Themes: Dishonor Among Thieves, Out For Revenge, One Against the Mob
Main Cast: Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Bruce Dern, Michael Imperioli, Alexandra Powers, David Patrick Kelly
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The traditions of the western and the gangster film meet head-on in this dark crime drama. Jericho is a small town in Texas that in the 1920s looks much like it did in the 1860s, except that two violent gangs of rival bootleggers have driven away nearly all of the citizens not involved in the booze racket. Strozzi (Ned Eisenberg) leads a gang of Italian rum-runners with the help of his right-hand-man Giorgio (Michael Imperioli), while Doyle (David Patrick Kelly) is the head of an Irish mob, with Hickey (Christopher Walken) serving as his enforcer; the town's sheriff, Ed Galt (Bruce Dern) is powerless to stop the crime in Jericho, and he mainly tries to stay out of the way and keep an uneasy peace between Strozzi and Doyle. John Smith (Bruce Willis) is a ruthless and amoral gunman on the run from the law who passes through Jericho on his way to Mexico. Sizing up the situation, Smith quickly hatches a scheme by which he'll sell his services first to one of the gangs, and then the other, eventually turning the two sides against each other while he stays in the middle and takes the profits generated by both sides. Writer and director Walter Hill based his screenplay on Akira Kurosawa's classic samurai picture Yojimbo, which also inspired Sergio Leone's ground-breaking spaghetti western A Fistful of Dollars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Karina Lombard - Felina; Leslie Mann - Wanda; R.D. Call - McCool; Michael Cavalieri - Berto; Luis Contreras - Comandante Ramirez; Sonny D'Angelo - Strozzi Gang; Ned Eisenberg - Strozzi; Cassandra Gava - Barmaid; Randy Hall - Doyle Thug/Doyle Gang; Patrick Kilpatrick - Finn; Michael Lerner - Strozzi Gang; Ted Markland - Deputy Bob; Jillian McWhirter - Annabelle; Ken Medlock - Strozzi Gang; Matt O'Toole - Burke; Jim Palmer - Brothel Thug; Tiny Ron - Jacko The Giant; William Sanderson - Joe Monday; Raynor Scheine - Gas Station Attendant; Lin Shaye - The Madame; Michael Strasser - Docker; Jim Wilkey - Doyle Gang; Ken Jenkins - Capt. Pickett; Scott Pierce - Doyle Gang; Larry Holt - Border Patrolman; Jimmy Ortega - Ramirez Bodyguard; Tom Rosales - Ramirez Bodyguard; Joel Kay - Strozzi Gang; Allan Graf - Convoy Driver; Hannes Frisch - Santo; Christopher Doyle - Brothel Thug; John Paxton - The Undertaker; Andrew Alden - Strozzi Gang; Arnie Alpert - Strozzi Gang; Dana Bambo - Strozzi Gang; Philip Ciano - Strozzi Gang; Robert Coffee - Strozzi Gang; Michael Cordeiro - Strozzi Gang; Rocky Reyna Galiente - Strozzi Gang; Timothy Gallegos - Strozzi Gang; Carmine Grippo - Strozzi Gang; Kerry Lynch - Doyle Gang; Paul Lyons - Doyle Gang; Michael McBride - Doyle Gang; Rick Merring - Doyle Gang; Michael Prozzo - Roca; Dean Rader-Duval - Donnie; Bill Rochon - Strozzi Gang; Scott Strand - Doyle Gang; Edward Rote - Doyle Gang
Credit
Barry Chusid - Art Director, Paula Heller - Associate Producer, Barbara Cohen - Casting, Ralph Singleton - Co-producer, Dan Moore - Costume Designer, Jeffrey Wetzel - First Assistant Director, Walter Hill - Director, Freeman Davies, Jr. - Editor, Michael De Luca - Executive Producer, Sara Risher - Executive Producer, Ry Cooder - Songwriter, Gary Wissner - Production Designer, Lloyd Ahern, Jr. - Cinematographer, Walter Hill - Producer, Arthur Sarkissian - Producer, Lee Orloff - Sound/Sound Designer, Allan Graf - Stunts, Ryuzo Kikushima - Screen Story, Walter Hill - Screenwriter, William Wisher, Jr. - Screenwriter, Toby Emmerich - Executive Music Producer, Nerses Gezalyan - Foley Mixer, Eric Fitzgerald - Title Design, Thell Reed - Armorer
