The Quick and The Dead

The Quick and the Dead is a 1995 American Revisionist Western film directed by Sam Raimi, and starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. In 1881, a female gunslinger known only as The Lady arrives in the Old West town of Redemption, encountering a Blind Shoeshine Boy and a repulsive escaped convict named Scars, whose proposition she harshly rebuffs. The town is ruled by a ruthless outlaw named John Herod, who hosts a fast-draw single elimination tournament for anyone brave enough to enter. At a sign-up meeting in the town saloon that night, the rules are explained: any contestant may challenge any other, no challenge can be refused, every contestant must fight once per day, and a fight continues until one contestant either yields or dies. The Lady announces her participation, insisting that she is only interested because of the large cash prize. While there she meets Cort, a former Herod henchman turned preacher whom Herod has captured and forced to enter the contest. The Lady saves Cort's life by shooting through the rope with which Herod's men try to hang him, then spends a drunken night with "The Kid", a brash young man who runs a gun store and hopes to impress Herod. Believing Herod to be his father, The Kid hopes to earn his respect by entering and winning the tournament.

In the first round of duels, The Kid defeats a Swedish quick-draw champion while Herod kills a braggart named Ace Hanlon, who had taken credit for some of Herod's own exploits. The Lady defeats Dog Kelly, an enemy she had previously left shackled to a wagon. Since Cort has no money, Herod buys him a cheap, rusty gun and declares that he can only have one bullet at a time, so as to prevent him from shooting his way out of town. Even though Cort has renounced violence, he draws on his exceptional skill as a gunfighter and wins his first-round duel.

Nguồn: ST