After The Long Riders and Geronimo: An American Legend, Walter Hill came back to the western genre with Wild Bill, being the director and writer for the project. Having seen the show, Deadwood, and read about the historical figures of Wild Bill and Calamity Jane, this film has been on my radar for quite a while. The film is based on the 1978 stage play Fathers and Sons by Thomas Babe and the 1986 novel Deadwood by Pete Dexter (the novel I own but haven't read). It stars Jeff Bridges as Wild Bill Hickok, Ellen Barkin as Calamity Jane, John Hurt as Charley Prince, Diane Lane as Susannah Moore, Keith Carradine as as William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and David Arquette as Jack McCall, along with other actors in the supporting cast.
The early career of legendary lawman Wild Bill Hickock is telescoped and culminates in his relocation in Deadwood and a reunion with Calamity Jane.
Walter Hill is a special kind of director, an auteur of sorts, yet his movies aren't for everyone. But one thing he's always great at is the camera work, how he uses the camera and the medium shots he often uses, letting the audience see a lot. There's always a lot going on in his shots, from extras to actors, his mise-en-scene is quite great I must add. For the first act I have to admit I really found the editing to be great, I'm pretty sure Walter Hill supervised Freeman A. Davies who edited the film. Lloyd Ahern II served as cinematographer, truly magnificent work and cooperation, something they would continue to do for the mini series Broken Trail. Although I'm praising the film a lot, I think the pacing is too fast as the film never slows down to dig deeper into who James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok were, and with the runtime of solely 98 minutes you just wish it was a little longer. The plot could have been better, as the film has a great first act, then it stumbles before coming to a good final act. Better pacing and removal of the dream sequences would have improved the film I believe. The whole plot with Jack McCall thinking Wild Bill is his father, is by the playwright himself a big lie, so having that in this film was just off, an interesting idea on paper but didn't work at all. It does bring suspension and tension to the film, having McCall serve as a bigger antagonist/villain than he was, McCall was nothing but a coward whom sought nothing but fame to be the man who killed Wild Bill Hickok. I would have liked if the plot focused more on the characters of Deadwood whom Bill surrounded himself with. Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four, criticizing its pacing and plot. He recognized the film's ambition, aiming for "elegy" and "poetry" in its final act, but ultimately described it as flawed, writing, "We can see where it's headed, although it doesn't get there." I think for example the dream sequence could have been removed and something else like more backstory or other important aspects of his life, who Wild Bill was. The voiceover of John Hurt's character, Charley Prince, helps the film tell more of Wild Bill's story but as the saying goes "Show, don't tell". Yet, the voiceover works thanks to the screenplay. John Hurt is absolutely brilliant in the role, many in the film are great, but it's Jeff Bridges and John Hurt who deserves most of the praise. I believe Jeff Bridges nailed the role. I think Jeff Bridges had chemistry with everyone, especially with John Hurt and Ellen Barkin and Keith Carradine (who played Wild Bill Hickok in the tv series Deadwood). Bruce Fretts of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the movie "succeeds as a character study of a man whose idiosyncratic code of justice eventually catches up with him", and complimented Jeff Bridges' acting as vital to the film's success.
Who was James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok? In this film we see him as a lawman, gunman, actor and a western legend. Various friendships get explored like with Martha Jane "Calamity Jane" Cannary, Charley Prince and William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody. There is much information about him but how much is true? I'm sure this take on him is quite correct. The eye sickness is something I completely buy, yet I have no idea if its true of not. Just seem true if you think about it, this western legend comes to Deadwood to almost solely drink and gamble. That's something anyone in that age with his status would get depressed about. I think Walter Hill did the legend justice. Walter Hill does something interesting, showing once again the native americans and americans of other ethnicity like Chinese and African-Americans, everyone is three dimensional and these scenes might not have happened in reality but as dramatic license, works well and adds depth. Walter Hill's Wild Bill has ambition and could have been a great western, it just doesn't get there, it's also unfortunate how the film bombed at the box office. I watched that trailer Walter Hill spoke badly about, it's truly a different movie they marketed. The film aims for elegant and philosophical storytelling, Roger Ebert wrote of how Walter Hill aimed for elegy and poetry, this was a passion project of some kind of Hill's and his personal reflection of the sudden murder of a western legend. This film is absolutely worth your time, but bear in mind, it might not be to your liking. I thought it was a good western though, I hope you do too.
