Wild Wild West (film)

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Movie
German title Wild Wild West
Original title Wild Wild West
Wildwildwest.jpg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1999
length 102 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Barry Sonnenfeld
script Jim Thomas
John Thomas
S. S. Wilson
Brent Maddock
Jeffrey Price
Peter S. Seaman
production Jon Peters
Barry Sonnenfeld
music Elmer Bernstein
camera Michael Ballhaus
cut Jim Miller
occupation
synchronization

Wild Wild West is a US Steampunk - Western - Action - comedy that in 1999 , directed by Barry Sonnenfeld was born. The film opened in German cinemas on July 29, 1999.

The basic idea for this comes from the US television series Crazy Wild West from the 1960s.

action

The United States in 1869 . The two government agents Jim West and Artemus Gordon are fundamentally different. While womanizer West usually uses guns and fists all too quickly, Gordon is often characterized by impertinence and an almost inexhaustible repertoire of bizarre inventions. Together, the unlikely duo is now on behalf of US President Grant (Kevin Kline in a double role) to clear up the sudden disappearance of America's top scientists. The two of them receive support from a special train , its engine driver Coleman and the classy Rita Escobar , who they pick up as a stowaway and whose father is also one of the disappeared.

They soon discover the mastermind behind the kidnappings: Dr. Arliss Loveless , an eccentric southern millionaire who lost various internal organs and both legs in the American Civil War and is therefore dependent on a steam-powered wheelchair. Arliss is also an inventor, but in contrast to Gordon constructs futuristic, mechanical war machines and weapons that he intends to use against the USA. West and Gordon are also the target of such attacks, but they and Loveless' henchmen can fight off again and again.

In the end, Loveless takes over the train and kidnaps Rita, leaving West and Gordon behind in one of his death traps. However, the agents are able to break free and finally discover Loveless' secret city, which is hidden deep in the Wild West . In addition to the kidnapped scientists, the duo can also find the latest information on the criminal's plan here: Loveless, who, as a crippled veteran, cannot accept defeat in the Civil War, wants to destroy Washington - and the USA at the same time - and then destroy the territory among himself, the enemies of the United States and the former colonial powers . Loveless wants to achieve this with a gigantic and heavily armed metal spider that the kidnapped scientists had to build for him.

West and Gordon want to prevent this at all costs, but initially they cannot prevent Loveless from kidnapping President Grant while he is present at the completion of the first transcontinental rail link . The war spider seems unstoppable and Grant is about to sign a declaration of surrender when West and Gordon manage to get on the spider with the help of one of Gordon's inventions. Together they both manage to eliminate Loveless' henchmen, sabotage the spider and bring it to a standstill in a deep ravine. Loveless, who has played all his trump cards, has one last duel with West before they both get stuck over the abyss. While Loveless falls, West can save himself.

In the end, West and Gordon are appointed by Grant as the first agents of a new agency he has founded - the Secret Service . However, they have to accept a defeat with Rita, for whose favor they both courted during the plot: The kidnapped scientist is not her father, but her husband.

Reviews

The film received mostly negative reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes site received only 21% positive reviews. The film also "won" five Golden Raspberries in the categories "Worst Film", "Worst Director", "Worst Screenplay", "Bad Song" ("Wild Wild West") and "Worst Film Couple" (Will Smith and Kevin Kline ). In addition, the film received nominations in the categories of “Worst Actor” (Kevin Kline), “Worst Supporting Actor” (Kenneth Branagh) and “Worst Supporting Actress” (Salma Hayek).

"Before the two agents finish off the villain in a wild showdown, the film gives ample opportunity for slapstick, car chases, a black marshal's jokes about slavery, and many movie quotes."

- Philip Nathusius

“An unpatriotic comic opera, overloaded with external effects, furiously quoting, obsessed with details and only superficially funny. The insignificant story only allows the characters to pose and grimace mechanically. "

" James Bond , Jules Verne , Daniel Düsentrieb and Mel Brooks could be advisors to the whimsical spy sci-fi comic slam that juggles the most diverse genres like rubber balls."

“It's shallow entertainment Hollywood popcorn cinema , nothing else. But that was to be expected, wasn't it? Sure, the movie isn't as good as it could be: Kevin Kline is good as usual, but plays a little bored every now and then. But he is always better than the annoying Will Smith. To compensate for this, Kenneth Branagh can definitely please again, his role as Dr. He plays Loveless very well. [...] A bit like popcorn: It's a matter of taste and doesn't fill you up, but if you like it, then it tastes good. "

- Filmspiegel.de

Awards

Trivia

  • In truth, President Grant did not drive the Golden Nail in at the ceremony in Promontory, Utah . Contrary to popular legend, the nail was not installed at all, but is on display in the Golden Spike National Historic Site as an exhibit. The Golden Spike was donated and presented at the festivities by industrialist Leland Stanford .
  • The mechanical spider is parodied in the Simpsons episode "The Apu and Manjula Crisis".
  • In the episode “Cat Orgy” of the South Park series , the film is portrayed as good and poked fun at.
  • To express the power of the spider, Loveless destroys the Wild West city of "Silverado". These are the sets of the film of the same name Silverado (in which Kevin Kline was also involved). With the exception of the "Lucky Hotel", the entire set is destroyed.
  • Will Smith had turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix because of Wild Wild West ; he later described this as "the biggest mistake of my life". Furthermore, Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson were previously earmarked for the role of James West, as Artemus Gordon George Clooney was in conversation. But he declined because it was only a supporting role. The first plans also included Richard Donner as a director.
  • Robert Conrad , who played James West in Crazy Wild West , was offered a cameo appearance in the action ( Ross Martin as Artemus Gordon died in 1981 ). He was supposed to embody President Grant. However, he declined because he was not satisfied with the film after reading the script. When the film was later awarded the Golden Raspberry , Conrad accepted the award to show his disdain for what had been made of the material.
  • Kenneth Branagh played in a kneeling position most of the time, so he had to pause every few minutes as his legs fell asleep.
  • The interior of the train scenes was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, the exterior shots in Idaho .
  • Kevin Smith mentions in the context of the additional materials on the film DVD that the giant spider would later be used in the planned Tim Burton film Superman Lives with Nicolas Cage .
  • The third part of the Jak and Daxter game series quotes the film in the final battle, as the fighting robot from the ship of the Dark Creator, plunging through the desert, is very similar to the giant spider from the film.
  • As in Men in Black and the sequel (both also directed by Barry Sonnenfeld), lead actor Will Smith also contributed the title track to “Wild Wild West”.
  • Shortly before the start of the flying machine, Kline says that Leonardo da Vinci had already built such a machine in 1540. In 1540 Leonardo da Vinci was already dead.
  • In the scene in which General “Bloodbath” McGrath is shot, a dog runs to the general's artificial ear. This parodies the dog Nipper , who appears on the label of various record companies.
  • Contrary to the television series, the opponent is called Dr. Loveless not Miguelito , but Arliss .
  • The final match in the finals between Will Smith and Loveless 'mutants was added because the production team did not find the original idea that Smith and Kline would fight Loveless' henchmen Amazons spectacular enough after testing demonstrations.

synchronization

The German dubbing was based on a dialogue book by Hartmut Neugebauer under his dialogue direction on behalf of Film- & Fernseh-Synchron in Munich .

figure Original speaker German speaker
Captain James West Will Smith Jan Odle
US Marshal Artemus Gordon / Pres. Ulysses S. Grant Kevin Kline Arne Elsholtz
Dr. Arliss Loveless Kenneth Branagh Martin Umbach
Coleman M. Emmet Walsh Klaus Höhne
Cross-Eyed Reb Buck Taylor Fred Klaus
General 'Bloodbath' McGrath Ted Levine Franz-Josef Steffens
Hudson Rodney A. Grant Reinhard Brock
Miss East Bai Ling Haiwen Qiu
Professor Thaddeus Morton Michael Sims Norbert Gastell
Rita Escobar Salma Hayek Alisa Palmer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Philip Nathusius (-pn-) in: Das große TV Spielfilm Filmlexikon . Digital library special volume (CD-ROM edition). Directmedia, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89853-036-1 , p. 14071.
  2. Wild Wild West. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. TV feature film
  4. Wolfgang Rupprecht at Filmspiegel.de ( Memento from April 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  5. a b 3643. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on September 29, 2012 .