidentally directed Back to the Future.  So Kasdan was given carte-blanche for his next project by this point….and HIS choice for a “Blank Check” project was to deliver THE ultimate Old-Time EPIC Western that he had always yearned to see on screen.  And not only was he able to enlist an incredible cast to join him on this journey but he also crafted an EXCELLENTLY structured and witty script with this brother Mark for them to enact and even beyond that, helmed a TRUE ensemble picture which makes great use out of most of its ensemble.  For delivering what I believe remains his BEST film overall as a director – though Body Heat comes close – Lawrence Kasdan is the MVP. (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5 

Happy 40th Anniversary to a just an endlessly rewatchable gem and one of the best Westerns to ever hit the big screen!

Streaming on Prime Video & philo

And that ends another RIP-ROARING review!