The year is 1881, and a gunslinger known only as “The Lady” (Sharon Stone) rides into the western town of Redemption, seemingly on a mission and with a purpose. The town is run by a ruthless mayor named Herod (Gene Hackman), who rules out of fear, filling the streets and rooftops with his own gunmen, and forcing local business owners to pay him for “protection”.

Redemption is about to host a gunslinge competition. Each hour, two contestants will meet in the town square where they will face off to see who is the quickest draw. The man who loses each quickdraw will be eliminated, and the winners will advance to the next day’s competition, until there is only one gunslinger left. Each day, the remaining participants can challenge whomever they want, and the other contestant must accept. If anyone breaks the rules, Herod will have them eliminated…permanently.

Among the 18 contestants are a Swedish champion gunslinger, thugs Scars (Mark Boone Junior) and Dog Kelly (Tobin Bell), Native American Spotted Horse (Jonothon Gill), and a well-dressed lawman named Sgt. Cantrell (Keith David). Herod volunteers himself into the contest as well as his former henchman-turned-preacher Cort (Russell Crowe), whom Herod has chained up in the center of town. Cort claims that he is no longer violent and won’t pick up a gun, but he’s going to have to if he’s going to survive this contest. Cocky local gunshop owner, The Kid (Leonardo DiCaprio), also enters the contest, hoping to finally earn some respect from his father Herod. Finally, The Lady throws her name into the ring—she looks eager to eliminate Herod, constantly clutching her pistol when he approaches, pondering about some mysterious incident from her past.

As the contest plays out, we learn more about Herod, The Lady, Cort and The Kid, and what brought them and the other contestants to Redemption for the contest. Herod likes to flaunt his power in the town, and often tries to adjust the contest rules, making the stakes a little more deadly. Who will survive, and will The Lady succeed in gaining her redemption?

The Quick and the Dead has a simple premise, but the film itself is well executed and quite engaging. The movie was first released in 1995, but still holds up quite well today. It has probably been 20 years since I last saw the film, so I didn’t remember all of the details. I was at the edge of my seat wondering who was going to win each match-up, what The Lady’s goal was in Redemption, and how the characters were going to survive this deadly contest. The film was directed by Sam Raimi, who had pretty much only directed the Evil Dead movies and Darkman at the time. You get a real sense of the filmmaker’s love for Spaghetti Westerns and dark humor. During many of the duels, there is this over-use of the rack zoom (often accompanied by whip sounds) as the camera zooms in closer and closer to the gunslingers’ eyes and/or weapons as the opponents stare into each one another’s eyes or prep their guns, waiting for the clock hand to make its move. This not only adds some fast-paced tension, but also adds a slight bit of humor before the grisly shootout takes place. Even after the bullets are fired, the director gives the viewer some interesting fake-outs that keeps him guessing as to who just won the duel. This could have gotten repetitive or old really fast, but my interest remained peaked throughout the film.

The cast of this film is amazing. Gene Hackman plays the villain so well, and it is easy to see why the townsfolk fear him. Leonardo DiCaprio is great as the handsome, cocky young man who is so self-assure. He is very much like his father, but without any malicious bone in his body. All The Kid wants to do is earn his father’s respect, and Herod won’t even give his own son a compliment. Sharon Stone is also fantastic as the tough female gunslinger who keeps her cards and emotions close to her chest. And it was interesting to go back and see Russell Crowe in a slightly more timid, less heroic leading man role.

Sony’s new 4K UltraHD release does provide a noticeable improvement over the previous Blu-ray. For the most part the picture shows an increase in detail and clarity, especially in faces, clothing and the glint of the guns. However, I often found the skies in the background to be excessively grainy. The new Dolby Atmos soundtrack provides clear dialogue, an excellent score, and makes nice use of the stereo and surround channels for the action sequences. The height speakers are also well-utilized during rain and thunderstorms, and when bullets are being fired from rooftops, to help add to the immersive viewing experience. The original Blu-ray did not include any bonus material, and the new UHD disc only adds 7 all-new deleted/extended scenes. The UltraHD and Blu-ray discs come packed in a standard UHD keepcase with a cardboard slipcover. The release also includes an Ultraviolet/Movies Anywhere UHD digital copy of the film.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:12:02)

4K UltraHD:
• 2160p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• HDR10
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, Spanish

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 1.85:1
• Audio: English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD, French 5.1 Dolby TrueHD
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, French

Digital HD (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2020)

• Ultraviolet/Movies Anywhere Digital UHD copy of the film

Extras:
Extras only appear on the 4K UHD Disc.

• Deleted Scenes (5:15)
  Collection of seven all-new, never-before-seen deleted/extended scenes. Play All, or select from “Dog Kelly Extended” (1:02), “The Wedding” (0:51), “Glass of Water” (1:05), “You Shouldn’t Drink” (1:12), “Get Out Here” (0:34), “Where’s Cort” (0:20), and “We’re Different” (0:31).
• Theatrical Trailer (2:18)

Final Thoughts:

The Quick and the Dead may have a simple premise, but the film itself is really well executed and features a really strong cast. It has a fun style that recons back to the classic Spaghetti Westerns, but the stakes of the competition feel very real, and you don’t necessarily know who is going to survive. I thoroughly enjoyed re-watching this film after nearly 20 years—it still felt very fresh, like it could have been made just recently. Sony’s 4K UltraHD release features improved video and audio over the previous Blu-ray release, but the only bonus features included are 5 minutes of deleted scenes. Based on the film alone, this comes highly recommended for those who don’t already own the Blu-ray. For fans that already own the previous release, it may still be worth picking up when on sale, for the uptick in quality and minimal new bonus features.