Last Man Standing (1996/I)

Calificación de los usuarios:

6.0/10   

Director:

Walter Hill

Escritores (WGA):

Ryuzo Kikushima (story) and
Akira Kurosawa (story) ...

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

20 septiembre 1996 (USA)

Género:

Acción | Crimen | Drama | Suspenso

Frase comercial:

There are two sides to every war. And John Smith is on both of them.

Plot:

A drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.

Plot Keywords:

Prohibition | Hired Gun | Mafia | Gun | Honor

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Unfairly trashed actioner from a master director

Reparto

Bruce Willis	...	John Smith
Bruce Dern	...	Sheriff Ed Galt
William Sanderson	...	Joe Monday
Christopher Walken	...	Hickey
David Patrick Kelly	...	Doyle
Karina Lombard	...	Felina
Ned Eisenberg	...	Fredo Strozzi
Alexandra Powers	...	Lucy Kolinski
Michael Imperioli	...	Giorgio Carmonte
Ken Jenkins	...	Capt. Tom Pickett
R.D. Call	...	Jack McCool
Ted Markland	...	Deputy Bob
Leslie Mann	...	Wanda
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	Finn
Luis Contreras	...	Comandante Ramirez

También conocida como:

Gundown (USA) (working title)
Welcome to Jericho (USA) (working title)
El último hombre (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive strong violence and some sexuality.

Duración:

101 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

Inglés | Español

Color:

Color

Relación de Aspecto:

2.35 : 1

Sonido:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Clasificación:

Argentina:16 | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (w) (re-rating) | Germany:18 (cinema rating) | USA:R (certificate #34190) | Singapore:M18 | Philippines:PG-13 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2008) | Netherlands:16 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18

Locaciones de Filmación:

Cook Ranch, Galisteo, New Mexico, USA

Compañía:

Eclipse Catering

Trivialidades:

Elmer Bernstein was originally hired to compose the music but he was fired by director Walter Hill, after writing half of the score, on the basis that it wasn't what he was looking for.

Errores:

Sin sincronía de Audio o Visual: When John Smith is talking to Strozzi's girlfriend in the car in front of Slim's he asks her a question. His lips are obviously not moving when he asks the question.

Citas:

Jack McCool: You sitting out in the open, might not be such a good idea for a fella that has as many enemies as you got.
John Smith: I thought everybody liked me. I am such a nice guy.

Conexiones de Película:

References Wild Bill (1995)

Banda de Sonido:

Denver Blues

Unfairly trashed actioner from a master director

Plot summary: In a prohibition era update of Yojimbo, Bruce Willis shoots a load of gangsters.

First off I will never understand why Walter Hill does not have a better reputation. He's probably best known for his commercial success with the 48 Hrs films, and his other brilliant features get criminally overlooked. He scored a cult hit with "The Warriors", he delivered one of the best westerns ever with "The Long Riders", and put all other car chase movies to shame with the ultra cool "The Driver." As anyone who has seen these films should realise, Hill should be mentioned in the same breath as Peckinpah, Woo and Rodriguez when it comes to slow-mo gunplay.

"Last Man Standing" doesn't rival these earlier works, but it is a tough, gritty film with some fantastic shootouts. It doesn't hold itself back in terms of blood and violence, something current US films of the genre are guilty of doing. It has everything an action film needs; tough antihero, loath able bad guys, a creepy main villain and plenty of cannon fodder. As long as you don't get hung up on technicalities (ie the guns fire ten times more ammo than they hold) you should be entertained.

It doesn't feel like any effort went into the screenplay, but Hill adds some nice touches to the film in terms of nods towards the source material. I particularly like the opening where Bruce spins his empty whisky bottle on the ground to decide which road to take; a clear reference to Toshiro Mifune throwing a stick into the air to decide on his path. There is also an interesting cast; there's earlier Hill collaborator Bruce Dern (The memorable villain from The Driver), William Sanderson (Blade Runner) and of course Christopher Walken, who chews the scenery talking tough with his hoarse accent and threatening people with a Tommy gun. His performance is really the most memorable thing about the film. Willis is not Mifune or Eastwood, but he does suit the mysterious drifter character well and this is one of his better action man roles.

All things said, the film certainly doesn't come close to "Yojimbo", but it does give the more rough hewn "Fistful of Dollars" a run for its money. By no means a masterpiece, "Last Man Standing" should still provide enough for any action fans tired of watered down mainstream Hollywood nonsense that currently dilutes cinemas. It is certainly a lot better than its reputation makes out.