In a frontier town called Redemption – ruled over by a rich, powerful and sadistic outlaw boss named John Herod (Gene Hackman, expanding on his genial villain role from Unforgiven) – death is a way of life.
It’s a safe haven for bandits on the lam, run by killers for killers.
Herod informs the citizens of his town, “If you live to see the dawn, it’s because I allow it”.
When a quick-draw duelling tournament is advertised in the town, female gunfighter Ellen (Sharon Stone, who also co-produced the film) – known to the townspeople only as “the lady” – arrives looking to compete.
She’s not there to win the $120,000 purse, but to avenge her father’s death by killing the man who ruined her life – John Herod.
Herod forces a local preacher named Cort (Russell Crowe in his first American feature film) – who used to be an outlaw but has sworn never to touch a gun again – to take part in the contest.
Cort is manacled between gunfights and then handed a gun with only one bullet so he won’t escape.
Leonardo DiCaprio (who looks about 13) co-stars as Herod’s fresh-faced, cocky son, known as “Kid”.
A sex scene between Ellen and Cort was filmed, but Sharon Stone was not convinced it was a necessary part of the story and had it cut from the American release (though it still appeared in the international version). “I’d rather have more sex at home and keep my clothes on at work,” she said. “I guess that means I’m maturing.”
The movie was written by English screenwriter Simon Moore, who knew the West only from movies.
It is obvious he was stealing from everywhere with relish, and director Sam Raimi borrowed many of his visuals from the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns.
Ellen (The Lady)
Sharon Stone John Herod
Gene Hackman Cort
Russell Crowe Kid (Fee Herod)
Leonardo DiCaprio Dog Kelly
Tobin Bell Doc Wallace
Roberts Blossom Eugene Dred
Kevin Conway Sgt. Clay Cantrell
Keith David Ace Hanlon
Lance Henriksen Horace the Bartender
Pat Hingle Marshall
Gary Sinise Scars
Mark Boone Junior Katie
Olivia Burnette Mattie Silk
Fay Masterson Ratsy
Raynor Scheine Charlie Moonlight
Woody Strode Blind Boy
Jerry Swindall Gold Teeth Man
Scott Spiegel Spotted Horse
Jonothon Gill Gutzon
Sven-Ole Thorsen Flat Nose Foy
Lennie Loftin Foy’s Boy
Matthew Gold Carlos Montoya
Arturo Gastelum Simp Dixon
David Cornell Virgil Sparks
Josef Rainer Young Ellen
Stacey Ramsower Zeb
Tony Boggs
When a quick-draw duelling tournament is advertised in the town, female gunfighter Ellen (Sharon Stone, who also co-produced the film) – known to the townspeople only as “the lady” – arrives looking to compete.
The movie was written by English screenwriter Simon Moore, who knew the West only from movies.
