Sunset (film)
| Sunset | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Blake Edwards |
| Produced by | Tony Adams |
| Screenplay by | Blake Edwards |
| Story by | Rod Amateau |
| Starring | Bruce Willis James Garner Malcolm McDowell Mariel Hemingway |
| Music by | Henry Mancini |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Editing by | Robert Pergament |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 29, 1988 |
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English Spanish |
| Budget | $19,000,000 (estimated)[1] |
| Box office | $4,594,452[2] |
Sunset is a 1988 film released by TriStar Pictures. Written and directed by Blake Edwards, the movie stars Bruce Willis as legendary western actor Tom Mix and James Garner as legendary lawman Wyatt Earp.
The story is based on Rod Amateau's novel Sunset, which was loosely based on fact as Earp actually did serve as technical adviser for some early silent westerns.
Although Willis received top billing in the film, Garner actually has much more screen time during the movie. This was the second film in which Garner played Wyatt Earp, the first being in John Sturges's Hour of the Gun, released in 1967.
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[edit] Plot
Set in Hollywood of the late 1920s during the waning days of the industry's transition to sound film, producer and studio head Alfie Alperin wants to produce a great Western movie about Wyatt Earp. Tom Mix is cast as the great United States Marshal and the real Earp is on set as a technical adviser. But before Earp and Mix can start their movie adventure they are caught in a real case of murder, prostitution and corruption. Together they try to straighten out the problems of the missing son of Earp's former girlfriend Christina. But now she is the wife of studio boss Alfie Alperin and he isn't amused by Earp's investigations. The fact that the young man's older sister is dating a notorious mobster and that all three were at the scene of a murder. Soon Earp unveils the true sadistic character of Alfie Alperin and after the death of Christina matters become personal.
[edit] Cast
- Bruce Willis as Tom Mix
- James Garner as Wyatt Earp
- Malcolm McDowell as Alfie Alperin
- Mariel Hemingway as Cheryl King
- Kathleen Quinlan as Nancy Shoemaker
- Jennifer Edwards as Victoria Alperin
- Patricia Hodge as Christina Alperin
- Richard Bradford as Capt. Blackworth
- M. Emmet Walsh as Chief Dibner
- Joe Dallesandro as Dutch Kieffer
- Andreas Katsulas as Arthur
- Dann Florek as Marty Goldberg
- Bill Marcus as Hal Flynn
- Michael C. Gwynne as Mooch
- Dermot Mulroney as Michael Alperin
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Nominee, Best Costume Design (Patricia Norris), 1989 Academy Awards.
- Winner, Worst Director, (Blake Edwards) 1989 Razzie Awards.
- Nominee, Worst supporting actress (Mariel Hemingway), 1989 Razzie Awards.
[edit] Historical errors
Some of these may constitute SPOILERS: The action takes place in the year 1929, the year of the first Academy Awards presentation. It depicts Wyatt Earp arriving (and later leaving) Los Angeles by train; in fact, Earp had been living in the Los Angeles area since about 1910. It depicts Earp as single, in reasonably athletic condition, and carrying on a brief romance with young Cheryl (Mariel Hemingway); in fact, Earp, who was born in 1848, had long been married to Josephine Marcus. It similarly depicts Tom Mix as single and carrying on a prolonged and uninhibited romance with his assistant, Nancy; in fact, Mix was then, and for years afterward, married to his third wife. In the course of the film, Earp says that Calamity Jane's real name was Mary Jane Cannary; her first name was Martha, not Mary. It depicts Earp as technical advisor to a Tom Mix film of the gunfight at the OK Corral in which Mix portrays Earp; Mix made no such film and never portrayed Earp, Earp had advised, years earlier, some silent movies. It depicts Earp attending the first Academy Awards presentation at a late evening dinner; in fact the Awards were presented at a brunch on May 16, 1929 -- but Earp had died four months earlier at the age of 80!
[edit] References
- ^ "Sunset (1988) — Box office / business". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096193/business. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
- ^ Sunset (film) at Box Office Mojo
[edit] External links
- Sunset at the Internet Movie Database
- Sunset at AllRovi
- James Garner interview at Archive of American Television
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