Robert J. Maxwell Four cowboys meet by happenstance in the Western wilderness, have lots of fun, and then are subject to serious transgressions by a corrupt sheriff and some evil cattlemen. Kline, Glenn, Costner, and Glover are the initially happy travelers. Their characters' names are Padem, Emmet, Jake, and Mal. I conducted a scholarly study of cowboy names of the period and not one of them had a name like Padem, Emmet, Jake, Mal, Matt, Link, Ringo, Jesse, Clay, or Latigo. As a matter of fact, the four most common names were Governeur, Montmorency, Noble, and Bolingbroke. The results can be found in "Onomastics of the Post Civil War American West," readily available in the back of the bottom shelf of my grand garçon, never published and never will be.The movie? It starts out kind of fun. Costner is a light-hearted young man and a dead shot. You'd have difficulty imagining him in his later roles. Danny Glover is a dead shot too, with his Henry rifle. In fact they're all dead shots and fast draws except the bad guys who are uniformly slow and ragged in their aim. Linda Hunt has a rather prominent role as a saloon manager. She was born with hypopituitary dwarfism but is a fine actress and actually looks pretty good here. Ben Goldman is an overdressed professional gambler, a sneak who sides with Brian Dennehy, the corrupt sheriff, although how and why he does so, only the editor knows. A few laughs and action aplenty without bath tubs of gore. All the usual conventions of the genre are adhered to. It's diverting and sometimes fun.

gavin6942 A misfit bunch of friends come together to right the injustices which exist in a small town.The western genre is not something I grew up with or really cared much for, bu it is starting to grow on me. And films like this help a lot, because it is somewhat unconventional and has an excellent cast. Some of these guys were huge, or just on the verge of being huge. And then casting John Cleese as a sheriff... an Englishman in the Old West? I do wish there had been more Jeff Goldblum, and the ladies never get a lot of screen time. This could have been a big film for Amanda Wyss, but we barely get to see her. At least we have Scott Glenn, who really ought to be a bigger name than he ever was.

weasel626 Silverado 1985 spoilersAs far as westerns go there're two big names Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. I would like to submit another name for the famous western actors Kevin Costner. Kevin Costner has been in Wyatt Earp, dances with wolves, open range, etc. My favorite Western to feature Kevin Costner is Silverado. As a whole I feel Silverado is under appreciate. The story is unique featuring a group of heroes who are less then honorable. We first me Emmitt (Scott Glenn) in a lonely dusty cabin in the middle of nowhere. The silence is broken by the sounds of gunfire and a battle rages. Next we meet Paden (Kevin Kline) a man left stranded in the desert by his friends. Paden and Emmitt head out to find Emmitt's younger brother Jake (Kevin Costner). Jakes being held in prison for murder. The trio ends up staging a jailbreak and head off toward Silverado. Along the journey, they Mal( Danny Glover) a man headed home to help his Paw. The group of four men end up taking up a common cause and ending the reign of tyranny in Silverado. As far as westerns go Silverado has a lot of heart and Kevin Costner's character Jake made a large impact on me growing u. Jakes the ultimate wild card and the reason I give Silverado an 8/10

zardoz-13 "Bill Chill" writer & director Lawrence Kasdan made the perfect western "Silverado" with Scott Glenn, Kevin Kline, Kevin Costner, and Danny Glover. This four-fisted horse opera finds an oddball assortment of individuals thrown together into an alliance when they encounter common foes. Clocking in at 133 minutes, "Silverado" boasts a number of rambunctious gunfights, with Costner imitating Steve McQueen, right down to riding his horse side saddle. This atmospheric western is reminiscent of those oaters from the 1950s rather than Spaghetti westerns. Kasdan has assembled an impressive supporting cast that includes John Cleese, Brian Dennehy, Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, James Gammon, Rosana Arquette, and Lyn Whitfield. The production values are stupendous, and "Silverado" looks thoroughly genuine. Kasdan's dialogue is memorable, too. The opening scene with Scott Glenn cornered in a shack while several gunmen try to kill him is interesting because we in the audience are trapped alongside Glenn. Relying on his wits, Glenn's cowboy hero never sees any of his assailants but he makes mincemeat of them with his fancy shooting. He is riding to a town called Turley to rendezvous with his impulsive younger brother Jake (Kevin Costner) and runs across Paden (Kevin Kline) left to die in the desert. Emmett nurses Paden back to health and Paden sets out to find the dastards that left him for dead. Meantime, Malachi (Danny Glover of the "Lethal Weapon" franchise) is going home to see his parents. Kasdan doesn't waste a second in this heavy duty sagebrusher that doesn't rub your nose in gore. Composer Bruce Broughton has created an Elmer Bernstein type orchestral score. Western fans must watch this western!