Reviving the classic Western with a young cast or a brilliant script is one of the great Hollywood traditions. Westerns were being revived and revised even before they were dead the first go-round, with directors including John Ford challenging the genre’s original retrograde treatment of American Indians, women and other icons.
Robert Altman brought along “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” at the beginning of the 1970s; Clint Eastwood brought the gift of “Unforgiven” in the 1990s.
One of the 1980s attempts was the exuberant “Silverado,” thrown together with stylish energy by Lawrence Kasdan midway through the Reagan era. Written and directed by Kasdan, the sprawling tale drew on the budding star power of Kevin Costner, Kevin Kline, Danny Glover and Scott Glenn. The baddies included a surprisingly effective John Cleese as a sheriff much smarter, meaner and slicker than his townspeople, and Brian Dennehy as a big bear hug of a jerk.
Western plots don’t matter much, do they? Strangers ride into town, and soon the shooting starts. In this case, Kasdan takes his sweet time telling the back stories of his heroes and binding them together on a quest. Seems there are some innocent settlers, embodied by the button-cute Rosanna Arquette, trying to reach the settlement of Silverado to start a new life.
Local ranchers want open range, not docile farmland. They abuse the Silveradans mercilessly until our heroes reach for their own guns.
You know the farmers vs. ranchers tune — if you’d rather do this with your family in song, then reach for “Oklahoma!” and let Gordon MacRae croon “Surrey With the Fringe on Top.” But get back to “Silverado” eventually, for it’s a two-night family romp through the West old and new.
Silverado
Rated: PG-13, for bloodless gunfights and a few S-words; very tame by today’s gore standards.
Best suited for: Two or three nights of episodic viewing (2 hours, 13 minutes!) with teenagers and any Western fans.
