America’s Wild West has captured audiences since the time of the silent film. Movie stars like John Wayne, Gary Cooper and Paul Newman have stepped into the world of cowboys, outlaws and gunslingers in the genre’s golden age.
Film fans will argue about their favourite era of Western films, but few would say the 1980s – a decade that has been panned by critics. One of the movies held as an exception, however, is Silverado from 1985. As per the tagline: “Four strangers become friends. Four friends become heroes. On the road to Silverado.”
Netflix UK is streaming the ’80s western as of June 1 for the first time since 2019.
Silverado is a classic tale of good versus evil wherein a motley crew of cowboys (Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, and Kevin Costner) face up against a corrupt sheriff (John Cleese) and a powerful ranching family.
The film is rated ‘fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes with a 78% and 79% approval rating from critics and viewers respectively. It has a 7.5 rating out of 10 on IMDB.
“Boasting rich detail and a well-told story, Silverado is a rare example of an ’80s Hollywood Western done right,” reads Rotten Tomatoes’ critics consensus.
“A sweeping, glorious-looking western that’s at least a full generation removed from the classic films it brings to mind,” praised Janet Maslin in her review for The New York Times.
“By the time the credits roll, we’ve had a whirlwind tour of virtually everything you can do in a Western,” said film critic Steven D Greydanus.
Variety wrote: “Real rewards of the film are in the visuals and rarely has the West appeared so alive, yet unlike what one carries in his mind’s eye. Ida Random’s production design is thoroughly convincing in detail.”
However, the most popular review on Letterboxd joked: “Jeff Goldblum looks so out of place in a western.”
Lawrence Kasdan, the mind responsible for a number of classic Hollywood blockbusters, wrote and directed Silverado.
Kasdan wrote the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and co-wrote the Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983), The Force Awakens (2015), and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018).