(2008) 3 Perry Seibert Buried at the center of many classic Westerns is a love story between grown men. My Darling Clementine, Rio Bravo, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are just some of the beloved oaters that are as much about men's loyalty and companionship as they are about gunslinging. Appaloosa fits snugly into that venerable tradition. Director and co-screenwriter Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole, a lawman for hire who travels the Wild West with his longtime deputy, the eight-gauge-toting Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen). The title town hires the duo after politically connected rancher Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) guns down the local sheriff. The situations and the settings of Appaloosa might be very familiar, but the close relationship between the two leads is uncommonly specific. Their friendship, formed by years of surviving potentially fatal battles together, runs deep. This bond is expressed through sly grins, kidding words, and their mutual sense of professionalism. Let's be clear, Ed Harris has not remade Brokeback Mountain -- this is a buddy film -- but he is unafraid to examine the complicated inner lives of two very manly men. Harris and Mortensen have a genuine chemistry together -- they get laughs out of throwaway bits of business because you can tell how much the two characters mean to each other. Complicating their showdown with the bad guy, as well as their relationship to each other, is Renée Zellweger as Allison French, the town's newest citizen. When both men take a shine to her, audiences are prepped for a traditional love triangle, but Harris has thankfully cooked up something rather more unconventional. Because the machinations of catching the bad guy take a back seat to the motivations and emotions of the two leads, the second half of Appaloosa doesn't have the narrative rush that the first half does. However, this shouldn't scare off genre enthusiasts, as Harris more than satisfies the traditions of the genre -- especially in three realistically quick and explosive gunfights (one of them the classic quick-draw, showdown on Main Street variety). The achievement of Appaloosa, for all of the movie's familiar qualities, is that the characters are so specific that they reinvigorate the conventions. Thanks to the fine acting, the solid direction, and the first-rate screenplay, the highly entertaining Appaloosa is simultaneously a traditional Western, a buddy comedy, and a love story.

cast-crew for Appaloosa on AllMovie

Appaloosa (2008)

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Appaloosa

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Profanity
Western Violence

genres

Western

sub-genres

Traditional Western

category

Feature

directed by

Ed Harris

countries

USA

release date

September 19, 2008 (USA)

run time

115 min.

produced by

Groundswell Prods.

released by

New Line Cinema

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cast

Ed Harris: Virgil Cole

Viggo Mortensen: Everett Hitch

Renée Zellweger: Allison French

Jeremy Irons: Randall Bragg

Timothy Spall: Phil Olson

Lance Henriksen: Ring Shelton

Bobby Jauregui: Marshall Jack Bell

Tom Bower: Abner Raines

James Gammon: Earl May

Ariadna Gil: Katie

Luce Rains: Dean

Jim Tarwater: Chalk

Timothy V. Murphy: Vince

Boyd Kestner: Bronc

Gabriel Marantz: Joe Whitfield

Robert Harris: Judge Elias Callison

Benjamin Rosenshein: Town Boy

Cerris Morgan-Moyer: Tilda

Erik J. Bockemeier: Fat Wallis

Fred Hice: Bragg's Third Man

Neil Summers: Bragg's Fourth Man

Tim Carroll: Wagon Driver

Bounthanh Xaynhachack: Chin

Art Usher: Clerk

Cliff Gravel: Barber

Mike Watson: Night Rider

Rex Linn: Clyde Stringer

Corby Griesenbeck: Charlie Tewksbury

Adam Nelson: Mackie Shelton

Daniel Parker: Mueller

Ed Pennybacker: Conductor

Alvin Lunak: Sharps

Martin Connelly: Apache Elder

Danny Edmo: Young Brave

Argos Maccallum: Beauville Sheriff Russell

Cynthia Huerta: Mexican Woman

Charlene Adams: Citizen of Appaloosa

David Bard: Citizen of Appaloosa

Maria Bethke: Citizen of Appaloosa

Scott Brooks: Citizen of Appaloosa

Stephen Chomko: Citizen of Appaloosa

Robert Colby: Citizen of Appaloosa

Charles Culberson: Citizen of Appaloosa

Robert Down: Citizen of Appaloosa

Jackie Fleming: Citizen of Appaloosa

Jim Granger: Citizen of Appaloosa

Nancy Ann Hibbs: Citizen of Appaloosa

Nick Johnson: Citizen of Appaloosa

Glen Kappy: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kevin Kinsner: Citizen of Appaloosa

Norm Lee: Citizen of Appaloosa

Loretta Lewis: Citizen of Appaloosa

Skip Long: Citizen of Appaloosa

Tom McFarlane: Citizen of Appaloosa

Dani McNutt: Citizen of Appaloosa

Sylvie Mortenson: Citizen of Appaloosa

Sandy Nickal: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kyle Osborn: Citizen of Appaloosa

Hunter Lee Pimparapana: Citizen of Appaloosa

Marvin Rath: Citizen of Appaloosa

Randall Sauls: Citizen of Appaloosa

Claire Schwebke: Citizen of Appaloosa

Nathan Simmons: Citizen of Appaloosa

Chloe Slator: Citizen of Appaloosa

John Turner: Citizen of Appaloosa

Bailey Walter: Citizen of Appaloosa

Ernest Andreas: Citizen of Appaloosa

Ian Bell: Citizen of Appaloosa

Todd Bethke: Citizen of Appaloosa

Martin Callahan: Citizen of Appaloosa

Cynthia Clark: Citizen of Appaloosa

Lowell Crawford: Citizen of Appaloosa

Timothy David: Citizen of Appaloosa

Flynn-Bella Ericson: Citizen of Appaloosa

Dennis Foulkrod: Citizen of Appaloosa

Ruben Haddix: Citizen of Appaloosa

Jerrall Hinds: Citizen of Appaloosa

Taryn Johnson: Citizen of Appaloosa

Jeff Kimerling: Citizen of Appaloosa

Daniel Krieger: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kerry Lee: Citizen of Appaloosa

Isabelle Leustig: Citizen of Appaloosa

Denise Lynch: Citizen of Appaloosa

Diana McGuerty: Citizen of Appaloosa

Diana Minfa: Citizen of Appaloosa

Ernest Moya: Citizen of Appaloosa

Michael Max Norris: Citizen of Appaloosa

Trevor Osborn: Citizen of Appaloosa

Michael Neal Powell: Citizen of Appaloosa

L.C. Read: Citizen of Appaloosa

Daphne D. Ross: Citizen of Appaloosa

Darrell Schmidt: Citizen of Appaloosa

Cecily Kuehl Shank: Citizen of Appaloosa

Frankey Singzilay: Citizen of Appaloosa

Isabel Slator: Citizen of Appaloosa

Elizabeth Ann Tuttle: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kristin Walter: Citizen of Appaloosa

Adam Honeyfield: Bragg's Man

Alex Edmo: Apache

Alicia Williams: Citizen of Appaloosa

Anderson Chee: Apache

Bruce Harders: Citizen of Appaloosa

Bud Connley: Apache

Carol Sieber: Citizen of Appaloosa

Christopher Frechette: Citizen of Appaloosa

Chuck Ferran: Citizen of Appaloosa

Dale Kappy: Citizen of Appaloosa

Daniel Jon Bergman: Citizen of Appaloosa

Dara Osborne: Citizen of Appaloosa

David Jensen: Bragg's Man

Edward Sipler: Citizen of Appaloosa

Fionn Thelen: Citizen of Appaloosa

Frank Nunn: Citizen of Appaloosa

Frank Spencer: Bragg's Man

Girard Swan: Bragg's Man

Greg Stevenson: Bragg's Man

Heather Antonio: Citizen of Appaloosa

Henry McKeighen: Citizen of Appaloosa

Herman Endito: Bragg's Man

J.C. Augare: Apache

Jake Crellin: Citizen of Appaloosa

Jennae Linnell: Citizen of Appaloosa

Jerry Fuentes: Bragg's Man

Jerry Hardy: Bragg's Man

Kevin New: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kiela Bird: Apache

Kim Kimerling: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kim Montoya: Citizen of Appaloosa

Kristine Rael: Citizen of Appaloosa

Larry Hinsley: Bragg's Man

Leonaldan Codanti: Citizen of Appaloosa

Les Schesser: Bragg's Man

Lynn Macri: Citizen of Appaloosa

Mabel Jin Chin: Citizen of Appaloosa

Madeline Walter: Citizen of Appaloosa

Matthew Montoya: Apache

Michael Clark: Bragg's Man

Michael Lente: Citizen of Appaloosa

Miles Blackman: Citizen of Appaloosa

Perry Jasper: Citizen of Appaloosa

Rachel De la Torre: Citizen of Appaloosa

Steve Rick: Citizen of Appaloosa

Tom E. Rostkowski: Citizen of Appaloosa

Tom Johnson: Bragg's Man

Tom Larson: Bragg's Man

Wes Trudell: Apache

Xander Laird: Citizen of Appaloosa

Yvonne Schmidt: Citizen of Appaloosa

crew

Ed Harris: Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Ginger Sledge: Producer
Michael London: Producer, Executive Producer
Robert Knott: Producer, Screenwriter
Robert B. Parker: Book Author
Dean Semler: Cinematographer
Dondi Bastone: Musical Direction/Supervision
Jeff Beal: Composer (Music Score)
Kathryn Himoff: Editor, Associate Producer
Waldemar Kalinowski: Production Designer
Steve Arnold: Art Director
Candy Trabucco: Associate Producer
Janice Williams: Associate Producer
Caldecot "Cotty" Chubb: Executive Producer
Sam Brown: Executive Producer
Toby Emmerich: Executive Producer
Thomas Betts: Set Designer
Aleah Ames: Costume Designer
David C. Robinson: Costume Designer
Deborah Cha Blevins: Costume Designer
Lahly Poore: Costume Designer
Maureen O'Heron: Costume Designer
Shannon Montoya: Costume Designer
Kaaren F. Ochoa: First Assistant Director
Elizabeth Gabel: Casting
Jeanne McCarthy: Casting
Nicole Abellera: Casting
Mark Freund: Visual Effects Supervisor
Mike Watson: Stunts Coordinator