A Rip Roaring Western With A Lot Of Sub Plots

I like this movie a lot, but I find myself fast-forwarding through parts of it. I like the story and the look of the film. I like westerns and I like the way this movie brings back so many themes and yet keeps them fresh. I sure like the actors. Kevin Kline is one of the most likable and accomplished actors around. Scott Glenn, in my view, is one of the most underrated of actors, and one who for whatever reason never was able to break through into major stardom. Linda Hunt brings so much humanity to the movie, and Brian Dennehy brings so much sly, ruthless aggression. I sure liked those long dustbusters he wore. And Kasdan keeps the action going; there are shootouts at regular intervals, as well as bar fights, ambushes, and high-spirited showdowns. Kevin Costner does a great job as Glenn's younger brother, fast with his pistols and always ready for a good time.

But the movie has so many subplots and side stories for every character except, I think, the kid brother. There's Kline's relationship with Dennehy to think about, then Kline's relationship with Hunt. There's Glenn and his other, homesteading brother and family. There's Glover with his father and then Glover with his sister. Then there's Goldblum with Glover's sister. For me, there are just too many stories. I appreciate that Kasdan wanted to talk about racism in the early west. Except as a vehicle for that subject, I can't see that Glover, his father or his sister bring anything else to the main story line. Perhaps that's enough of a reason. Goldblum seems to me to be an extraneous character, especially without any real need for Glover's sister. And what was John Cleese doing? He's such a recognizable personality that he sort of imbalances the scenes when he appears.

For me, Kasdan came up with a big bag of good stuff, but some of the stuff is better than other stuff. If he'd been a bit less ambitious, or at least willing to edit a bit more, I think he'd have had a more powerful and effective movie. It runs a tad over two hours, but it seems longer to me. Still, it's fun to watch.

The DVD looks just fine

BRILLIANT

I PURCHASED THE GIFT 2 DISC SET THIS MONTH TO ADD TO MY COLECTION OF WESTERN MOVIES. WHAT AN AMAZING MOVIE! THE BRILLIANT CRAFT OF FILM MAKING HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER DEMONSTRATED. THE FILM HAS A VISUAL LUSTRE THAT IS HARD TO DESCRIBE AND THIS IS NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION. I SIMPLY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE COULD RATE THIS MOVIE BADLY AND HAVING NEVER SEEN THE FILM BEFORE, I AM INVIGORATED ABOUT THE ART OF MOVIE MAKING.
THE BONUS STUFF IS GOOD AND THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE MAKING OF SILVERADO IS INSPIRING...JUST BUY IT, IN YEARS TO COME IT WILL BE A TREASURE

JOHN ALLDRED
NEW ZEALAND

Very useless gimicky cardboard box.

Yep, it won't close very good either. Almost a major headache to put the slip cover back on. And trust me you need to put it back on. Bad design there. They are right the scrapebook should have been designed to fit in the case. Which lacks the chapter insert. Since i own the old dvd set I simply stuck that chapter insert in the new set. Disc 2 of this set is absurd. Nothing much new. And the interview with Kevin Costner looks to be in the same room and chair and setting he used for the interview on The new Bodyguard dvd. Now I see why this is $13.99 and not more. Basically a rush job. The only reason to buy it of course though is the Superbit presentation. ;) The running commentary is a bit of a laugh though :) Loved it.


They also seemed to have fixed the closed captioning. The original was just embarassingly wrong.