Silverado: Lawrence Kasdan

Has anyone noticed that Westerns are almost never any fun anymore?  The few Westerns that have been released in the past 20 or so years have almost all been bleak, Revisionist affairs.  People have forgotten how much fun the Old West used to be.  Yes, the Old West is a superficial myth.  But as John Ford once said, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."  Silverado is a film that not only embraces the legend, but becomes a part of it.  It is a classic story of good vs. evil out on the prairie.  Ethan McKendrick is a rancher who murders local landowners so his cattle can graze in an open pasture.  He keeps the local town of Silverado wrapped around his finger by keeping Sheriff Cobb on his payroll.  But he is challenged by four men from vastly different backgrounds who band together to fight his tyranny.  This is a film full of exciting shoot-outs and action.  Notice that I didn't say that it was full of violence.  Violence and action are two very different things.  But the real star is Bruce Broughton's Academy Award nominated original score.  Reminiscent of the old Western anthems from the days of The Magnificent Seven and The Searchers, it is triumphant and awe-inspiring.  Yes, this film is cliche in several parts.  But Silverado isn't reliant on them.  When they use a cliche, it is out of love and admiration, not out of necessity.  Westerns like Silverado may not be popular anymore, but it proves that they will never go out of style.

8/10