Young Guns (1988)

Director:

Christopher Cain

Writer (WGA):

John Fusco (written by)

Release Date:

12 August 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller | Western

Tagline:

Six reasons why the west was wild.

Plot:

A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.

Plot Keywords:

Sheriff | Murder | Ranch | Mexico | Attorney

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Feb. 21

2:50 PM

MAX

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Emilio Estevez	...	William H. 'Billy the Kid' Bonney
Kiefer Sutherland	...	Josiah Gordon 'Doc' Scurlock
Lou Diamond Phillips	...	'Jose' Chavez y Chavez
Charlie Sheen	...	Richard 'Dick' Brewer
Dermot Mulroney	...	Dirty Steve Stephens
Casey Siemaszko	...	Charles 'Charley' Bowdre
Terence Stamp	...	John Tunstall
Jack Palance	...	Lawrence G. Murphy
Terry O'Quinn	...	Alex McSween
Sharon Thomas	...	Susan McSween
Geoffrey Blake	...	J. McCloskey
Alice Carter	...	Yen Sun
Brian Keith	...	Buckshot Roberts
Thomas Callaway	...	Texas Joe Grant (as Tom Callaway)
Patrick Wayne	...	Patrick Floyd 'Pat' Garrett

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | West Germany:16 (nf) | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bonanza Creek Ranch - 15 Bonanza Creek Lane, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Morgan Creek Productions

Trivia:

In the audio commentary Casey Siemaszko reveals the prostitute Charlie goes to see was actually a longer scene, and the end of the scene he tells the guys the women was his mother.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The "sad ballad" that Billy whistles to let Texas Joe Grant know that he is in fact Billy the Kid is Seán Ó Riada's "Mná na h-Éireann" ("Women of Ireland"), written in the early 1960's.

Quotes:

Yen Sun: I know what you've come to do. You've come to lay with me and cut me into tiny pieces. You're the bandit that eats children and old people.
Doc: I eat meat and potatoes.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Grindhouse (2007)

Interesting modern western relies a little too heavily on cliche

An Englishman running a New Mexico ranch in the old west recruits wayward young men to be his ranch hands. Among their duties is protecting the ranch from his more powerful and villainous neighbors, thus earning them the title "regulators". Through a combination of discipline and nurturing, he is able to civilize the men and give them discipline. When murdered by another rancher, the regulators are deputized to help catch the men who did it. But one of the regulators, known now as Billy the Kid, is a relative newcomer who has not yet learned self-discipline. Engaged in a power struggle for leadership of the group, he is far more interested in killing the villains than bringing them to justice, thus turning the group into outlaws themselves.

Although the movie is very well made, it never really explores the potential of the plot, relying instead on cliches to entertain us. It also seems completely confused in its portrayal of the main character. Is William Bonney a homicidal maniac or a fiercely loyal man out to avenge the death of a father figure? Is he a caustic head-strong youth or a steely smooth-talking leader? Depending on the scene, you can take your pick. He's clearly supposed to be a sympathetic anti-hero, but this is accomplished only by turning his antagonist into a cartoonishly evil villain, portrayed in perfectly predictable manner by Jack Palance. The shootout scenes are nicely filmed, but as the movie progresses they move more and more towards standard western cliche.

The strongest point of this movie is the relationship of the characters played by Sutherland and Estevez. Doc is strongly attracted to Billy the Kid and admires his strength of character at the same time that he fears him and is repulsed by his murderous actions. Both actors do an excellent job trying to pull this off in spite of the limited development which the script allows. This and the support of a very competent cast makes the film worth watching but not necessarily worth going out of your way for.