Six reasons why the west was wild.
A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
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Character
Classical in form, effortless, relentless and plot-driven.
- classical in formformally daring
- effortlessdemanding
- contemplativerelentless
- character-ledplot-driven
- gravecomic
Who loves it, who doesn't
25 profiled raters. Loved most by The Ironists; disliked most by The Prestige Hunters.
Where do you stand?
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“Does it take too many liberties with the true story?”
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“Is Emilio Estevez the best thing in Young Guns?”
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“Does it romanticize the West?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · Aug 20258/10
**_Fairly accurate account of Billy the Kid & his gang doesn't forget to entertain_** Before Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez) shot to fame, he's an orphaned teen taken in by English merchant John Tunstall (Terrence Stamp) who mentors him and several other 'young guns' – Richard 'Dick' Brewer (Charlie Sheen), Doc Scurlock (Keifer Sutherland), Chavez (Lou Diamond Phillips), Dirty Steve Stephens (Dermot Malroney) and Charles 'Charley' Bowdre (Casey Siemaszko). When savage injustice strikes, the youths team-up as deputies, but Billy's demand for justice takes them beyond the law where they are hunted as an outlaw gang. "Young Guns" (1988) is an excellent 'modern' Western that sticks pretty close to history. The anachronistic 80's pop rock score wasn't as bad or prevalent as I remembered and, besides, it's mixed with some more traditional Western music, usually "live" stuff performed in the scenes, like banjo, guitar, and so on. The movie is realistic if you can roll with certain things done for dramatic effect. The amazing true-life story is brought to action-packed life by a great cast (also featuring Terence Stamp, Jack Palance, Brian Keith and Patrick Wayne) with excellent performance
Read the whole review on TMDB - kevin2019on TMDB · Jun 20248/10
"Young Guns" has wonderfully authentic production values and costumes which really brings this rugged period to life on the screen. It did seem as though the western was permanently out of fashion with mainstream audiences a couple of years before this film was released and perhaps it might never again return to the prominence it had once enjoyed, but then along came this entry in the genre and the fresh faced young talent involved each have key roles and this fact alone undoubtedly guaranteed plenty of equally fresh faced young audiences would watch. However, this film is also worthwhile for some other reasons as well. The western has always been a consistently popular genre and after watching this film you can immediately understand why. The story is a strong one and best of all the film as a whole is also incredibly well paced and intelligent and informative and these are elements you seldom encounter these days.
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Aug 20208/10
If we're caught, we're gonna hang... But there's many a slip twixt the cup and the lip. Young Guns is directed by Christopher Cain and written by John Fusco. It stars Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulroney, Casey Siemaszko, Terry O'Quinn, Jack Palance and Terence Stamp. Music is by Brian Banks and Anthony Marinelli and cinematography is by Dean Semler. Film is a telling of Billy the Kid's part in the Lincoln County War in New Mexico 1878. Plot sees the murder of John Tunstall send Billy and the rest of the Tunstall Regulators on a mission to avenge his murder. It ain't easy having pals. Often derided by Western movie purists as a sort of MTV Western made to showcase the various talents of the then Hollywood Brat Pack of Estevez, Sheen, Sutherland et al, Young Guns is actually a far more entertaining picture than some critical assessments suggest it is. It also has some rock solid Western history footings holding it up, yes it's far from accurate in various scenarios, age of characters and numbers in gangs etc, but the core story of the Lincoln County War is there. A massive success at the box office and spawning an equally successful
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Cast
- Emilio EstevezWilliam H. Bonney
- Kiefer SutherlandDoc Scurlock
- Lou Diamond PhillipsChavez y Chavez
- Charlie SheenDick Brewer
- Dermot MulroneyDirty Steve Stephens
- Casey SiemaszkoCharley Bowdre
- Terence StampJohn Tunstall
- Jack PalanceL. G. Murphy
- Terry O'QuinnAlex McSween
- Sharon Thomas CainSusan McSween
Crew
- Christopher CainDirector
- John FuscoWriter
- Dean SemlerDirector of Photography
- Brian BanksOriginal Music Composer
- Anthony MarinelliOriginal Music Composer
- Jack HofstraEditor
- Christopher CainProducer
- Joe RothProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
The Warriors 197984% alikeBoth classical in form, effortless.
100 Rifles 196984% alikeBoth classical in form, effortless.
Django 196683% alikeBoth classical in form, effortless.
Darkman 199081% alikeBoth classical in form, effortless.
They Live 198880% alikeBoth classical in form.
Young Guns II 199080% alikeBoth effortless.
Vera Cruz 195479% alikeBoth classical in form, effortless.
Sleepy Hollow 199979% alikeClose across the board.
Princess Principal 201780% alikeTelevision · Both classical in form.
Bridgerton 202077% alikeTelevision · Both effortless.
Often watched with
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