The Quick and the Dead

Play trailer

The Quick and the Dead

R

Released Feb 10, 1995

1h 45m

Western

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

55%

Tomatometer

44 Reviews

54%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

A mysterious woman gunslinger, Ellen (Sharon Stone), saunters into the town of Redemption looking for revenge. Her father was killed by the town's sadistic mayor, Herod (Gene Hackman), who is in the midst of organizing a quick-draw tournament. The lady enters, joining a cast of miscreants and outlaws for a brutal competition in which the loser dies. Among the competitors is "The Kid" (Leonardo DiCaprio), an upstart who has his own score to settle with Herod.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

The Quick and the Dead isn't quite the draw that its intriguing premise and pedigree suggest, but fans of nontraditional Westerns should have some rootin' tootin' fun.

Read Critics Reviews

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

A 21-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio nonetheless steals the show as The Kid, a fast-talking show-off hiding a daddy complex. Great fun.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 27, 2025

Full Review

Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

The plot of this low-camp revenge thriller is little more than an excuse to line up one badass cowboy (or girl) opposite another and let the eyeball-to-eyeball fireworks fly.

Rated: C

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Todd McCarthy

Variety

Sam Raimi’s foray into a new genre comes off as silly, cynical and derivative.

Jul 6, 2010

Full Review

Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

A comic-book Western that’s not actually based on a comic book...

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 3, 2025

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Homage/parody to spaghetti Westerns.

Rated: C+

Mar 16, 2025

Full Review

Christopher Lloyd

The Film Yap

Sam Raimi's Western camp -- or is it? -- got a skip 30 years ago because it looked so lightweight and goofy. Your critical companion decided to finally unholster his reservations and take a look.

Rated: 2.5/5

Mar 3, 2025

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jay W

This movie has such a cool premise for a western. Basically, a town sets up a March Madness style bracket of dueling gunfights. It is such a dumb idea; I can't help but love it. This is then executed with a diverse cast of colorful characters that make each showdown memorable. This is helped by an all-time great cast. Hackman, DiCaprio, Crowe, Stone, Henriksen and Keith David are all actors that bring real life to every role they play. Combining the premise with the characters is Sam Rami's signature visual style. This leads to some crazy camera movements and kinetic energy that makes the movie never dull.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/05/25

Full Review

Frans B

Enjoyed it very much. Probably Hackman's finest "badass" role. Great cast, very good cinematography. Enjoyed watching it, a couple of times ...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

Full Review

Anthony J

Stylish but dumb. Oscar winners acting very well and a supporting cast of snarling stereotypes who you know will get knocked off lone by one leaving a very stupid, improbably but stylish ending. Entertaining enough but with those stars and the budget involved, it amounts to little more than a check-your-brains-at-the-door time waster

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

Full Review

Stijn W

The movie has great actors and is good fun but more importantly, Sharon Stone launched the career of Leonardo DiCaprio by paying his salary herself and on top postponed start of shooting to get Russel Crowe on board and had a big influence on his career as well. So this movie is just Iconic.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/06/25

Full Review

Dylan G

Enjoyable play on a Western! The premise of a week-long competition of quickdraw duels is great, and Gene Hackman, always fantastic, plays a terrific villain. Raimi does a lot of interesting, nontraditional shots and effects with the shooting (including some wildly long dolly zooms, which is pretty fun). A very young DiCaprio and a young Russel Crowe are pretty awesome characters, too, and Keith David's performance as an itinerant duelist is terrific.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/25

Full Review

Kevin F

Underrated classic; but not a by the numbers drama so the critics, as usual disliked it. Which, quite simply, tells you who really doesn’t have a grip on film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/25

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Sam Raimi

Director

Sharon Stone

The Lady

Gene Hackman

John Herod

Russell Crowe

Cort

Leonardo DiCaprio

The Kid

Tobin Bell

Dog Kelly

Young Guns

43%

76%

Young Guns

Watchlist

Tombstone

75%

93%

Tombstone

Watchlist

The Big Hit

41%

57%

The Big Hit

Watchlist

Toy Soldiers

41%

66%

Toy Soldiers

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

A mysterious woman gunslinger, Ellen (Sharon Stone), saunters into the town of Redemption looking for revenge. Her father was killed by the town's sadistic mayor, Herod (Gene Hackman), who is in the midst of organizing a quick-draw tournament. The lady enters, joining a cast of miscreants and outlaws for a brutal competition in which the loser dies. Among the competitors is "The Kid" (Leonardo DiCaprio), an upstart who has his own score to settle with Herod.

Director: Sam Raimi
Producer: Allen Shapiro, Patrick Markey, Joshua Donen
Screenwriter: Simon Moore
Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Columbia Tristar
Production Co: TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Western, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 10, 1995, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 9, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.3M
Runtime: 1h 45m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now