There are two reasons I say there should have been a sequel: One is that, simply, this was so great, so nearly perfect that it deserved and deserves follow-up.
From largest role to smallest (and I don't mean Linda Hunt), the acting was superlative ... and here I have to pause to say it took several viewings for me to finally admit that, yes, even Kevin Costner, whom I generally and thoroughly dislike, was darn good as a cowboy.
I saw this first in a theater, in Hollywood, with people from the industry, and absolutely LOVED it ... except for Kevin Costner.
I was in awe of the script, of the acting, of the photography, of ... well, of everything ... except Kevin Costner.
Well, I watched it recently on Turner Classic Movies and, reluctantly, decided it was just prejudice, however deserved, and in truth Costner really made a very good cowboy.
There is a little secret here I won't completely divulge: Watch how actors mount their horses, and you'll see if they really know Western riding and, for that matter, if the director knows his business.
One of the actors deserving special praise is Brian Dennehy. As far as I am concerned, he can do no wrong. He is one of the very best actors in the business during the last 20 or 30 years, just an absolutely fabulous talent.
Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but even Jeff Goldblum was great in this role. Oh, I know he's good, but I would have thought, and did think, that a Western setting would find him out of place. Wrong.
Sheb Wooley has a small part and it was great to see him in what turned out to be one of his last roles. He, of course, was right at home.
Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover also looked right at home, as if they had been born making Westerns.
Linda Hunt, another actor who can seemingly do no wrong, was in another movie this same year, 1985, the terribly unfairly ignored "Eleni," and it and "Silverado" both were much better than the movie that carried nearly all the awards, and which I won't name here.
That other film might have deserved the Oscar for its score, but even the score of "Silverado" was first class and would have got my vote if I were allowed to cast a ballot. Bruce Broughton, who has scored mostly for television, looked to be on the way to picking up the mantle of Elmer Bernstein, and I even bought the recorded score -- at retail rates! Which I never do. It is excellent music.
"Silverado" is an almost perfect movie.
Oh, and the second reason there shoulda been a sequel: The last words shouted by the Kevin Costner character. Watch this movie and listen.
From largest role to smallest (and I don't mean Linda Hunt), the acting was superlative ... and here I have to pause to say it took several viewings for me to finally admit that, yes, even Kevin Costner, whom I generally and thoroughly dislike, was darn good as a cowboy.
I saw this first in a theater, in Hollywood, with people from the industry, and absolutely LOVED it ... except for Kevin Costner.
I was in awe of the script, of the acting, of the photography, of ... well, of everything ... except Kevin Costner.
Well, I watched it recently on Turner Classic Movies and, reluctantly, decided it was just prejudice, however deserved, and in truth Costner really made a very good cowboy.
There is a little secret here I won't completely divulge: Watch how actors mount their horses, and you'll see if they really know Western riding and, for that matter, if the director knows his business.
One of the actors deserving special praise is Brian Dennehy. As far as I am concerned, he can do no wrong. He is one of the very best actors in the business during the last 20 or 30 years, just an absolutely fabulous talent.
Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, but even Jeff Goldblum was great in this role. Oh, I know he's good, but I would have thought, and did think, that a Western setting would find him out of place. Wrong.
Sheb Wooley has a small part and it was great to see him in what turned out to be one of his last roles. He, of course, was right at home.
Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, and Danny Glover also looked right at home, as if they had been born making Westerns.
Linda Hunt, another actor who can seemingly do no wrong, was in another movie this same year, 1985, the terribly unfairly ignored "Eleni," and it and "Silverado" both were much better than the movie that carried nearly all the awards, and which I won't name here.
That other film might have deserved the Oscar for its score, but even the score of "Silverado" was first class and would have got my vote if I were allowed to cast a ballot. Bruce Broughton, who has scored mostly for television, looked to be on the way to picking up the mantle of Elmer Bernstein, and I even bought the recorded score -- at retail rates! Which I never do. It is excellent music.
"Silverado" is an almost perfect movie.
Oh, and the second reason there shoulda been a sequel: The last words shouted by the Kevin Costner character. Watch this movie and listen.