Line #29 Film/Silverado


1	[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/silverado_movie_poster.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:310:From top-left to bottom: [[TheLancer Paden]], [[TheHero Emmett]], [[TheSmartGuy Mal]], [[TheBigGuy Jake]], and Stella (inset).]]
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4	->'''Posse Member:''' Let's go, he ain't hittin' nothin'!
5	->'''Sheriff Langston:''' You idiot, he's hit ''everything he's '''aimed''' at!''
6	->'''Posse Member:''' Well, they ain't out of our jurisdiction 'til they reach the flattop!
7	->'''Sheriff Langston:''' [''rising in his saddle, until his hat is shot off''] Today, my jurisdiction ends ''here''.
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9	''Silverado'' is a 1985 [[TheWestern Western]] film that's something of a {{Reconstruction}} of the genre. Released in July of that year, it was directed by Creator/LawrenceKasdan and starred an EnsembleCast of well-known (or soon to be well-known) actors, including Creator/KevinKline, Creator/ScottGlenn, Creator/RosannaArquette, Creator/JohnCleese, Creator/KevinCostner, Creator/BrianDennehy, Creator/DannyGlover, Creator/JeffGoldblum, Creator/LindaHunt, and Creator/RayBaker.
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11	The basic plot: In 1880, four cowboys travel together to the small town of Silverado, where they encounter many injustices and dangers before finally engaging the "bad guys" and bringing peace and equality back to the locals.
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13	----
14	!!This film contains examples of:
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16	* AbortedArc: For a while the film teases that Paden will run into and ultimately kill all of the four men who robbed him (and trekked all of his property) but two of them never encounter him or appear in person.
17	* ActionPrologue: The film opens with Emmett killing his assailants after they infiltrate the shack he's sleeping in.
18	* ActorAllusion: Scott Glenn is once again in the role of a [[Film/UrbanCowboy cowboy]].
19	* AffablyEvil: Cobb is cheerful and friendly even when he's doublecrossing and murdering people.
20	* AnimalStampede: Since the heroes are attacking a cattle rancher, they have a convenient distraction ready to hand.
21	* AnswerCut: When Emmett describes his brother to Sheriff Langston, the sheriff responds, "I know where that gentleman is." Cut to the town jail.
22	* AndYourLittleDogToo:
23	** Lampshaded when corrupt town sheriff Cobb indicates to Paden that he'll harm Stella if Paden moves against him, even though Cobb acknowledges she has nothing whatsoever to do with their dispute. He does however know Paden (whom he used to work with when they were robbers) got caught while protecting a wounded dog he'd previously claimed to despise, so figures the threat will make Paden back off. It works at first, but Stella figures out what's happened and talks Paden into fighting Cobb anyway.
24	** Also, this is what gets Emmett to recover from his injuries; Mal tells him [=McKendrick=] has kidnapped his nephew (see HeroicSecondWind below).
25	* BadassBoast: Mal grumbles, "Now, I don't wanna kill you, and you don't wanna be dead."
26	* BadassLongcoat: Paden, Mal, and Cobb all wear longcoats at various point throughout the movie.
27	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: The whole reason Mal ends up with Emmett and Paden in the first place; Emmett speaks up on Mal's behalf to Sheriff Langston after his bar fight. Later, when Langston and his posse are chasing Emmett after he's sprung Jake and Paden from prison, Mal shoots at Langston and his posse to get them to back off.
28	-->'''Jake:''' He a friend of yours?\
29	'''Paden:''' He is now.\
30	'''Jake:''' Who is he?\
31	'''Paden:''' Oh, a guy who got run out of town.\
32	'''Emmett:''' Just like us. (''Mal tips his hat in greeting to them'')
33	* BigBadDuumvirate: Sheriff Cobb and Ethan [=McKendrick=].
34	* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Slick the gambler]] initially comes across as an unassuming, cordial ally of sorts to the heroes before selling out to Cobb.
35	* BlastingItOutOfTheirHands: [=McKendrick=] shoots Emmett's rifle out of his hands during the final fight in town. It was accidental, mind you, as [=McKendrick=] was aiming at Emmett and not his gun, but it still destroyed Emmett's rifle and forced Emmett to find another way to kill [=McKendrick=].
36	* BookEnds: The first and last words Paden and Cobb say to each other onscreen.
37	* CatchPhrase: Paden has "Bad luck" and "Deal me in/out." Mal has "That ain't right." Jake's half CatchPhrase half RunningGag "All I did was kiss a girl."
38	* ChaseScene: A horseback high-speed chase between Emmett and the BigBad during the climax.
39	* CluelessDeputy: See SmartPeoplePlayChess for an example of [[PlayedForLaughs how this is used]] in Langston's town. Cobb's deputies also count in a DumbMuscle kind of way.
40	* CoolOldLady: Stella, the saloon keeper/barmaid/madam who quickly befriends Paden. She even steps up as the town's impromptu fire chief.
41	* DeadpanSnarker: Particularly Paden, Emmett, and Stella, but everyone gets in a few.
42	-->'''Paden:''' They just jumped you out of the blue, huh?
43	-->'''Emmett:''' I had to get up anyway.
44	** Also-
45	-->'''Emmett:''' (after finding Paden robbed, abandoned and dying of thirst in a desert and lending him his remount--a Pinto) "Where ya headed?"
46	-->'''Paden:'''"Where's the Pinto headed?"
47	* DemotedToExtra: Almost all of Creator/RosannaArquette's scenes were deleted in post-production [[spoiler: thus failing to explain how she goes from Emmett to Paden in the course of the movie]].
48	* DirtyCop: Cobb the sheriff of Silverado is in the pocket of the local rancher.
49	* DisownedSibling: Rae Jackson is very bitter about her brother Mal leaving his family to make money out in the frontier, which resulted in their father Ezra losing his ranch to [=McKendrick=] , their mother dying, and Rae becoming the mistress of the gambler Slick. When Slick sees Rae having a tense reunion with Mal and asks about her "friend", she replies, "He's not my friend, he used to be my brother."
50	* TheDrifter: Paden is a former bandit with no occupation, just riding around.
51	* DuelToTheDeath: Paden and Cobb's final confrontation, which ends in a shoot-out. What makes it very interesting is that both realize that such a thing has become necessary, and are saddened that their once friendship has ended in this way.
52	* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Emmett is introduced sleeping inside a shack when four men ambush him. He guns them down and heads off for Silverado.
53	* EvenEvilHasStandards: [=McKendrick=] won't let one of his men kill a boy, even though the boy saw their faces. They opt to kidnap him instead.
54	* EveryoneHasStandards: Sheriff Langston is overly strict with upholding the law in Turley, but he has no patience for racism in his town.
55	* EvilCounterpart: Tyree is this to Jake. Both are quick on the draw, wild, and a little unhinged. However while Jake is a playful ManChild, who's ultimately a decent person, Tyree is a violent PsychoForHire. Adding to their conflict is that both are attracted to Phoebe, and while Jake is kind and respectful, Tyree is abusive and possessive. [[spoiler:So of course the film sets up Jake and Tyree for a showdown at the climax.]]
56	* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: As a posse is chasing the leads into some hills, several warning shots come from Danny Glover's character, who is hiding somewhere out of sight. As his shots ricochet off nearby rocks and cacti, a deputy says: "Let's go, he ain't hittin' nothin'". This prompts the sheriff, played brilliantly by Creator/JohnCleese, to retort: "You idiot, he's hit everything he's aimed at." His hat is immediately knocked off by the next shot.
57	* FeudingFamilies: Emmett killed a rancher named [=McKendrick=] in the past and comes home to find [=McKendrick=]'s son harassing his sister and nephew, and happy at the idea of killing Emmett.
58	* FireForgedFriends: Jake and Emmett are brothers. But Paden is introduced having his hide saved by Emmett. Mal is introduced having his hide saved by Paden and Emmett, And Jake is broken out of jail by all three. It's understandable why they all developed such a quick bond.
59	* FormulaWithATwist: the film is a {{Reconstruction}} of the classic western. However, one of the protagonists is a black man, and the racism he encounters in the American frontier is addressed, something not found in classic westerns.
60	* FriendlyEnemy: Paden and Cobb used to ride together. They're still friendly with each other even though time has put them on opposite sides. [[spoiler: Even their final exchange of words is a simple, but sad farewell, since they both know one of them won't be getting out of it alive.]]
61	* GrievousBottleyHarm: A local rowdy smashes the whiskey bottle that Mal just bought and attacks Mal with it. This leaves Mal with only the single shot he poured himself at the end of the fight.
62	* TheGunslinger: All the main characters are gunslingers:
63	** Paden is a former outlaw who "rode with" Cobb and manages to outdraw Cobb in the final battle.
64	** Emmett is a seasoned gunfighter who shoots needles off cactuses
65	** Mal hits ''everything'' he aims at with his rifles.
66	** Jake wears a "flashy rig" of two pistols at his hip, twirls his guns theatrically and shoots two different guys at the same time, in different directions.
67	* GunsAkimbo: The character of Jake (portrayed by Kevin Costner) is styled in broad strokes. Lightning draws, blind trick shots, horse riding skills and firing two guns at the same time. Mal also brandishes his two rifles in one scene, though he doesn't use them at once.
68	* HeroicSecondWind: Emmett [[YouCanBarelyStand can barely move after his run in with Cobb's men]], but when Mal (who's also been beat up by Cobb's men, before managing to escape) tells him [=McKendrick's=] men kidnapped Emmett and Jake's nephew, that's enough to get Emmett moving again.
69	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Slick is stabbed with his own knife by Mal.]]
70	* HorsebackHeroism:
71	** A BigDamnHeroes moment combined with a horseback TeamPowerWalk towards the BigBad's ranch at the climax.
72	** Earlier in the movie, Jake is leading a horse through town when his nephew attempts the classic {{Western}} trope of leaping into the saddle.
73	--->'''Jake:''' Told you, practice on a horse that's not movin'.
74	* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Taken in a different direction. Paden and Sheriff Cobb face off during the climax, both of them knowing that one will not be walking away from their showdown. Paden, who is slightly faster on the draw, ends up killing Cobb. Later as Emmett and Jake are about to ride off to California, Emmett comments that, eventually, Paden will become a good farmer. Paden tells him that he already has a job, placing his hands on his hips, and exposing his new Sheriff's badge.
75	* ImprobableAimingSkills:
76	** Mal is astonishingly accurate with his Henry rifle. Also Emmett, who picks off cactus needles at several yards.
77	** Jake's trick-shot skills. After carefully lining up the angles on two mooks to either side of him, he yells, "Hey!" and then shoots them both at the same time as they spin around.
78	* TheInfiltration: Part of a hastily-concocted plan to retrieve a stolen [[MacGuffin chest of settlers' valuables]] from some bandits who had themselves [[TheMole posed as wagon train guides]] during the trip to the eponymous town. If it weren't for [[ImprobableAimingSkills Mal]], it would have ended... badly:
79	-->'''Dawson:''' You bring a posse to my best hideout, and you ask me if I '''''mind'''''?! Mister, I don't know any of those names. You're about to die.
80	* IronLady: Stella is soft-spoken and kind, but also has no time for bullshit or hysterics. When a crisis arises, be it a fire, gunfight, or one of her girls bringing [[spoiler: Rae]] in with a bullet wound, Stella gives quick, firm orders without batting an eye.
81	* ItHasBeenAnHonor: Emmett's "see you around" right before the climactic charge into Silverado.
82	* JustGotOutOfJail: Emmett just served five years in prison for killing a man in self-defense.
83	* LandInTheSaddle: After failing miserably the first time he tries this, Augie finally gets it right during the daring rescue from Mckendrick's ranch-house.
84	* LintValue: Paden has been robbed, and just walked into town wearing nothing but his underwear, when he sees one of the men who robbed him. He barges into a nearby gun store and tries to buy a gun with the single coin he has on him.
85	* ManChild: Jake is introduced in jail, breezily explaining to his older brother what he did wrong while climbing around his cell like a jungle gym. Augie later claims to be more mature than him, which Jake does not deny.
86	* MenacingHandShot: During the climactic duel, the camera goes back and forth between Cobb and Paden's hands at their waists in anticipation of the draw.
87	* MissKitty: Stella, "The 'Midnight Star' herself.
88	* MuggingTheMonster: The two white men who gang up on Mal in the saloon, while the bartender watches with a smile.
89	-->'''Paden''': Doesn't look quite fair.\
90	'''Emmett''': ''(smiling)'' Which way do you mean?
91	* NoodleIncident: How Paden got out of jail after getting caught for going back for the injured dog. He only jokes, "They locked me up. The dog sprung me."
92	* NoOneCouldSurviveThat:
93	** When Paden is introduced, he has been left to die of exposure in the middle of the desert by a group of bandits. None of them are happy to see him.
94	** Immediately prior to the climax, some {{mook}}s get between Emmett and any chance of a reload while he's practicing his sharpshooting, and [[MoralEventHorizon trample him repeatedly with horses]]. [[spoiler: Mal treats him for his injuries.]]
95	* OhCrap: When Paden confronts the bandits who stole all of his belongings and left him to die.
96	* {{Posse}}: Sheriff Langston organizes a posse to chase Emmett, Paden and Jake when they escape from the Turley jail. However, he calls off the chase when he encounters resistance from Mal, leading to the immortal line: "Today my jurisdiction ends here!"
97	* PoliticallyCorrectHistory: While Mal encounters racism from random townsfolk, all of our heroes are rather conveniently free of any and all racial bias.
98	* PosthumousCharacter: [=McKendrick=]'s father, who was killed by Emmet, escalating the feud between the families.
99	* ProfessionalGambler:
100	** Slick. "Scuse me, Sheriff, I'm a gambler, lookin' to run [[BlatantLies an honest game]]. Who would I talk to about that?"
101	** Paden also spends his time playing cards in saloons, talks in gambling metaphors and mutters about bad luck.
102	* PublicSecretMessage: Langston tells Emmett and Paden that Jake will be hanged at 10 o'clock the next morning. Emmett then gives his brother a ReasonYouSuckSpeech about an old friend of theirs always knowing he would hang, and that "at dawn" he'll be proven right. Langston corrects him, not realizing that Emmett was telling Jake when he would be springing him.
103	* PunchClockVillain: Sheriff Langston is just trying to keep order in his town, but that puts him at odds with our heroes by enforcing the residents' racist views and holding Jake for execution.
104	* PsychoForHire: Tyree is a nasty piece of work.
105	* RampJump: Emmett does one ''on horseback'' towards the end of the ChaseScene, and knocks the BigBad from his horse.
106	* {{Rancher}}: The BigBad is a CorruptCorporateExecutive version, leading to conflict between him and Mal's dad.
107	* {{Reconstruction}}: The film is Lawrence Kasdan's love letter to the classic {{Western}}.
108	* RetiredGunfighter: Emmett
109	* RetiredOutlaw: While never openly acknowledged, all four heroes are quite skilled at shooting and don't seem to be shocked by the idea of killing people but also have no history as lawmen. The closest we get to confirmation is that Paden is said to have "ridden" with Cobb in their youth, which involved getting arrested.
110	* SceneryPorn: Gorgeous views of the New Mexico Rockies and the High Plains. Bonus for managing to get so many amazing shots without showing any modern civilization in the backgrounds since it’s a relatively densely populated area and things could not just be digitally erased back then.
111	* SequelHook: Though it never happened, the last line is “We’ll be back,” which sure seemed like they were leaning on the fourth wall. The movie is on a lot of “movies that deserved a sequel but never got one.”
112	* TheSevenWesternPlots: This is a combination of the Outlaw and Ranch plots, as the heroes are all implied to be {{Retired Outlaw}}s and end up fighting to save the honest homesteaders from a CorruptCorporateExecutive {{Rancher}} and a sheriff whom one of said heroes used to ride with.
113	* TheSheriff: Langston as the (mostly) honest variety, Cobb as the corrupt variety.
114	* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Cobb and Paden meet in the center of the main street for a quickdraw contest. It's complete with tumbleweeds.
115	* StockBritishCharacters: Creator/JohnCleese plays a smart, stern, erudite British sheriff.
116	* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Sheriff Langston is shown playing chess. Sitting across the board is one of his deputies, but after Langston makes a move, his spins the board around to play the other side as well. This established him as intelligent and SurroundedByIdiots. To turn this up to eleven, the chess pieces are the famous Lewis Chessmen carved from walrus ivory in Scandinavia in medieval times. (The originals are in the British Museum).
117	* SmugSnake: "Slick," played by Jeff Goldblum.
118	* TooDumbToLive: Hannah's husband. He's a rude and suspicious JerkAss, who even after Paden, Emmett, and Mal help recover his wagon train's stolen money thinks they were just after it for themselves. [[spoiler:It gets him killed when he turns his gun on them, delaying them just long enough for the last of the outlaws who stole it in the first place to shoot him dead.]]
119	* {{Troperiffic}}: This film gleefully embraces so many WildWestTropes its easier to list the ones that it ''doesn't'' include than it is to list the ones that it does.
120	* WeHaveReserves: Actually averted when a rueful Cobb says that he's running out of deputies after a few shootouts.
121	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Paden is asked repeatedly by his old riding buddies what became of the injured dog that drove him out of banditry. When Stella asks, he says simply, "She left me," jokingly making it sound like the end of a romance, and continuing to evade the question.
122	* WouldHitAGirl: Tyree nearly provokes a gunfight with Jake when he (Tyree) manhandles Phoebe.
123	* TheWildWest: A reconstruction of classic frontier America during the Wild West era.
124	* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: Mal gives a non-verbal one when one of the toughs trying to throw him out of the bar breaks the bottle of whiskey that he had just bought.
125	* YoungGun: Jake is a young, brash and cocky ManChild but backs it up with all the gunfighting and horseriding stunts of a western action hero.

Context Film / Silverado