Three Amigos
Three Amigos | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | John Landis |
Written by | |
Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Ronald W. Browne |
Edited by | Malcolm Campbell |
Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 103 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $39.2 million[2] |
Three Amigos (stylized as ¡Three Amigos!) is a 1986 American Western comedy film directed by John Landis, written by Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, and Randy Newman (who wrote the songs for the film), and starring Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Alfonso Arau, Tony Plana, and Patrice Martinez. It is the story of three silent film stars who are mistaken for real heroes by the suffering people of a small Mexican village, and the actors must find a way to live up to their reputation and stop a malevolent bandit.
Plot
In 1916, the bandit El Guapo and his gang collect protection money from the Mexican village of Santo Poco. Carmen, daughter of the village leader, searches for anyone who can rescue her townspeople. Visiting a village church, she sees a silent film featuring The Three Amigos, a trio of gunfighters who protect the vulnerable from villains. Believing them to be real heroes, Carmen sends a telegram asking them to come and stop El Guapo.
Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms, and Ned Nederlander are the Hollywood actors who portray the Amigos on screen. After they demand a salary increase for their next project, their boss Harry Flugelman fires them. He has them evicted from the studio mansion, the clothes they borrowed from wardrobe repossessed, and banned from his lot. They soon receive Carmen's telegram, misinterpreting it as a job offer to perform a show in Santo Poco. The Amigos break into the studio to retrieve their costumes and head for Mexico.
Stopping at a cantina near Santo Poco, they are mistaken for associates of a fast-shooting German pilot, who arrived just before they did, also in search of El Guapo. Performing "My Little Buttercup" at the cantina, the locals are left confused. The German's real associates arrive at the cantina, proving themselves lethal with their pistols when everybody laughs at them. Relieved, Carmen picks up the Amigos and takes them to the village, where they are pampered in the best house in town.
The next morning, when three of El Guapo's men raid the village, the Amigos do a Hollywood-style stunt show that leaves the men bemused. The bandits ride off, making the villagers think they have defeated the enemy. In reality, the men inform El Guapo of what has happened and he decides to return the next day to kill the Amigos.
The village throws a victory party for the Amigos. The next morning, El Guapo and his gang come to Santo Poco and call them out, but they think it's another show. After Lucky gets shot, they realize they are real bandits and beg for mercy. El Guapo allows the Amigos to live, then lets his men loot the village and kidnaps Carmen. They leave Santo Poco in humiliation.
Ned persuades Lucky and Dusty to go after El Guapo as they have nothing worth going back to in America and this is their chance to be real heroes. They spot a plane and follow it; it is flown by the German, who has brought a shipment of rifles for the gang. El Guapo's 40th birthday party is being prepared and he plans to bed Carmen that night. The Amigos try to sneak into the hideout: Lucky is captured and chained up in a dungeon, Dusty crashes into Carmen's room, and Ned ends up suspended from a piñata.
Lucky frees himself, but Dusty and Ned are held hostage. The German, having idolized Ned's quick-draw and gun spinning pistol skills in childhood, challenges him to a shootout. Ned kills the German and Lucky holds El Guapo at gunpoint long enough for Carmen and the Amigos to escape in the German's plane.
Returning to Santo Poco with El Guapo's army in pursuit, the Amigos rally the villagers to stand up for themselves. Drawing inspiration from one of their old films, they have the villagers create improvised Amigos costumes. The bandits arrive and are shot at by Amigos from all sides and fall into hidden trenches. El Guapo's men either ride off or are shot, and he takes a fatal wound. Before he dies the villagers, all dressed as Amigos, step out to confront him. El Guapo congratulates them, then shoots Lucky in the foot before dying.
The villagers offer to give the Amigos all the money they have, but the Amigos refuse it with: "Our reward is that justice has been done." They then ride off into the sunset.
Cast
- Steve Martin as Lucky Day, a silent film actor.
- Chevy Chase as Dusty Bottoms, a silent film actor.
- Martin Short as Ned Nederlander, a silent film actor.
- Alfonso Arau as El Guapo, the leader of a group of banditos.
- Tony Plana as Jefe, the village leader.
- Patrice Martinez as Carmen, the daughter of the Jefe.
- Joe Mantegna as Harry Flugleman, the head of Goldsmith Pictures that Lucky, Dusty, and Ned work for.
- Phil Hartman as Sam, one of Flugleman's personal assistants.
- Jon Lovitz as Morty, one of Flugleman's personal assistants.
- Tino Insana as a studio guard that assists his fellow guards in throwing Lucky, Dusty, and Ned off the Goldsmith Pictures lot.
- Loyda Ramos as Conchita
- Phillip Gordon as Rodrigo
- Kai Wulff as the German, an unnamed German fighter pilot.
- Fred Asparagus as the Bartender
- Norbert Weisser and Brian Thompson as the German's friends
- Randy Newman as the voice of the Singing Bush
- Rebecca Underwood as Hot Senorita (kisses Ned at the close of the film)
Production
The film was written by Martin, Michaels, and Randy Newman. According to Michaels, Martin approached him with the idea of the film and asked him to co-write it with him.[3] Martin originally had the working title of Three Cabelleros, the same as the Disney cartoon.
Newman contributed three original songs: "The Ballad of the Three Amigos", "My Little Buttercup", and "Blue Shadows on the Trail", and the musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein. It was shot outside Grants, New Mexico, and in Simi Valley, California; Coronado National Forest; Old Tucson Studios; and Hollywood.[citation needed]
John Landis was on trial over the Twilight Zone tragedy during the editing of Three Amigos, and the studio heavily edited the film down after he submitted his final cut.[4]
The production went through many cast changes before filming. Since he is a co-screenwriter, Martin had been attached to the project since 1980 and he, Dan Aykroyd, and John Belushi were originally going to play the Three Amigos. At one point, Steven Spielberg was slated to direct; he wanted Martin, Bill Murray, and Robin Williams to portray Lucky, Dusty, and Ned, respectively.[5] Landis has said that Rick Moranis would have been cast as Ned, had Short been unavailable.[6] When Aykroyd became unavailable, Chase replaced him. John Candy was set for the role originally intended for Belushi, as he did in the movie Armed and Dangerous, but he was too large to ride the horse. Candy recommended Martin Short to Steve Martin, as they had worked together at SCTV. Short and Martin became close friends and continue to perform together.[7] Candy was prominently seen later riding a horse in the 1991 film Delirious.
Martin reportedly developed tinnitus after filming a pistol-shooting scene.[8] However, in an interview with Pitchfork, he clarified that the tinnitus was from years of listening to loud music and performing in front of noisy crowds.[9]
There were difficulties between the main actors and Landis. Most famously, Chase refused to tell a particular joke that he thought would make his character look like a "moron". Chase agreed to do the line after Landis threatened to give it to Short instead.[7] Chase recalled making a "hideous" insult about Landis's supposed lack of stunt precautions at a 50 foot cliff, in reference to Landis's ongoing Twilight Zone accidental death trial, which Landis overheard on live microphone and nearly started a fistfight about.[10] Chase later said that making this movie was "the most fun I've ever had".[10]
Deleted scenes
Several deleted scenes were included in the Blu-ray release.[11] An alternate opening features the peaceful village of Santo Poco being rampaged upon by El Guapo and his men, prompting Carmen's search for help. Extended sequences of the Three Amigos at the studio mansion and backlot lead into another deleted subplot involving an up-and-coming rival actress at the studio, Miss Rene (Fran Drescher).[6] A billboard featuring a Miss Rene film is visible when the Amigos steal their costumes from the studio.
A number of deleted scenes featuring Sam Kinison as a mountain man were lost,[6] as were most of Drescher's other scenes.[11]
Music
Elmer Bernstein wrote the score for Three Amigos and Randy Newman wrote the songs.
- "The Ballad of the Three Amigos"
- "Main Title"
- "The Big Sneak"
- "My Little Buttercup"
- "Santo Poco"
- "Fiesta and Flamenco"
- "El Guapo"
- "The Return of the Amigos"
- "Blue Shadows on the Trail"
- "The Singing Bush"
- "Amigos at the Mission"
- "Capture"
- "El Guapo's Birthday"
- "The Chase”
- "Amigos, Amigos, Amigos"
- "Farewell"
- "End Credits"
Reception
Box office
Three Amigos had a U.S. gross of $39.2 million.[2]
Critical response
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 45% of 42 film critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Three Amigos! stars a trio of gifted comedians and has an agreeably silly sense of humor, but they're often adrift in a dawdling story with too few laugh-out-loud moments."[12] Film critic Roger Ebert awarded the film one out of four stars and said, "The ideas to make Three Amigos into a good comedy are here, but the madness is missing."[13] Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that it was "likable" but lacked a "distinctive style", though certain jokes are crafted with "enjoyable sophistication".[14] Caroline Wetsbrook of Empire awarded the film three out of five stars and wrote that it was "good-natured enough to sustain its ultimately thin premise".[15]
However, the film has since been reviewed more favorably and has become a cult classic. Neil McNally of the website Den of Geek noted that the film was "unfairly overlooked" when first released, and praised the performances of Martin, Chase, and Short; the comedic timing of Landis's direction; and the "sweeping, majestic" score by Bernstein.[16] The film was ranked No. 79 on Bravo's list of the "100 Funniest Movies".[17]
See also
References
- ^ "THREE AMIGOS (PG)". British Board of Film Classification. December 19, 1986. Retrieved March 24, 2016.
- ^ a b "Three Amigos (1986) - Box Office Mojo". Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ "Norm Macdonald Has a Show: Season 1, Episode 10: Lorne Michaels". www.netflix.com. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
- ^ Reuben, Michael. "Three Amigos! Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ Evans, Bradford (February 17, 2011). "The Lost Roles of Bill Murray". Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
- ^ a b c Evans, Bradford (December 15, 2011). "The Lost Roles of Three Amigos". Split Insider. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ^ a b "15 Infamous Facts About ¡Three Amigos!". www.mentalfloss.com. May 12, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
- ^ "Tinnitus Sufferers and You: Do you hear that?!". Dallas Ear Institute. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
- ^ "Steve Martin – Pitchfork". Pitchfork. October 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Daniel Fierman (August 13, 2004). "Chevy Chase reflects on his best work". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ a b Three Amigos 25th Anniversary Edition (Blu-ray). 2011.
- ^ "Three Amigos!". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Roger Ebert's review of Three Amigos on Chicago Sun-Times' website
- ^ Maslin, Janet (December 12, 1986). "Movie Review – FILM: 'THREE AMIGOS'". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2016.[dead link]
- ^ "Three Amigos! Review". Empire Online. March 3, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2016.[dead link]
- ^ McNally, Neil (November 20, 2012). "Looking Back at Three Amigos". Den of Geek. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ Fraley, Jason. "BRAVO 100 Funniest Movies". Bravo. The Film Spectrum. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
- 1986 films
- 1980s Western (genre) comedy films
- 1986 comedy films
- American films
- American independent films
- American satirical films
- American Western (genre) comedy films
- 1980s English-language films
- Fictional trios
- Films about actors
- Films set in Los Angeles
- Films set in Mexico
- Films set in 1916
- Films shot in Arizona
- Films shot in Los Angeles
- Films produced by Lorne Michaels
- Films directed by John Landis
- Films produced by George Folsey Jr.
- Films scored by Elmer Bernstein
- Films with screenplays by Steve Martin
- Orion Pictures films