Product Description

IN A TOWN WITH NO JUSTICE, THERE IS ONLY ONE LAW, EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF. WHEN PERVASIVE BOTTLEGGING CHOKES THE LIFE OUT OF A SMALL TEXAS TOWN, JOHN SMITH DECIDES TO CASH IN ON THE ACTION. HE CLEVERLY HIRES HIMSELF OUT TO EACH GANG AND BETRAYS BOTH SIDES TO DESTROY THE BOTTLEGGERS AND RESCUE THE TOWN.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5967 in DVD
• Brand: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 1997-11-19
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 101 minutes

Amazon.com
Best known for making movies about men and violence, director Walter Hill scored a misfire with this ambitious but ultimately dreary remake of Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic Yojimbo. The story's essentially the same but the setting has been switched to a dusty, almost ghostly Texas town in the 1930s, where two rival Chicago gangs are locked in an uneasy truce. Bruce Willis plays the lone drifter who allies himself with both gangs to his own advantage, working both sides against each other according to his own hidden agenda. The violence escalates to a bloody climax, of course, with Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, and Michael Imperioli as trigger-happy lieutenants in a lonely, desolate war. Fans of gangster movies will want to see this, and, if nothing else, Hill has brought his polished style to a vaguely mythic story. It's far from being a classic, however, and although its action is at times masterfully choreographed, the movie's humorless attitude is unexpectedly oppressive. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

A novel take on a classic movie
Akira Kurosawa's film "Yojimbo" is a cinematic masterpiece, and in the time it came out, Westerns and Samurai movies were practically one in the same. Consider "Seven Samurai" and "The Magnificent Seven" both excellent films in their own right. Similary, "Yojimbo" was remade into the classic Spaghetti western, "A Fistful of Dollars" with Clint Eastwood. It's with this remarkable history that "Last Man Standing" was made.

If you know the story fo Fistful of Dollars or Yojimbo, it becomes clear that this is a role that Willis is well-suited for. He plays a man passing through a town in the middle of nowhere, and the town's split between two rival crime families. As a man skilled with guns, he plays the families off of each other to make a buck, but can't help getting pulled into the dilemmas of this little town.

If you loved Yojimbo or Fistful, and don't want to see this movie out of fear that it will ruin the story, I would put those fears to bed. This movie takes a novel and more modern approach to the story, and Willis adds his own flavor to the 'man with no name.'

Of course, I liked Yojimbo more. But Last Man Standing is a good film in its own right, with a good performance by Willis and excellent performances by Chris Walken, Bruce Dern, and William Sanderson. The gunfights in this movie are enjoyable, but unrealistic in a sort of John Woo/Killer/Hard-Boiled style.

So, if you're interested in seeing a reworking of a classic movie, or if you just want to see a good shoot-em-up, this movie fits the bill.

I love it to death.
This has to be one of the best action, western and gangster movies I've ever seen. Willis was perfect for the part of John Smith (his voice-over has some of the best dialogue ever and if you don't believe me check out the opening scene), a gun for hire without a conscience. All elements of each genre are highly spoken for.

The editing, dialogue, cinematography, music, direction and acting are all top class. Everything is fantastically overblown but never preposterous.

As for the film itself, it is very empty but the mood and tone are so very distant and weird, and I totally love it. Walter Hills direction is a well balanced cross between Sam Peckinpah and John Woo. And Cooder's score will transport you right into the movie even on it's own. This wall always be one of my fave movies and it is very much worthy of 5 stars.

The 2.50:1 anamorphic picture is stunning and there are rumors that Hill originally wanted to make it in B/W but New Line Cinema would not let him. To test this out turn your color right down and see how much the film's atmosphere is enhanced from already gloomy to undeniably depressing, BUT IT IS SO COOL.

The DD 5.1 sound quality on this DVD during the gunfights is absolutely amazing. It will bug the hell out of your neighbors, but who cares? Every now and again Walter Hill injects a sudden burst of ferocious, furious and brutal violence that takes your breath away. When people are killed they don't just fall down, they FLY across the room and thru windows.

Extras are brief and not very good (Cast Bios say that Die Hard 4 was released in 1998!) and there is a cool clip of Loaded Weapon 1 hidden in there too.

Good stuff
Okay let me get this clear, I have this wierd obsession of gunfighting, not just gun fighting, but to be more specific dual weapon gunfights. A gun for each hand, to me that is the pinnacle of badass. When I see a action movie I don't care about explosions, attractive women, or stupid car chases. I hate all that garbage American directors throw in thier films. I wanna see gritty no holds gunfighting. I enjoy either a realistic gun battle (Way of the gun, Heat, etc...) or all out unrealistic (The Killer, Hard Boiled, The Matrix, etc...) So combine the gritty dirt quality, with Bruce Willis only fighting with two pistols, and lack of explosions, you can understand why I enjoy this movie. One thing this movie has, that is not used enough in action movies is the depressing voice over, like in the video game Max Payne. That game would make a damn fine movie.