Amazon.com essential video

Director Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) clearly set out to make an old-fashioned Western, but he couldn't help bringing a hip, self-conscious attitude to the proceedings. Silverado thus finds its own funky tone--sometimes rousing, sometimes winking. Four cowpokes converge on a little Western burg called Silverado; they're played by Kevin Kline (a distinctly modern kind of Western hero), Scott Glenn, Danny Glover, and the rowdy young Kevin Costner. Kasdan peppers the somewhat generic action with smart dialogue and a parade of quirky supporting players, including John Cleese as a sheriff who seems to have stepped straight from a Monty Python sketch into an Old West saloon. Bruce Broughton supplies the music, a real throwback to the glory days of thundering Western themes. One thing's for sure: Silverado's a lot more fun than the later Kasdan-Costner Western, Wyatt Earp. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (139)

A Rip Roaring Western With A Lot Of Sub Plots
I like this movie a lot, but I find myself fast-forwarding through parts of it. I like the story and the look of the film. I like westerns and I like the way this movie brings back so many themes and yet keeps them fresh. I sure like the actors. Kevin Kline is one of the most likable and accomplished actors around. Scott Glenn, in my view, is one of the most underrated of actors, and one who for whatever reason never was able to break through into major stardom. Linda Hunt brings so much humanity to the movie, and Brian Dennehy brings so much sly, ruthless aggression. I sure liked those long dustbusters he wore. And Kasdan keeps the action going; there are shootouts at regular intervals, as well as bar fights, ambushes, and high-spirited showdowns. Kevin Costner does a great job as Glenn's younger brother, fast with his pistols and always ready for a good time.

But the movie has so many subplots and side stories for every character except, I think, the kid brother. There's Kline's relationship with Dennehy to think about, then Kline's relationship with Hunt. There's Glenn and his other, homesteading brother and family. There's Glover with his father and then Glover with his sister. Then there's Goldblum with Glover's sister. For me, there are just too many stories. I appreciate that Kasdan wanted to talk about racism in the early west. Except as a vehicle for that subject, I can't see that Glover, his father or his sister bring anything else to the main story line. Perhaps that's enough of a reason. Goldblum seems to me to be an extraneous character, especially without any real need for Glover's sister. And what was John Cleese doing? He's such a recognizable personality that he sort of imbalances the scenes when he appears.

For me, Kasdan came up with a big bag of good stuff, but some of the stuff is better than other stuff. If he'd been a bit less ambitious, or at least willing to edit a bit more, I think he'd have had a more powerful and effective movie. It runs a tad over two hours, but it seems longer to me. Still, it's fun to watch.

The DVD looks just fine

BRILLIANT
I PURCHASED THE GIFT 2 DISC SET THIS MONTH TO ADD TO MY COLECTION OF WESTERN MOVIES. WHAT AN AMAZING MOVIE! THE BRILLIANT CRAFT OF FILM MAKING HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER DEMONSTRATED. THE FILM HAS A VISUAL LUSTRE THAT IS HARD TO DESCRIBE AND THIS IS NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION. I SIMPLY FAIL TO UNDERSTAND HOW ANYONE COULD RATE THIS MOVIE BADLY AND HAVING NEVER SEEN THE FILM BEFORE, I AM INVIGORATED ABOUT THE ART OF MOVIE MAKING.
THE BONUS STUFF IS GOOD AND THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE MAKING OF SILVERADO IS INSPIRING...JUST BUY IT, IN YEARS TO COME IT WILL BE A TREASURE

JOHN ALLDRED
NEW ZEALAND

Very useless gimicky cardboard box.
Yep, it won't close very good either.Almost a major headache to put the slip cover back on.And trust me you need to put it back on.Bad design there.They are right the scrapebook should have been designed to fit in the case.Which lacks the chapter insert.Since i own the old dvd set I simply stuck that chapter insert in the new set.Disc 2 of this set is absurd.Nothing much new.And the interview with Kevin Costner looks to be in the same room and chair and setting he used for the interview on The new Bodyguard dvd.Now I see why this is $13.99 and not more.Basically a rush job.The only reason to buy it of course though is the Superbit presentation. ;)The running commentary is a bit of a laugh though :)Loved it.


They also seemed to have fixed the closed captioning.The original was just embarassingly wrong.

Has some problems, but I love this movie...
An attempt to pay homage to the old westerns of days past, this film is not meant, somehow, to entirely be taken "seriously".It has a sense of humor about itself, that plays throughout much of the film.Still it's mostly finely acted and pulls you in. I enjoy the interplay of the characters and in some ways even more the interplay of the actors-- many of the best actors of their generation.Worth seeing just for the great Brian Dennehy and his interactions with Kevin Kline.(And it didn't really die at the box office, it did okay at the time)You will recognize the fabulous theme music as it's been used everywhere for everything, but it started right here.

Improvement over original DVD but needs more extras
A return to the classic western of yesterday, "Silverado" recalls the sprawling efforts of Sergio Leone and the old spaghetti westerns while recycling many of the motifs of the best efforts from Howard Hawks, Anthony Mann and John Ford.It's a pity that Kasdan hasn't rethought the film and added in additional footage. Perhaps the version we saw in theaters was the definitive version but given the wealth of material I doubt it. "Silverado" is greater than the sum of its parts with a number of strong performances from Kevin Costner, Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline, Brian Dennehy and others. Kasdan manages to echo classic films in this sprawling but exciting western adventure.

Emmett (Scott Glenn) has just been released from prison and is on his way to Silverado to visit with his family when he's attacked by a group of outlaws. He's initially unclear as to why they chose him but it soon becomes apparent that they're hired guns sent by Ethan McKendrick (Ray Baker) to average the death of his father. Along the way Emmett must spring his kid brother Jake (Kevin Costner) from the jail of Turley for a killing that happened in self defense. Emmett has a guardian angel in the form of Mal (Danny Glover) a butcher who is headed to Silverado himself to help out his parents.Emmett also saves Paden (Kevin Kline) a man left to die in the desert by outlaws who ambushed him. When Emmett arrives in Silverado he finds things haven't changed; Ethan McKendrick is still trying to dominate the town by installing his own sheriff (Brian Dennehy) a former outlaw who rode at one time with Paden. He realizes that as long as he stays in Silverado he and his family's lives are in danger.

A beautiful and rich looking transfer highlights this first ever Superbit transfer of "Silverado".This Superbit transfer sparkles and I didn't notice any digital or analog blemishes of note. The black level of the transfer produces deep, rich shadows and the vibrant colors haven't looked this good since the movie was released theatrically in 1985. There's some noticable grain at the beginning of the film but that's to be expected. This is the first edition to sport a DTS track and a 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack as well. The DTS track has slightly better dynamic range but it's virtually impossible to tell them apart otherwise.

Unlike the previous single disc edition of "Silverado", this edition has a number of terrific extras and has relocated the original "Making of" featurette to the second disc to maximize the bit rate for a better picture and sound. "The Making of `Silverado'" features interviews with Lawrence and Mark Kasdan discussing the origin of the film. Lawrence Kasdan has a series of precise images he wanted to portray and turned to his brother Mark to help him flesh out a screenplay that would allow him to keep those startling images and make a coherent story.

"A Return to `Silverado'" features Kevin Costner discussing his involvement in the film. Although Costner had heard stories about Kasdan writing the part of Jake for him to make up for having to cut him out of "The Big Chill", Costner was never told that by Kasdan himself. "A History of Western Shootouts" is little more than a promo piece for 10 of Columbia's westerns with John Cleese doing the honors as narrator in discussing "Missing", "The Professionals", "The Quick and the Dead", "A Man Called Sledge", "Old Gringo", "The Man from Colorado" and others. Running almost 9minutes, it's not much of a featurette consisting of scenes from each film briefly described by Cleese. "Columbia's Top Westerns Trailer" consists of a montage of scenes from classic westerns put together to advertise DVD titles for Columbia. Once again, it's little more than a promo piece. Finally we get "Along the Silverado Trail" a historical commentary about this western.There's no commentary from any of the cast or Kasdan which is a disappointment and a bit of a surprise.

The reason to buy this is the upgrade Superbit transfer. It looks terrific here and the DTS track sounds especially good. There are only two extras worthwhile on this Suberbit Gift Pack and that's "A Return to `Silverado' with Kevin Costner" and "Along the Silverado Trail". Everything else falls into the category of promo pieces or filler. The 20 page booklet included is also quite informative but duplicates much of what is said in the "Making of" featurette. There's also a nice deck of playing cards included in this set.
... Read more

Amazon.com

The word "vampire" is never mentioned in Near Dark, but that doesn't stop this 1987 cult favorite from being one of the best modern-era vampire films. It put then-unknown director Kathryn Bigelow on Hollywood's radar and gave choice roles to Aliens costars favored by Bigelow's ex-husband James Cameron: Lance Henriksen is the leader of a makeshift family of renegade bloodsuckers, nocturnally seeking victims in rural Oklahoma; his immortal gal pal is Aliens and Terminator 2 alumnus Jenette Goldstein; and Bill Paxton is the group's deadliest leather-clad ass kicker. Fellow traveler Jenny Wright lures Okie farm boy Adrian Pasdar into the group with a love bite, and he's soon turning toward vampirism with a combination of frightened revulsion and relentless desire. With Joshua Miller (River's Edge) as the youngest vampire, Near Dark is Bigelow's masterpiece of low-budget ingenuity--a truck-stop thriller that begins well, gets better and better (aided by a fine Tangerine Dream score), and goes out in a blaze of glory. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Great Movie, Great DVD!
Near Dark is one of those great movies that it seems no one has seen. I hope this deluxe DVD will change that.

Near Dark suffered in it's initial theatrical release due to it's resemblance to The Lost Boys. They share a storyline (Hapless young man falls for a girl who turns him into a Vampire, and he's forced to deal with her crazy running buddies.), and even a release date; Lost Boys blew Near Dark right out of theaters, but Near Dark found an appreciative audience on video, and deservedly so. The cast is uniformly great, especially Lance Henrikson and Bill Paxton as the lead Vamps. The script, by Director Kathryn and Eric Red, is perfect- we learn little tidbits about the history of the Vampires, but we're always kept at arms length from them. We see them as alien and threatening, and they see us a food. Bigelow does a great job, especially considering it was her solo directorial debut. The only gripe I had is the Vampirism "Cure" which seems like a Deus Ex Machina, but that's a small quibble. The Tangerine Dream score also made some scenes seem really cheesy...FAR from their best work. I think an orchestral score would have been much better, but budget constraints....

The 2-DVD set is beautifully packaged, with a die-cut inner package inside the box, and a great looking (and informative!) booklet. The film looks great; As usual, Anchor Bay does great work on their DVD transfers. It also has a commentary track from Director Bigelow, which is kinda dry and technical. Disc 2 has tons of storyboards, a weak deleted scene, a new 47-minute documentary, cast & crew bios (Very extensive!), still & ad galleries, and tons more.

Near Dark is one of those films that has flown under the radar for FAR too long, and I can't recommend it highly enough!

An undiscovered gem
Released at the same time as The Lost Boys; Near Dark was seemingly doomed to cult status obscurity. However, Anchor Bay decided to go all the way with the release of the film on DVD, and now has never been a better time to see this undiscovered gem of a film. When Oklahoma boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) falls for sweet Mae (Jenny Wright), he gets much more than he bargained for with just one kiss, and one bite. Soon enough he's in over his head with her and her crazed running buddies (including Lance Henriksen as the group's leader and Bill Paxton in one of his best roles as the group's deadliest member) who drink fresh blood and avoid the sun at all costs. I know what your thinking, but in Near Dark the "V" word is never mentioned; not once. In fact, most of the usual mythology that goes along with the vampire genre isn't featured here; instead the film is part horror, part western, and thanks to director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, K-19: The Widowmaker), the film works. All in all, Near Dark is a true undiscovered gem of a film, and is definitely worth checking out.

An underrated classic of the 80's!
Somewhere in the southwestern heart of America, a young man named Caleb ( played by Adrian Pasdar) falls for a gorgeous young woman ( played by Jenny Jones) who leads her into her clan of vicious vampire outlaws where he becomes one of them looking for people to kill and blood to drink.

A shockingly original and brilliant vampire gem from 1987 which came out during the same time like " Lost Boys" but this has became a cult hit on video and on DVD now. The casting is great especially having Aliens, Titanic and Terminator stars Lance Henrikensein, Jennette Goldstein and Bill Paxton as the bloodsuckers, great acting and gore. The 2-disc DVD set is great with awesome extras like commentary by the director, interviews, documentary, poster-and-still gallery, deleted scene, and storyboard gallery.

This movie truly belongs in every horror movie lover's library.

Also recommended: " Vamp", " From Dusk Till Dawn", " The Hills Have Eyes", " Demons", " 28 Days Later", " Lifeforce", " Fright Night", " Fright Night 2", " Vampire Hunter D", "Underworld", " Van Helsing", " Interview with the Vampire", " Freddy Vs. Jason" and "Re-Animator".

a new perspective
I must strongly recommend this film. I can easily overlook a few minor storyline problems because the premise of this film is absolutely intriguing - the transition from humanity to the world of being a vampire.

This film is beautifully filmed and edited. The acting is strong, and the story holds you from the beginning to the end.

Certainly, the bar room scene is a classic; it, alone, makes the film worthwhile. But, don't get me wrong, the entire film is masterfully handled and should be applauded. If nothing else, it has some of the greatest one liners ever spoken in a horror film.

Near Dark deserves to be seen. I can't believe I never heard of it before. I just happened to see it in Wal Mart and picked it up. This film is definitely one of my best impulse buys ever.

You won't be disappointed.

Definitely a Classic
Man, I remember watching this movie when I was like 6 or 7 years old and I thought it was great. I Had forgotten all about it until my dad mentioned, the other day, about the "vampires that drove the motorhome." All of a sudden, I knew what he was talking about, even after all of these years. We couldn't remember what the name of it was so I did a massive search because he caught my curiosity. I can't wait until it comes in the mail!! My little brother (well, he's not so little anymore) is gonna trip hard core! Just wait until (if) I find the movie "The Dolls" on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (127)

The Best of The Modern Westerns
I'll tell you how much I like this movie. I bought the VHS and soundtrack no more than six weeks ago and upon discovering its DVD availability, I immediately hit "1-Click".

I can't think of another Western in the 15 years since this film was released that I enjoyed more, not even "Lonesome Dove", and that's saying a lot. I was praying that it would be released on DVD and it's nice to know my prayers were answered.

The cast is one of the finest of the mid-Eighties: Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Kevin Costner, Jeff Goldblum, Linda Hunt, John Cleese, and Brian Dennehy. And these are just the principals.

Silverado is a sweeping Western demi-epic that takes some classic genre cliches and weaves them into a modern classic, emboldened by Bruce Boughton's masterful score. The master of this all is co-writer and director Lawrence Kasdan, who has given us some other gems like "Body Heat" and "The Big Chill".

This DVD release is great news and the only thing that could make me happier is to find that additional scenes featuring Rosanna Arquette, deleted from the theatrical release, appear somewhere on the DVD.

A cool western movie
"Silverado" is a really good movie it has a lot of action.
I really liked this movie even though I don't like western movies because western movies always has the typical good guys fighting the bad guys for justice, but "Silverado" has something unique that makes it different from the others western movies maybe its because "Silverado" has drama, adventures, action, comedy and romance.

The soundtrack makes it feel like the real old west. The music fits with the film perfect.

I really liked the story of the movie. A lone cowboy trapped in a desert cabin, pinned down by the bad guys, he must shoot his way out with the help of three more guys. These now become friends and heroes as they go after thieves, protect a wagon train of homesteaders, save their families and friends from the land gruubbing Mckendricks, and fight corrupt lawmen.

The scene that I liked the most is when Linda Hunt says "He can't hurt you , if he is dead". (she said that to a frightened employee).

Anyways you should see this movie if you haven't seen it, but if you have seen it well buy the dvd IT'S WORTH IT.

good for any person
I'm not a fan of westerns but "Silverado" was a good one. It had a lot of action and it never became boring. A good movie to me is something I can watch over and over and not get bored I wouldn't mind watching it again. "Silverado" in my opinion had something unique to it, it had an African American and it had someone funny in it too. Not all westerns had a cowboy that was funny, they where all serious and I think that more western movies should be like "Silverado" in some way. Jake ( Kevin Costner ) was my favorite character and my favorite quote was said bye him too! "All I did was kiss a girl" I like this quote because he said it funny and it's the reason why he got in trouble. Well the sound track in the film was in my opinion to dramatic, but it wasn't to bad it fit into the movie perfect but they should tone it down just a bit. But Silverado over all was a great movie and I recommend that you at least see it once.

What I Think About This Movie
I think tnis movie sucks. The reason I think it sucks is because it boring, it did not catch my attention at all, and there were really no exiting parts in the movie that I like.If enybody were to ask me what I think about this movie I would tell them to save there money, or there time and not watch it.Personally I thought the scenes in the movie were quite not interesting.So really I think this movie sucks, and I wouldnt suggest this movie to enybody.I think they could make this movie better by changing everything.

silverado
I LIKED THIS MOVIE CAUSE IT HAD ALOT OF ACTION AND SOME
NICE GUNS THATS ANOTHER THING I LIKED ABOUT THIS MOVIE.
ANOTHER PART OF THE MOVIE IS WHEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS
GET INTRUBLE FOR SOME THING THEY DIDNT DO SO THEY GET
IN JAIL SO THEY KILL THEGUARD AT THE JAIL SO THEY ESCAPE.
ANOHTER GOOD PART IS WHENTHEY GO GET REVENGE ON THE
GUYS THAT GOT THEM IN JAIL.AND THESE GUYS WERE HAVING
FUN KILLING BADGUYS.ANOTHER PART WAS WHEN THEY RAID
TOWNS AND KILL SERFFES THAT ARE BAD.ONE PART THAT I ALSO
LIKED WASWHEN THE BLACK MAN FIHGTS THE WHITE MEN INTHE
BAR AND HE WINS AND THE OWNER OF THE BAR DOSENT WANT
TO GIVE HIM WINE CUASE HE WAS BLACK AND THOSE WERE THE
THINGS I LIKED ABOUT THIS MOVIE ... Read more