User reviews

A good movie to watch when you're stuck at home in a blizzard, there's nothing else on TV, and you've seen everything else in your collection. The dialogue is bad, the plot unbelievable, and the ending beyond comprehension, but other than that, it's not bad.

A direct-to-video pilot for a cowboy series that apparently didn't sell. Pretty conventional TV Western benefits from plenty action sequences and straight-forward acting by all concerned. Improbable plot twists manage to get salvaged by general motivational drive and inherent decency of main characters. Good to see George Kennedy make one last film as a heavy.

Some nice location camera work. Editing is professional and the script not too talky.

One minor drawback: the pacifist character Dutch is a real bore, and played by the weakest actor in the cast. Fortunately his lectures are kept to brief lines about "violence never solves anything." Other than Dutch, the characters are pretty likable and fast on the draw.

Wholly unmemorable, but not a complete waste of time. Still, feels like a throwback to another era - more than a little out of date, even given its release year.

Several minuses (silly plot, typical TV-movie production values), several pluses (a fight scene in a bar that is truly unique, good Canadian locations), and quick pacing add up to a decent time-waster.

Whatever you do, don't follow the story, actually look at a map, and think about the distances these people need to cover on horseback. It'd be hard enough to do in a Ford Mustang, let alone on a four-legged one. But what the heck.

One big plus is a ripping theme song; might've become a dance-club hit--in some alternate universe.

Overall, this movie is okay.

From the onset, this film was bent on destruction. Even in one's wildest imagination, Kansas doesn't come close to resembling the scenery in the film. When this much liberty is taken with the scenery, one might also wonder how it fared with the plot. Weaker than the cast. I fell asleep 3 times before I finally gave in and put on another movie.

Look at any western and you can tell when it was made. How? Simply look at the haircuts and judge when they were in style. Two of the protagonists in this movie have eighties-style hockey-hair, and the older protagonist has kept his hippie-days hair. That means the film was made in the eighties. The costumes and makeup are also terribly anachronistic with Matt wearing a Levi's low cut jean jacket and tight jeans and his old girlfriend wearing lip gloss. And is that Ronnie Hawkins singing a nauseating bluesy crossover country tune from the start of the film to the end? Did they sing like that in 1870 which this film is trying to depict? The story jumps from one melodrama to the next, bouncing from a power hungry evil villain stopping honest cowpunchers from watering their cattle, to a bar fight with whips, to a self-defense killing, to stage-coach robbing, to train robbing, to jail-train breaks, to... well, when the three are assisting a birth for a hapless woman on a runaway stagecoach you get the feeling you are watching a combination of ER and the Titanic, with horses floating around in the background. One asks when they might resort to yelling "Code Blue, Ranch Shack Six, Stat" with the jiggle-cam jumping to odd corners of the room at violent jerky angles. Everything in this movie was done before, in several genres! Like Sam Goldwyn said, "Gimme some new cliches." I must find a hobby. One which requires the usage of glue and unusable DVD's. It would be a better way to spend my time.

Canadian-filmed television western which fails to make the most of its lush location and attractive cast. In Kansas, hunky young Tony Addabbo (as Matt Everett) visits a girlfriend; there, in self-defense, he shoots the man he finds in her boudoir. Unfortunately, the lass happens to be the sheriff's daughter, which contributes to Mr. Addabbo's becoming the outlaw known as "The Kansas Kid". Soon, he is joined by brother Art Hindle (as Cole Everett) and cousin Reiner Schoene (as Dutch Everett). The Everett Gang's main adversary is gravitas-lending veteran George Kennedy (as Deke Turner). Addabbo and duplicitous pal Howard Kruschke (as Jake Morant) lead the players in having excellent hair days.

**** The Gunfighters (10/27/87) Clay Borris ~ Tony Addabbo, Art Hindle, George Kennedy, Reiner Schoene

Level-headed rancher Art Hindle, his hot-headed younger brother, and their Dutch immigrant cousin are forced into a confrontation with evil land-baron George Kennedy, when Hindle's brother shoots a man in self-defense and is framed by the local authorities under Kennedy's instruction. Soon, the ranch is torched and the whole family is turned into desperadoes.

There's really nothing new here and some of the performances are a little overwrought at times, but the story is straight-forward, unpretentious and entertaining, with a few timeless themes that are worth repeating. If you're expecting something slick though, you may be disappointed.

It's nice to see Canadian character actor Art Hindle in a starring role for once, instead of his usual appearance as second or third banana to some other star.

Some interesting moments involve a duel with whips, the outlaws being forced to birth a baby, and the satisfying, though open-ended finale that looked to me like a setup for sequels, or perhaps a TV series that never materialized.

I really enjoyed watching this film - it had a lot going for it. I particularly liked the piece of instrumental music playing and the song - Gunfighter (?). If you're at home and simply wish to chill out, grab this film as I'm certain you'll enjoy it - especially if you like Westerns. Earlier oaters are my favorite (eg. Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Tom Mix, and early John Wayne), however, for a change, I bought this film on DVD and was not disappointed. Boy! Was the West tough.

The actors were good - I especially liked "Dutch" and "Matt" Everett. The film is pretty well fast paced and some of the filming techniques are unusual. There is quite a lot of scenery for those who enjoy the great outdoors and the horses were nice to look at. The film brings up some good moral dilemmas, as too issues somewhat relevant still today.

One of the best westerns I have seen in a long time. Makes you wonder who was worse the outlaws or the law. The story was very convincing and makes you want to know more about the western families. The Everetts were able to understand what would happen when they took the law into their own hands. It tells how the rich were able to get the law to work for them. The common rancher has no chance against another rich rancher. The common rancher was not believed even when he had facts to back him up The rich rancher could pay the law to do what he wanted done. The Everetts did not want to kill and only wanted to be treated right and not cheated out of their land. The youngest was accused of murder only when he was defending himself and was framed by the law.

Jeez these nitpickers. They don't go for the entertainment, they go to - well - pick nits. The scenery ain't right, the haircuts ain't right, the jeans ain't right, etc. The capper was the yokel who called the fine theme inappropriate for the time. Hey, Jasper, next time you watch "High Noon" turn down the volume when you hear that theme.

I gave "The Gunfighters" a big, ole western ten - enjoyed it from beginning to end. The story was intelligent and easy to follow, the characters were very well developed. The fight scenes were among the most convincing, the way they handled the guns were fantastic, the bullwhip fight was outstanding (shades of Lash La Rue but with more conviction).

The women were lovely and convincing, the story had a sort-of moral to it. The trio of leads, who kept their hair neat through the melees, were as honest as any of the major actors who made westerns. I was particularly impressed by the German-raised lead whose presence was so commanding.

Side note: Art Hindle's uncle is Michael Caine, and the name of the governor in the movie was Michael Kane.

George Kennedy was never more obnoxious (and I mean that as a compliment).

"The Gunfighters" has quickly become one of my favorite westerns, even though Alberta did not resemble Kansas. Heavens to Betsy!

Just watched this on TV and I think it is great! So what if it doesn't look like Kansas, and the jeans aren't 1870. Good grief!! The story line was terrific and I only wish they had made sequels....a whole bunch, as far as I'm concerned. What was happening was typical of the old west and what they did was really unique and made for a great movie. Everyone should give it a chance and not be so "nit-picky". The actors that played the brothers were a perfect combination..they couldn't have done any better..especially Reiner Schone who added such a special twist to the story, with his way of fighting. He is my favorite. I am now going to do my best to track down the DVD and get it so I can add it to my collection, proof I think it is that good.

The Canadian TV movie "The Gunfighters" was apparently made to also be a pilot for a prospective weekly television series. Apparently the network decided against this, and I have to say, "Thank goodness!" This is a really bad TV movie, pilot or not. The production values are really poor, ranging from clothing that looks nothing like cowboy garb found in the 1800s to cheesy indoor sets. The musical score is sour, and at one point plagiarizes several bars from Ennio Morricone's score for "A Fistful of Dollars". The acting is sub par, with even George Kennedy (who obviously knocked off his scenes in a few days) unable to generate much enthusiasm. But the worst thing about the movie has to be the script. It is filled with one cliché after another, from the actions of the characters to their dialogue. The icing on the cake is the unbelievable final few minutes that gives us a deus ex machina resolution of sorts (though leave some plot points unresolved.) I find it hard to believe any western fan would be entertained by this.