Bruce Dern, Christina Applegate, David Arquette, Diane Lane, Ellen Barkin ...( see more  see more... ) , James Gammon , Jeff Bridges , John Hurt , Keith Carradine

Audiences overlooked this film, one of the better westerns in several years, featuring yet another terrific performance by Jeff Bridges, America's most underrated movie actor. As James Butler Hickock,...( read more  read more... ) he captures the sense of a man at the end of his career, one of the first media superstars who discovers that his legend is more burden than blessing. As he heads toward his final hand of poker in Deadwood, South Dakota, he flashes back to his younger days and the events that built his reputation, even as he copes with encroaching blindness caused by syphilis. Walter Hill blends action and elegy, utilizing a screenplay based both on Pete Dexter's novel Deadwood and on Thomas Babe's play Fathers and Sons. Wild Bill features strong supporting performances by John Hurt (as a Hickock sidekick) and Ellen Barkin (as the tough, lusty Calamity Jane)--but the centerpiece is the sad, manly performance by Bridges, who more than measures up to the part. --Marshall Fine

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38% liked it

5,243 ratings

Critics

35% liked it

20 critics

R, 115 min.

Directed by: Walter Hill

Release Date: June 1, 1996

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DVD Release Date: April 2, 2002

Stats: 114 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (114)


  • December 16, 2008
    The story of 19th century gunslinger Wild Bill, convincingly played by Jeff Bridges, starts with a few episodes of his most curious shootouts, then focuses on his last weeks in the city of Deadwood, surrounded by friends and enemies. While the details differ from the first Seaso...( read more)n of the HBO show ?Deadwood?, which dealt with the same situation (ironically with Keith Carradine as Wild Bill, who is playing a small role as Buffalo Bill in this film), the scene of a dirty town full of scoundrels remains the same. Dazed by opium pipes and thinking of the past Wild Bill seems to be indifferent to possible threats, despite of his friends' warnings. The movie combines a cast of great names down to rather small roles, gritty shootouts and a realistic scenery, like most Walter Hill Westerns. Which one of the two features, movie or TV show, painted a more accurate image of the late hero remains uncertain, but both are worth seeing for their actor performances.
  • September 23, 2008
    Interesting take on Bill. The cast really pulls through.
  • March 22, 2008
    Good performances are hampered by a stagy feel.
  • January 17, 2008
    Another great Walter Hill western. Stylish, engaging and filled with great performances.
  • July 26, 2009
    Definitely a good western. Jeff Bridges does a great job as Bill.
  • March 28, 2009
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • March 15, 2009
    EXCELLENT OWNS IT ADD IT TO YOUR WESTERN COLLECTION LOTS OF ACTION , WILD BILL WAS A REAL BAD ASS LOL
  • September 22, 2008
    Nie te sleg nie, heel kykbaar, ook op DVD. Jeff se vertolking is darem nie een dimensioneel nie. Mens kry die man - dis nou Wild Bill - half jammer, want hy is 'n produk, tot 'n mate, van sy omgewing, en dan ook later van wat mense van hom sou verwag. Die geweld en skiet tonele i...( read more)s verteerbaar en nie oordadig bloederig nie. En tannie Ellen het nog die goedere om kaal uit 'n bad te kan spring! ;-)
  • March 24, 2008
    This movie had potential, but fell through the cracks. To bad.
  • January 30, 2008
    Une perte de temps...

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