Wild Wild West is a 1999 West American action comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. It was written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock (whose previous collaboration included the Short Circuit and Tremors franchise), along with Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. A widescreen adaptation of the 1960s Wild Wild West TV series, starring Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh and Salma Hayek. The film takes the steampunk gadget from the original series to a more fantastic size with a series of tools that may not culminate in a giant mechanical spider.
Wild Wild West is a commercial disappointment, generating only $ 222.1 million worldwide with a $ 170 million budget, and received very negative reviews.
Video Wild Wild West
Plot
In 1869, four years after the end of the American Civil War, US Army Captain James West (Will Smith) and US Marshal Artemus Gordon (Kevin Kline) hunted General Confederate "Bloodbath" McGrath (Ted Levine), wanted for mass murder throughout the southern United States. This is because McGrath ordered the massacre in a settlement called New Liberty, where many freed slaves were killed, including Western biological parents. The search leads to a brothel where both try (unsuccessfully) to catch him. This led to a big fight and a nitroglycerin cart crashed into the building, starting a fire. Both West and Gordon - Gordon dressed as women - escape. Then, in Washington, D.C., West and Gordon meet in the White House with President Ulysses S. Grant (Kevin Kline), who tells them about the disappearance of key American scientists and the betrayal plot by General "Bloodbath" McGrath. Grant demanded both of them by finding scientists before he inaugurated the first continental subway line in Promontory, Utah.
On their trains, Gordon examined the head of a murdered scientist, using a projection tool to reveal the last thing the scientist saw. Finding McGrath and hints in the picture, they headed to New Orleans, chasing clues about Dr Arliss Loveless (Kenneth Branagh), a former Confederate scientist in a steam powered wheelchair, who hosted a party for the Southern elite of society. Western error is a female guest for Gordon in disguise and making mistakes that cause guests to want to spoil the West. Meanwhile, Gordon explores the mansion and finds the caged Rita Escobar (Salma Hayek), rescues her. Gordon freed the West from the death penalty with elastic straps, and three men fled to their wagon The Wanderer. On board, Rita sought their help in rescuing her father, one of the kidnapped scientists, Professor Escobar.
Later, Loveless held a reception to demonstrate his latest weapon: a steam-powered tank. The tank used General McGrath's army as a training target, which made McGrath angry. When McGrath demanded an explanation, Loveless accused him of "treason" for surrendering on Appomattox, then shot McGrath and let him die. When Loveless and his troops head to Utah, Gordon, West and Rita find the dying McGrath, who reveals that he was trapped by Loveless for the New Liberty massacre, explains that Loveless uses tanks to kill the people there. The three then pursued Loveless at The Wanderer, but after expecting their arrival and using steam-powered hydraulics, Loveless maneuvered his cart behind The Wanderer. The West manages to deactivate the Loveless train, but not before Loveless uses the cannon grappling hook that was launched to stop The Wanderer. Rita, afraid of being recaptured by Loveless, takes one of Gordon's explosive pool balls and unintentionally releases the sleeping gas that hit the West, Gordon, and herself.
West and Gordon wake up as Loveless and his posse withdraws at The Wanderer holding Rita, announcing that he intends to arrest President Grant at a golden spike ceremony and that West and Gordon will be killed. should they step out of the trap where they are. Escape from the trap, both stumble on Loveless's private rail line, which leads them to his industrial complex, hidden in Spider Canyon. Here, they witnessed Loveless's ultimate weapon: a giant mechanical spider armed with two nitroglycerin guns. Loveless uses spiders to capture President Grant and Gordon at a ceremony at Promontory Point, while West seems to be shot by one of Loveless's bodyguards.
In his industrial complex, Loveless reveals his plan: to destroy the United States with his mechanical forces unless President Grant agrees to divide the country among Great Britain, France, Spain, Mexico, Native Americans, and himself. When Grant refused to surrender, Loveless ordered Gordon to be shot. However, the West, who survived thanks to the chain letters Gordon had given him, disguised himself and managed to distract Loveless, allowing Gordon to release the prisoners. Unfortunately, Loveless escaped his profit-span in the ensuing battle, taking the President with him.
To rescue the President, Gordon and the West built a flying machine to overtake the spider as Loveless attacked a small town in an attempt to force Grant to sign the surrender. Gordon and West crashed into the spider, but managed to grab the beam before they fell and Munitia, one of Loveless short women, fell to his death after the collision. After the West defeats the subordinates below, throws one of the spiders after tying it to the chain, a fight ensues between him and Loveless, now on a mechanical foot. Gordon shoots a hole in the Loveless hydraulic line, allowing the West to get the upper hand. This allowed Gordon and Grant to defeat the Loveless guard, and pleaded for his life, Loveless dragging himself back into his wheelchair when the spider approached the cliff. Without an attempt to shoot West with a hidden pistol, but hit the steam pipe spider, stop it just before plunging into the canyon. Stop suddenly leaving the West and Without Love hanging with the precarious of the spider. Loveless tries to decide whether he should pull the lever of a chair that will release them or not, knowing it will send him and West to their death if he does. Loveless taunts the West so much that the West pulls its own levers and survives by grabbing the ankles of his subordinates whom he wasted before, while Loveless falls to his death.
Grant promotes Gordon and West as Agent # 1 and Agent # 2 of the new US Secret Service. Gordon asked which of them are 1 and 2, but the President rejected the question as unimportant and told them that they would have plenty of time to talk about it on the way back, when he took "The Wanderer". Gordon and West meet again with Rita, both planning to wait for her, but she destroys their hope, announcing that Professor Escobar is actually her husband.
Gordon and Western journey through the desert. Gordon asks the West "What if I ask something to you?" Western reply "Actually, I know, Artie." The camera shows that they are actually riding a mechanical spider.
Maps Wild Wild West
Cast
- Will Smith as Captain James T. West
- Kevin Kline as US Marshal Artemus Gordon/President Ulysses S. Grant
- Kenneth Branagh as Dr. Arliss Loveless
- Salma Hayek as Rita Escobar
- M. Emmet Walsh as Coleman
- Bai Ling as Miss East
- Ted Levine as General "Bloodbath" McGrath
- Frederique van der Wal as Amazonia
- Musetta Vander as Munitia
- Garcelle Beauvais-Nylon as Belle
Production
Development
In January 1992, Variety reported that Warner Bros. planned a theatrical version of Wild Wild West directed by Richard Donner, written by Shane Black, and starred Mel Gibson as James West ( Donner directs three episodes from the original series). Donner and Gibson instead made theatrical versions of TV Maverick in 1994. The Wild Wild West movie continued in the development phase, with Tom Cruise rumored to lead in 1995. Cruise turned it on return Mission: Impossible next year.
Discussions with Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld began in February 1997. Warner Bros. chasing George Clooney to play Artemus Gordon, with Kevin Kline, Matthew McConaughey and Johnny Depp also competing for the role while Steve Wilson and Brent Maddock were rewriting scripts between April and May 1997. Clooney signed in August, > Jack Frost , and writers Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman were taken to the ship to rewrite. The filmmaking is expected to start in January 1998, but was encouraged until April 22, 1998. Clooney came out, citing an agreement with Sonnenfeld: "In the end, we all decided that instead of ruining this project trying to retrofit roles for me, it's better to step aside and let them get someone else. "
Changes from the television series
Significant changes were made to Dr. Loveless as portrayed by Kenneth Branagh in the film. He went from dwarfs to men without feet; his first name also changed from Miguelito to Arliss and he was given the motive of the South people who sought the defeat of North Korea after the Civil War. Kevin Kline plays Gordon, whose character is similar to the version played by Ross Martin, except that he is far more competitive with James West, in addition to being much more selfish. Kline's Gordon movie script creates tools that are more ridiculous, humorous, and unreasonable than those created by Gordon Martin in the television series. The film also depicts the West and Gordon as an aggressive rival, while in the television series, West and Gordon have very close friendships and trust each other with their lives. Also, while Gordon does masquerade as Grant in the series ("The Night of the Steel Assassin", "The Night of the Colonel's Ghost" and "The Night of the Big Blackmail") they are not played by the same actors. In addition, on TV shows, the West is portrayed by Robert Conrad, a Caucasian, not an African American - who serves an important plot point, since West's parents are among the victims of the Loveless massacre in New Liberty).
Jon Peters served as producer along with director Sonnenfeld. In a Q & amp; A 2002 that appeared on An Evening with Kevin Smith, writer-director Kevin Smith talked about working with Peters in the fifth potential Superman movie in 1997, revealing that Peters has three demands for the script. The first request was Superman not wearing the suit, the second was Superman did not fly, and the third was Superman against a giant spider in the third round. After Tim Burton joins, Smith's script is discarded and the movie is never produced due to further complications. A year later, he noted that Wild Wild West , with Peters on board as a producer, was released with the entry of a giant mechanical spider in the final round. Neil Gaiman said that Jon Peters also insisted that a giant mechanical spider was included in the film adaptation of The Sandman.
Primary photography
The subject of photography began in 1998. The sequence on both interior rail Artemus Gordon and Dr Loveless was shot on set at Warner Bros.. The train exterior was shot in Idaho on the Camas Prairie Railroad. The Wanderer is described by Baltimore & amp; Ohio 4-4-0 No. 25, one of the oldest steam locomotives operating in the US. Built in 1856 at Mason Machine Works in Taunton, Massachusetts, later renamed "William Mason" in honor of the manufacturer. During pre-production, the engines are delivered to steamboat shops at Strasburg Railroad to be refurbished and repainted. Locomotive taken out for B & amp; O Train Museum in Baltimore "Steam Days". "William Mason" and "Inyo", which is the locomotive used in the original television series, both appeared in the Disney The Great Locomotive Chase (1956).
Many of the 'Wild West' recordings were shot around Santa Fe, New Mexico, especially in the western town located on Cook Movie Ranch. During the shooting of a series involving stunts and fireworks, a planned building fire grew out of control and quickly set up a local fire crew standing nearby. Most of the city was destroyed before the fire was buried.
Controversy
In 1997, author Gilbert Ralston sued Warner Bros.. over the upcoming movies based on the series. Ralston helped create the original Wild Wild West television series, and wrote the pilot episode scenario, "The Night of the Inferno". In a deposition, Ralston explained that in 1964 he was approached by producer Michael Garrison who "" said he had an idea for the series, a good commercial idea, and wanted to know if I could paste the idea of ​​western hero and James Bond type together in the same event. "Ralston said he later created the character of the Civil War, the format, the outline of the story and the nine draft scripts that form the basis for the television series.That is the idea, for example, to have a secret agent named Jim West who will perform a secret mission for the clumsy Ulysses S. Grant.
Ralston's experience reveals the common practice of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s when television writers who helped create the popular series allowed producers or studios to gain praise for a show, thus deceiving writers from millions of dollars in royalty. Ralston died in 1999, before his suit was decided. Warner Bros eventually paid his family between $ 600,000 and $ 1.5 million.
Reception
Wild Wild West received generally negative reviews from film critics, with a 17% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 4.1 out of 10, based on 130 reviews. The consensus states "Bombastic, manic, and most laughter-free, Wild Wild West is a strange misfire where greater care is devoted to special effects than on scripts." At Metacritic this film has a score of 38 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally poor reviews". In CinemaScore, viewers give this movie an average value of "C" on a scale A to F.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times stated in her review that the film "leaves behind the fact that her story will be arbitrary even by comic book standards, and her character has nothing in common or an emotional connection."
With a budget of $ 170 million, the film grossed $ 111.8 million domestically and $ 108.3 million overseas for a total of $ 222.1 million worldwide. On the opening weekend, the film grossed $ 27.7 million, finishing first at the box office.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rewards the Wild Wild West with a one star rating and describes it as a "dead comedy zone." You stared in disbelief when the scene failed and died.This movie is all draft and there is no content; complicated special effects such as watching the money burn on the screen. "
Razzie Awards
Each award is "received" personally by Robert Conrad, who has played Jim West in his original series and subsequent TV movies. He received an award to show his objection to the film.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip hop and R & amp; B was released on June 15, 1999 by Interscope Records. It peaked at # 4 on Billboard 200 and # 4 in Top R & amp; B/Hip-Hop.
Score
The film orchestra values ​​include the main theme composed and performed by Elmer Bernstein, a veteran of many direct western movie scores, such as The Magnificent Seven . The score mainly follows the symphony tradition of the western genre, while at times it also recognizes the fondness of children's films by using a more contemporary musical style with percussion of rock and electronic organs. This score also briefly incorporates the theme of Richard Markowitz from the television series in one gesture, not revealed in the film (and not included in the album) - ironically, this is one of several elements loyal to the original series, which also does not credit Markowitz for theme. An additional part of the score was composed by the sons of Elmer Bernstein, Peter, and his daughter, Emilie, serving as one of the orchestra and producer. Thirty minutes of orchestral music of the film was released on CD from VarÃÆ'¨se Sarabande in 1999. Elmer Bernstein won the ASCAP Award in the Top Box Office Films category.
- "Main Title" - 3:00
- "West Fights" - 1:14
- "Dismissal" - 2:13
- "East Meets West" - 1:15
- "Of Rita, Rescue and Revenge" - 5:43
- "Trains, Tanks, and Ropes" (Prepared by Peter Bernstein) - 4:03
- "The Cornfield" - 1: 9
- "Loveless' Plan" - 4:45
- "Goodbye Loveless" (Compiled by Peter Bernstein) - 4:33
- "Ride the Spider" - 2:14
Songs
Like most Smith movies during this period, the hip hop single by rapper/actor, called "Wild Wild West", serves as a promotional theme song for the film. Wild Wild West is the number 1 hit on the US charts, but also won the Razzie Award. It was produced by Rob Fusari, who picked up a sample of Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit "I Wish". This song features guest vocals from the R & amp; B Dru Hill, and is a star-making vehicle for lead singer Dru Hill, SisqÃÆ'³. Old school rapper Kool Moe Dee recorded his own Wild Wild West single in 1987, and featured the choir of the former Wild Wild West as the choir. new Wild Wild West . (Song performances by Smith, Dee, Dru Hill, and Sisqo at 1999 MTV Movie Awards include Wonder performing a chorus replay on the piano.)
The song "Bailamos", sung by Enrique Iglesias, was also heard during the final movie title. Music videos for both ending titles are shown on DVD.
Some of the unheard songs in the movie itself are featured on the promotional CD album Wild Wild West: Music Inspired By The Motion Picture (released by Interscope Records on June 15, 1999). These include the song "Bad Guys Always Die", recorded by Dr. Dre & amp; Eminem. ("Wild Wild West" and "Bailamos" are the only songs on the album heard in the movie).
Media Tie-in
A video game was published in 1999 to join the film release, Wild Wild West: The Steel Assassin .
See also
- List of American films in 1999
- Strange to the West
- Wild West
- The most expensive movie list
References
External links
- Wild Wild West in IMDb
- Wild Wild West in Box Office Mojo
- Wild Wild West at Rotten Tomatoes
- Wild Wild West in Metacritic
- Budget (Recording Settings) - The Numbers.com
- Adudathuda DVD podBLAST alternative DVD commentary for Wild Wild West
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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