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

jcbutthead86 Wild Bill is a terrific and underrated Western that combines wonderful direction,an amazing cast,fantastic Action and a memorable score. All of those elements make Wild Bill an entertaining Western film that is Walter Hill and Jeff Bridges at their best.Based on the novel Deadwood by Peter Dexter and the play Father's And Sons by Thomas Babe,Wild Bill tells the story of the last days of James Butler Hickok AKA Wild Bill(Jeff Bridges),the legendary lawman and gunfighter thinking about his life past and present.During the Western movie revival of the 1980s 90s there were classic Westerns such as Unforgiven(1992),Tombstone(1993)and Dances With Wolves(1990)that were critical and Box Office hits but there were also other Western films during this time that went under the radar and weren't as successful but still wonderful in their own rights such as Walter Hill's 1995 Western Wild Bill a terrific and memorable Western that was Hill's third and film about an iconic true life Western figure following Jesse James/Younger Gang film The Long Riders(1980)and the Geronimo film Geronimo:An American Legend(1993). And while Wild Bill isn't as good as those two films Wild Bill is an interesting look at a charismatic figure of his time. At a lean and tight 98 minutes Wild Bill is a memorable and entertaining film that is not really a biopic but a great mixture of Western shoot em up and character study told in a gritty way. This is the kind of movie that won't be appealing to general audiences and is the kind of film that will be liked or disliked but if you're a Western buff you will enjoy this film even though it might not be historically inaccurate. Wild Bill is a movie that is a revisionist Western in the truest sense told in very surreal and stylish giving viewers a look into one of the most iconic characters in the West in Wild Bill Hickok,a Cowboy who probably isn't known on a national level like other Western icons such as Wyatt Earp,Doc Holliday,Jesse James or Billy The Kid but if you know Western History you will know Wild Bill. The tone of the movie stylish and gritty capturing the beauty and ugliness of the Wild West in all it's glory and also gives viewers a look at the town of Deadwood in South Dakota which is violent and bizarre and serves as a precursor to the classic HBO TV series Deadwood,a show that gave viewers another look into Deadwood. When we look at the title character Wild Bill we get a brief but fascinating look into his life as a person of many things in his life such as being a lawman,gunfighter,buffalo hunter,folk hero and gambler. It's easy to see why Walter Hill wanted to make a movie about Wild Bill because like the characters in Hill's other films Wild Bill in the movie is depicted as a man who is larger than life but at the same time a flawed human being. Hickok is a man who also haunted by his demons(told in black and white drug induced dreams)and his ways of living have caught up with him(Hickok was losing his eye sight)and is over the hill but still has his bravado. Wild Bill as a character is so interesting that I would have loved to see more of his history and life story in the past and present which I think is a flaw. Another flaw is Wild Bill is that it feels less cinematic compared to Walter Hill's other movies and at times has the feel of a TV movie. The Action and gunfights in the film are thrilling and intense going along with the Western tone of the movie as Walter Hill can do. The ending in Wild Bill is amazing,dramatic and tragic and while not true to how what really happen in real life it's close enough. An outstanding ending.The cast is great. Jeff Bridges is excellent and at his best as Wild Bill Hickok,with Bridges bring gritty,tough and charismatic. Ellen Barkin is terrific as Calamity Jane,a lady friend of Hickok's. John Hurt is wonderful as Charles Prince,an English friend of Bill's. Diane Lane is sensational and beautiful as Susannah Moore,a past love of Bill's. Keith Carradine does a fine job in a small role as Buffalo Bill Cody. David Arquette is superb as Jack McCall,a man who's after Wild Bill. Christina Applegate is great as Lurline,a prostitute that befriends Jack. Bruce Dern does a good job as Will Plummer,an enemy of Wild Bill's. James Gammon is fantastic as California Joe,another friend of Wild Bill's. James Remar is amazing as Donnie Lonnigan,a gunman. Marjoe Gortner(Preacher),Stoney Jackson(Jubal Pickett),Karen Hule(Song Lue),Robert Knott(Dave Tutt),Steve Reevis(Sioux Chief),Pato Hoffman(Cheyenne Leader)and Dennis Hayden(Phil Coe)give good performances as well.The direction by Walter Hill is exceptional and stylish with Hill bringing a haunting and beautiful look to the film. Fantastic direction,Hill.The score by Van Dyke Parks is effective,beautiful and gripping,with Parks scoring matching the tone of the movie. Great score,Parks.In final word,if you love Westerns,Walter Hill or Jeff Bridges,I highly suggest you see Wild Bill,a terrific,underrated Western that is worth your time. Highly Recommended 9.5/10.

FlashCallahan Wild Bill Hickok, famed lawman and gunman of the Old West, is haunted by his past and his reputation.He is loved by, but cannot love, Calamity Jane.Dogging his trail is young Jack McCall, who blames Bill for abandoning the boy's mother and destroying her life.McCall has sworn to kill Bill, and Bill's ghosts, his failing eyesight, and his fondness for opium may make McCall's task easier....One of the main reasons to watch this film is of course Bridges, who puts in a wonderful performance as the titular character. He is ably supported by Barkin and Hurt, and thats most of the positive things said.The film is shot beautifully, and does have an authentic feel to it, but Hill feels out of place directing this, and has made some evry odd choices with the uses of flashbacks, and using Arquette, who is not convincing, but you know the demise of Bill when you meet arquettes character.Reason being that the man is too slimy and typically evil in a Mike Myers way (not a compliment) and is the sole reason of making the film just that laughable. Sure, the history is a load of garbage, but that doesn't matter, all we want to know is how many people he shot, how drunk he got, and how well Bridges does to adapt the two aforementioned traits.it's watchable enough, with some silly scenes and misjudged narrative, but thanks to some good performances, the film isn't the turkey most say it is.

tieman64 "Wild Bill" was ripped to shreds by critics, ignored by audiences, and went on to become a huge box office failure. But with Jeff Bridges embraced as a bearded guru in the wake of "The Big Lebowski", the film has now become a huge cult favourite. And why not? It's a deliciously psychedelic western; an orgy of over the top violence and drunken wisecracks, the film would also give birth to the HBO series "Deadwood" decades later. Walter Hill spent his career making westerns and so by the time he directed "Wild Bill" he already knew the genre inside out. This is thus a film best appreciated by those familiar with and completely bored by the western genre. Those in search of something a little bit different. A little bit bizarre. The plot: Jeff Bridges plays Wild Bill Hickok, a half blind, always drunk, perpetually stoned lawman who lives out his remaining days at Deadwood, the infamous town in South Dakota. Deadwood is handled like George Lucas handled the town of Mos Eisley in "Star Wars". It's a "hive of scum and villainy", bar fights, gun battles and drunken brawls occurring left right and centre. The streets are muddy, opium dens are overbooked and a hellish rain beats down every night. "This town reminds me of something from the Bible," one character murmurs. "Which part?" Wild Bill asks. "The part right before God gets angry," comes the reply, summing up the tone of the film perfectly.Faced with "woman problems", weighed by his moustache and haunted by his past, Wild Bill mopes around Deadwood, unaware that a disgruntled young man is plotting to kill him. In typical western fashion, the film builds toward their final act face-off, but Hill subverts expectations at every turn. He's less interested in a mythological construction of Wild Bill than a trippy deconstruction, using flashbacks and a fragmented narrative to nosedive into both Bill's past and personal demons.But can we trust these flashbacks? Are these visions the truth or are they attempts by Bill to justify his violent past? In the film's present, Bill surrounds himself by those who blindly worship him. Calamity Jane, an old flame, spends the film lusting for Bill. Likewise Old Charlie, an Englishman who is always eager to defend Bill using charm and logic. Same story with California Joe, an old timer who is always spinning yarns and telling "tall tales" about Wild Bill. Bill, in other words, walks around with his own little propaganda machine, his circle of fawning friends all busy mythologising him.With Bill's real world an illusion, what exactly is there in the film's flashbacks which demonize him? He kills an Indian only because the Indian challenged him, he killed a man in a duel, but that jerk stole his watch. Likewise, he fights a guy in a wheelchair, but not before tying himself to a chair to make things fair. There's always the notion that these "flashbacks", these "traumas", are themselves part of the Wild Bill mythology. That perhaps it is the very falsity of these flashbacks, the very film, which is tormenting Bill.In any case, the film is primarily of interest because it allows us to watch Jeff Bridges chewing scenery. For all his wisecracks and violent flourishes, Bridges' Wild Bill is a fragile guy unable to relate to people, has no family, is going blind and is increasingly crushed as the film gets more and more claustrophobic. Hill's aesthetic strategy is such that you can feel the walls drawing in as the film progresses, the shadows, the mud, the rain, the walls themselves, closing inexorably in, until Bill finds himself at a cramped poker table, a gun behind his skull. But what's great is that Hill suggests that this "claustrophobia" is the result of the Wild Bill myth. That the "need" to constantly adhere to the public's perception of "who Wild Bill is", is ultimately what boxes Bill in and results in his demise. Trapped by his own lore, he sets about a chain of events which leads to his death. Ironically, while it is the "Wild Bill myth" which leads to a gunman seeking revenge on Bill, it is Bill's act of forgiveness toward this very man, his breaking of his dime-novel persona, that earns him a bullet in the brain.8/10 – Val Kilmer's performance as Doc Holiday in "Tombstone" was much lauded in the 90s, but Jeff Bridges' work here is equally awesome. Incidentally, Walter Hill directed the pilot episode of "Deadwood", this film serving as the template for the HBO series' tone and style. Thematically, the film does exactly what "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" does, but arguably a bit better.Worth one viewing. See Hill's "The Warriors" and "The Long Riders".