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Director Lawrence Kasdan (
The Big Chill) clearly set out to make an old-fashioned Western, but he couldn't help bringing a hip, self-conscious attitude to the proceedings.
Silverado thus finds its own funky tone--sometimes rousing, sometimes winking. Four cowpokes converge on a little Western burg called Silverado; they're played by Kevin Kline (a distinctly modern kind of Western hero), Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, and the rowdy young Kevin Costner. Kasdan peppers the somewhat generic action with smart dialogue and a parade of quirky supporting players, including John Cleese as a sheriff who seems to have stepped straight from a Monty Python sketch into an Old West saloon. Bruce Broughton supplies the music, a real throwback to the glory days of thundering Western themes. One thing's for sure:
Silverado's a lot more fun than the later Kasdan-Costner Western,
Wyatt Earp.
--Robert Horton
DVD features
There's a little bit to be desired and a lot of fun with this new deluxe edition of
Silverado. The playing cards--emblazed with the new poster art-- make the package the width of three DVDs on your shelf. You could jettison the packaging and just keep the 2-disc keepcase if not for the nice 20-page scrapbook--it's just too large to fit in the keepcase, a bad bit of design. The good stuff includes a Superbit presentation of that film that is better than the original DVD (especially with the DTS track). Director Lawrence Kasdan gives up the commentary chair to three cowboys/movie historians/professors. They have a nice rapport and give balance to how great Westerns aren't necessarily made up of the facts. However, they descend into self-promotion by the end. The only other new extra is a 20-minute reminisce by Kevin Costner that is a must for the actor's fans. The well-conceived 1998 making-of is included, but the "History of the Shootout" is just a repackaged trailer package narrated by John Cleese.
--Doug Thomas