I've written about this before, but the most violent play I ever watched was one written and performed by the first and second grade classes at my school. A king wants to find a husband for his daughter, so he has all the potential suitors fight to the death. The last one left alive will marry her. Most of the kids played the men fighting to the death, others were given the task of dragging the corpses off stage. I was a little surprised that the kindly old teachers let them do it, but it's not that easy writing a play with roles for forty or fifty children.
It was like this movie. Gunslingers come to a town run by Gene Hackman for a big contest, murdering each other in the street. The winner is supposed to get a vast amount of money, and Hackman arranged the whole thing to kill off his enemies.
I'd heard of the movie but knew nothing about it and never had any interest in it. It's on the Criterion Channel along with other westerns that focus on women characters. I was surprised it was directed by Sam Raimi.
There were Samurai movies where Samurai would fight duels and kill each other for no reason, just to show that they could. I hated those.
And I don't like ubermenschen. I just want a movie about regular people with normal human abilities who murder each other for some logical reason.
But it was better than I'm making it out to be. Stole the ending from Once Upon a Time in the West.
Starring Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Leonardo DiCaprio back when he was cute, Russell Crowe. With Pat Hingle and Woody Strode.
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