Editor’s Note: As with many of our Ten and Five articles, this article does contain spoilers. You’ve been warned, partner.
While Westerns may be a rare thing in theaters these days, luckily we’ve had a few in the recent years that were good. Joining that list is the Ed Harris helmed Appaloosa, which co-stars Viggo Mortensen and captures the essence of the historical West while keeping true to the roots of the fictional world of stand up shoot outs and wise cracking, whiskey swillin’ Lawmen.
10 Things I Liked
10. End Credits - The end credit sequence was awesome, with beautiful high resolution photography serving as backdrops with some great music played over top - first Tom Petty, then Ed Harris himself crooning.
9. The Visuals - Ed Harris can direct, no doubt about it. The shots he selects in this film are great, channeling classic western inspiration from past greats while keeping it fresh.
8. Virgil & Everett - The relationship between these two characters rings true and illustrates a realistic friendship between two men in America’s frontier.
7. The Guns - I love firearms and Appaloosa brings a lot of good looking iron to the screen, from Colt Peacemakers to Winchester 1873 Rifles.
6. The Ensemble Cast - There are a lot of great people assembled for this film: Lance Henriksen, Viggo Mortensen, Ed Harris, and Jeremy Irons.
5. Brevity of Gun Fights - In sticking with some of the more realistic elements, gunfights in the old West often only last a few seconds. Even the gunfight at the O.K. Corral was under 40 seconds. This film portrays shoot outs accurately.
4. The Script - This isn’t the movie most were expecting - There were classic Western themes, which we want, but also there are large doses of wit and humor which were unexpected and welcome.
3. Acting - Almost across the board, everyone did a great job. Mortensen, Irons, and Harris are all in top form portraying their characters, though we don’t expect anything less.
2. The Score - This is a great, classic Western score, which I purchased immediately. It includes two songs sung by Ed Harris, both of which relate to the film and are very enjoyable.
1. The Details - There are a lot of little details that I took note of and enjoyed. A lot of attention was paid to the small things, from glassware to weapons. My favorite detail was the well worn leather recoil pad sewn into Everett’s coat jacket, which complements his impressive 10 gauge shotgun. Also, awesome period correct mustaches.
5 Things I Didn’t
5. Lack of Advertising - Where is the support for this film? I love it, yet have only seen a handful of advertisements. This film could have used a bigger push.
4. The Bumbling Town Elders - The guys who seemingly ran the town of Appaloosa were just a touch too comical at the times, like the Three Stooges. Really, not that big of a stumbling block though - and I do love James Gammon no matter what he’s doing on screen.
3. Multiple Endings - This has been going around a lot lately and Appaloosa fakes you out with one climax only to continue onwards. Though, what follows is good, so I’m nitpicking a little.
2. Continuity Errors - I did notice a continuity error or two - a glass refills itself and Viggo’s shotgun switches between being open and closed in some shots.
1. Renee Zellweger - When she’s first introduced, all I could think was “This is Renee Zellweger,” and it took me a little bit out of the film. She was also a tad annoying, but about halfway through the film I was on board. Still, I think perhaps there were better choices for the role.
译文:
阿帕鲁萨镇：我所有喜欢的和不喜欢的
编者注：未看电影者不宜读。嘿，伙计~我已经警告过你了！
现在的西部片几乎在影剧院里销声匿迹了，幸运的是，我们还能在近几年遇到为数不多的几部好片。其中也包括埃德·哈里斯导演的《阿帕鲁萨镇》。这部电影集合了著名影星维果·莫特森描述了那些身处文明无法触及，处处充满暴力枪战与罪恶的蛮荒地带中的执法者们。影片追溯西部拓荒时代的苍凉与残酷。
十个我喜欢的地方
10. 鸣谢——在影片结尾的鸣谢很震撼。有视觉震撼的摄影作品作为背景，还有一些非常好的音乐——起先是汤姆·帕蒂，之后埃德哈里斯也加入其中。
9. 视觉效果——埃德哈里斯的确是导演奇才，毋庸置疑！这部电影的选景非常出色，使全新的理念贯穿着传统的西部情节。
8. 维吉尔与阿弗雷特——这两个角色的联系微妙而真实，映衬了美国边境两个男人之间真切的友情。
7. 枪——从柯尔特枪1到温切斯特1873步枪，我喜欢所有枪械和阿帕鲁萨马所带来的荧幕上的非凡享受。
6. 演员阵容——这部电影聚集了许多著名演员：兰斯·亨利克森、维戈·莫特森、埃德·哈里斯和杰瑞米·艾恩斯。
5. 枪战的精短——为了保证所谓写实元素，在老西部电影的枪战通常只持续几秒。就连《龙争虎斗》里的枪战也持续不到40秒。这部电影准确地描绘了枪战！
4. 剧本——这本不是这部电影最让人期待的——我们所希望的是一部包含经典西部主题的电影，然而，大量的机智与幽默让电影出人意料，大受欢迎。
3. 演技——全面地说，每个人都表现的很好。维戈·莫特森、杰瑞米·艾恩斯和埃德·哈里斯都在诠释角色上遥遥领先，虽然我们早就知道。
2. 影片原声碟——这是一个经典西部音乐大碟，我立即就买了。它包含了两首埃德哈里斯亲自唱的歌。这两首歌都与影片有关，给人享受。
1. 细节——我欣赏并记录了影片里的很多精彩细节。许多小细节都被我关注着，从玻璃器具到武器。我最喜欢的细节是阿弗雷特夹克上用旧了的皮座后垫。它和那个1令人印象深刻的10规格猎枪相互呼应。还有与时代呼应的马鬃。
5个我不喜欢的地方
5. 没有推广——影片的赞助商在哪？我喜欢这部电影，但是却只看到一些的广告。这部电影应该更加大力地推荐。
4. 装模作样的镇长老——这些人似乎在运作阿帕鲁萨镇，可是却时常让人觉得滑稽，像三个丑角。真的，虽然不是一个大败笔。当然，我还是很喜欢詹姆斯·盖蒙的，无论他在屏幕上是什么样子。
3. 重复的结尾——重复太多遍了。每次高潮之后影片依然继续。不过，还是很好的，所以我只是有点不喜欢。
2. 连续性的错误——我确实注意到一两个连续性错误：玻璃瓶自己装满东西，维戈的枪膛在好几次处于开和关之间。
1. 蕾妮·齐薇格——当她第一次出场，我所能想到的就是“这是蕾妮·齐薇格”，这让我有一些被带出电影。她也有一些讨厌，但是在影片进行到一半时我还是进入剧情了。但是我还是觉得，也许对这个角色还能有别的更好的选择吧。
1. Colt Peacemakers 柯尔特枪族与前苏联AK枪族、比利时FN枪族一样，在国际兵器界具有很大的影响。柯尔特公司的创始人萨缪尔-柯尔特被公认为现代左轮手枪的创始人，萨缪尔 -柯尔特1814年6月9日出生于美国康涅狄格州的一个普通家庭，他从小就十分痴迷手枪设计。1835年10月，萨缪尔-柯尔特获得专利号6909的英国左轮手枪专利。
此后从1847年到1860年，柯尔特陆续推出了12种左轮手枪，而1846年美国和墨西哥之间发生的战争令柯尔特的事业攀上一个全新的台阶，他所设计的M1847左轮手枪被美国政府大量采购，他的柯尔特公司也因此迅速发展壮大，一举成为世界知名的大军火生产企业。
柯尔特公司生产的最著名的产品莫过于M16A1-5.56mm突击步枪及其系列，此枪由著名枪械设计大师尤金-斯通纳设计，于1967年正式定型，一直到今天仍然是美军的制式步枪。此外柯尔特公司还生产过很多著名的手枪。美国COLT公司刀具主要生产基地在美国.台湾，基本产品都在台湾基地生产。美国 COLT(柯尔特）公司产品全部从美国进口。