Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
- Awards
- 5 wins total
- Marshall Jack Bell
- (as Bobby Jauregui)
- Chalk
- (as Jim Tarwater)
- Bragg's Third Man
- (as Fred Hice)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaViggo Mortensen committed to this movie during a busy stretch of work. When filming was delayed, he tried to beg off, asking Ed Harris to try to find another actor. Harris interviewed 20 others for the role, but they either declined or weren't right for the part. Mortensen agreed to do it, and according to Harris, "Two days before we started principal photography, Viggo shows up in New Mexico. He's ready to go. He's done research on the period. He's given really great thought to his character. He had detailed ideas about his wardrobe and his props. He was in excellent shape and good spirits, and he subsequently played Everett Hitch to perfection. Viggo Mortensen is a man of his word."
- GoofsThe framing of the house being built appears to modern construction, using modern lumber, not the rough cut lumber of the day. It also appears to be double wall construction, not the single wall type of the era.
- Quotes
Everett Hitch: [narrating] Like my father, I'd been West Point, and I was good at soldiering. But soldiering didn't allow for much expansion of the soul. So after the War Between the States and a year of fighting Indians, I turned in my commission and rode away to see how much I could expand it. First time I met Virgil Cole was when I and my eight-gauge backed him up in a showdown he was having with some drunken mountain men. Virgil asked me right there on the spot if I'd care to partner up with him and his peacekeeping business. Which is why I was with him now, and why I still carry the eight-gauge. We'd been keeping the peace together for the last dozen years or so. And as we looked down on a town called Appaloosa, I had no reason to doubt we'd be doing just that for the foreseeable future.
Everett Hitch: But life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens, and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes.
- Crazy creditsWhile being credited, items relating to positions and roles are displayed. Examples: Producers are listed as money is shown, an antique ink dryer is shown for the editor, production designer shows an antique tin cup and costume designer shows the top of a hat.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Siskel & Ebert: Lakeview Terrace/The Women/Surfer Dude/Towelhead (2008)
- SoundtracksGoodbye, Old Paint
Performed by Renée Zellweger
It's the kind of story that's been done hundreds, if not thousands, of times. But the strength of APPALOOSA lies not in the plotting but the script, which is alive with warmth and humour. Harris plays a borderline maniac with a quick trigger finger, Mortensen his more reasoned companion who favours his brain over his heart. Both actors exude quiet menace and are quite brilliant in the parts.
Unfortunately there's a problem further down the cast list: namely Renee Zellweger as a love interest. I don't understand where Zellweger's popularity comes from, because I think she's awful, and nowhere more so than here. Still, the casting director makes up for it with a couple of meaty roles for veteran actors Jeremy Irons and Lance Henriksen.
Harris wrote the screenplay, produced and directed the film. His love shows in the finely-crafted screenplay and the expert direction, which invests the occasional action scene with flair and life. My only complaint with the story is the ending, which is a little muted. But that's APPALOOSA all over: it's a film about people living life in the West rather than a shoot-em-up flick. I liked it.
- Leofwine_draca
- Jan 13, 2011
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Miền Máu Lửa
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $20,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,211,394
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $248,847
- Sep 21, 2008
- Gross worldwide
- $27,712,362
- Runtime1 hour 55 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1