ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

st-shot Wild Bill Hickock is as famous as any old west icon, his tragic end while holding the original dead man's hand as well known as any western lead spitting incident from the era. But that doesn't restrain director George Hill from this flight of fancy that takes more than its usual share of liberties presenting incidents that fall somewhere between fact and fiction. The first 15 minutes of Wild Bill crackle with action and gunfire as Hickok (Jeff Bridges) makes his way across the American West solidifying his reputation as one tough hombre. Brutal and to the point Hill moves his story from Abilene to Deadwood in no time where he reunites with trail buddy Calamity Jane (Ellen Barkin). Also seeking out Bill in Deadwood is Jack McCall, the son of a man he killed over a woman, watch, touching his hat though none of this any basis in history. A sloppy cat and mouse game ensues as McCall calls in reinforcements to deal with Hickock but this only serves to provide more cannon fodder for Bill to waste in a rousing stable shootout since like most of the incidentals in Wild Bill this does not even remotely approach the history.Bridges as Hickock carries himself with authority and confidence except in a brief foray on stage with Buffalo Bill where he comes across as wooden a cigar store promoter. Guarded to begin with Bridges taciturn responses partner well with his pearl handled six-shooters that do most of his talking. Barkin's Calamity Jane lacks consistency as she slides from frontier bullwhip expert to her schoolgirl crush with Bill. John Hurt as Bill's Boswell remains smarmily reverential while David Arquette's MaCall plays it spoiled brat most of the way.Hill playing fast and loose with the Hickok saga seems content to fill scenes with fallacy and letting lead fly. In one gun battle we have Bill getting a dozen shots out of each of his six shooters without having time to reload. In addition to padding the film with non-events Hill goes self indulgent with some black and white oblique angle flashback to add to the film's running time that begins to lose it's rhythm by the one-third mark with Hickok and MacCall having wasteful confrontations (one bizarre one in an opium den) that pile on minutes but does not advance the story as it stumbles to its historic conclusion, failing to separate the man from the legend while adding to the apocryphal in this bungled western.

Mr-Fusion An odd movie, "Wild Bill". I reconciling the legend with the man (especially one who's on the downslope of life), there's plenty of backstory to fill in. And the way it bounces around between flashback and present day gives the movie a fairly schizophrenic vibe. On one hand, you kinda wish there was more running time to this just to handle all of the history - but on the other hand, the movie has its own pacing issues after the first 30 minutes or so. Maybe excitement just wasn't in the cards for this one.Putting aside the weakness of David Arquette, the movie boasts a solid cast (with Jeff Bridges as the standout). It's a decent western and the shootouts are classic Walter Hill.6/10

NateWatchesCoolMovies Walter Hill's Wild Bill is the director at his most restrained and esoteric. Usually he leaps out of the gate, guns blazing, characters vividly drawn to the point of thundering archetype and a tight, violent narrative that doesn't stray into vagueness or episodic nature. Wild Bill is the opposite of all that. It chronicles the twilight years of famed and deeply troubled gunslinger Wild Bill Hickock in a loose, foggy fashion, skipping through time and presenting us a fractured narrative in a constant state of disarray, viewed through a prism of Bill's booze addled, regret strewn mind. It's a slow, groggy piece, all sense of showmanship and glory stripped away from his life in favour of an agonizing existence at the end of his road, surrounded by few friends and memories fading along with his legacy. It fades in and out on vignettes here and there, with no continuous or conventional plot line to hitch up its skirts. Jeff Bridges warbles his way through an intensely underrated performance as Bill, a whiskey soaked gent living out his quiet years reminding on the old days, gambling to his broken hearts content and dodging old grudges. He's joined by refined Brit Charley Prince (John Hurt), feisty tomboy Calamity Jane (Ellen Barkin, adorable and full of passion for Bill that he's tragically blind to), and rowdy California Joe (James Gammon). Gammon, now passed away, was a criminally underrated characters actor who had a raspy teddy bear voice (he even played one of the country bears in the movie), and a sweet, gruff disposition that made him mesmerizing in any appearance. His Joe is a nice creation and one of his best roles, a rowdy old boy who livens up Bill's cantankerous gloom. Eventually trouble from his past finds him, in the snivelling form of Jack McCall (David Arquette, in over his head with a Hill film and struggling alongside the rest of the able cast), a disgruntled man who loathes Bill for leaving his mother (Diane Lane, luminous in gorgeous black and white flashbacks) decades before, a chapter of his life he scarcely even remembered until Jack showed up to put a thorn in his side. And so a plan is hatched by him to assassinate Bill, with the hard nosed help of New York lowlife Donnie Lonnigan (Hill regular James Remar, growling perfection). It's a riveting look at the ex gunslinger, anchored by Hill's focused, un characteristically moody approach to the material. Fun facts: Hill would go on to direct the pilot episode for HBO's sensational Deadwood, also partly detailing the curtain call segment of Bill's life, where the role was played by Keith Carradine (who also briefly appears here as Buffalo Bill Cody), and the incomparable Robin Weigert stepping in for Barkin as Jane. Both versions have the goods, this one severely overlooked. One of my favourite westerns, and a campfire style historical tale worth taking a look at.

grantss Good western.Follows the life of legendary gunslinger and lawman "Wild Bill" Hickok. Gritty and dark, it explores his motivations, relationships, regrets and inner turmoils. Good character development.On the down side, it does try too hard to contemporise the language and customs in some respects, and loses some focus towards the end.Great performance by Jeff Bridges, but that's a given. Good support from Ellen Barkin and John Hurt. Minor cast includes David Arquette, Christina Applegate, Diane Lane, Keith Carradine and Bruce Dern.