Home release - Sam Raimi's The Quick and the dead : in 4K UHD and collector's editions on March 15, 2022 in France

By Mulder, 31 january 2022

For the first time in France in 4K UHD rediscover Sam Rami's The Quick and the Dead cult western in France in Full HD remastered version with exclusive and unreleased bonuses on March 15, 2022.

Following the success of Basic Instinct, Sharon Stone was approached in 1993 by the film's production company, which offered her a co-producing role in addition to the female lead. She can thus designate director and interpreters. What she hastened to do by asking to work with Sam Raimi, her only choice.. "I didn't believe it. I wanted to call her back and ask her if she was sure she had called the right person. But I didn't," he recalls. Indeed, at the time the director is best known for Evil Dead and imagine him directing a western surprised many. But Sharon Stone stands firm and gets his way.

The same goes for her acting partners since she is determined to hire the young Leonardo DiCaprio (then spotted in Gilbert Grape) for whom she even offers to pay half the salary, as well as the Australian actor Australian actor Russell Crowe, whose first role on American soil is here. Opposite them, the immense Gene Hackman plays the one that everyone wants to kill. The film is shot in Arizona, in the 100% Wild West setting of Clint Eastwood's Josey Wales or John Huston's Judge and the Outlaw. The film is also starring a great gallery of American actors: Lance Henriksen, Gary Sinise, Keith David, Tobin Bell, Mark Boone Junior...

A commercial failure at the time of its theatrical release, The Quick and the dead has a second life thanks to its video release. Today, it is magnified in a 4K UHD HDR edition that has been completely remastered and enriched with supplements shot exclusively for France by L'Atelier d'images.

Exclusive supplements: 
- The Angel of Vengeance (50 minutes): After recalling the genesis of Dead or Alive and the context of the time, Stéphane Moïssakis and Julien Dupuy revisit the production, the stylization, the revisiting of the Western genre, the casting, the symbolism of the film and its rehabilitation over the years. (exclusive to 4K UHD and Blu-ray editions)
- Sequence analysis: the duel between Kid and John Herod (9 min.), by Stéphane Moïssakis and Julien Dupuy
- Simon Moore : the writing of The Quick and the dead (19 min.) : The screenwriter Simon Moore, interviewed in 2021 for L'Atelier d'images, recalls his experience of the film.

Unseen extras
- Making of (6 min.)
- Cut scenes (5 min.)
- Trailer

Synopsis: 
John Herod rules like a tyrant over the small town of Redemption, where a dueling tournament is held every year, at the end of which the sum of 123,000 dollars is promised to the best shooter. Until now, Herod has always pocketed the prize himself. But when Ellen, a mysterious stranger, says she wants to take part in the competition, events take an unexpected turn...

The Quick and the Dead
Directed by Sam Raimi
Written by Simon Moore
Produced by Joshua Donen, Patrick Markey, Allen Shapiro
Starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe, Roberts Blossom, Kevin Conway, Lance Henriksen, Pat Hingle, Gary Sinise, Leonardo DiCaprio
Cinematography : Dante Spinotti
Edited by: Pietro Scalia
Music by Alan Silvestri
Production companies : TriStar Pictures, Japan Satellite Broadcasting, IndieProd Company Productions
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date : February 10, 1995 (United States), June 21, 1995 (France)
Running time : 108 minutes

Photos : Copyright TriStar Pictures

(Source : press release)