Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786301964418 Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC ISBN: 6301964411 Label: Hbo Home Video Manufacturer: Hbo Home Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Hbo Home Video Release Date: July 22, 1994 Running Time: 115 minutes Studio: Hbo Home Video Theatrical Release Date: July 22, 1990 Sales Rank: 9434
Amazon.com: When a teenage schoolgirl is kidnapped by Mexican bandit El Diablo (Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Beltran), her clumsy, awkward schoolteacher Billy Ray Smith (Anthony Edwards) sets out to save her. The would-be hero in this offbeat Western teams up with crotchety veteran gunslinger Van Leek (Louis Gossett Jr.), who helps him form an unlikely posse to rescue Smith's damsel in distress. What sets this low-key, made-for-cable production apart from numerous other Westerns is its humorously skewed take on the myths and legends of the Old West, as it not only deconstructs Hollywood's romanticized view of the genre but Billy Ray's veneration of a mythical gunfighter named Kid Durango, whose literary adventures he regularly reads to his students. Gossett is wonderfully droll as unscrupulous six slinger Van Leek, whose motives are always suspect; Edwards is charming as the bumbling teacher; and the supporting cast--which includes Branscombe Richmond (Renegade), Miguel Sandoval (Get Shorty), and John Glover (Brimstone)--imbue life into their quirky gun-for-hire roles. Indeed the best aspect of El Diablo is the way in which many of its characters' façades are gradually revealed. The very tongue-in-cheek screenplay was coauthored by Halloween director John Carpenter. --Bryan Reeseman
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - A good comedy Western
This movie should not be viewed with the idea of a serious western. I did, but it didn't take but about 5 minutes to see this was a comedy with a western flavor. Others have given the general story ... Read More
Rating: - El Diablo: Pixellation Hell in the Old West...
This movie features a fine cast, an intriguing story with likable characters, and a very authentic "look." You get to liking Edwards' ungainly school teacher right off the bat, and when Gossett's grizzled ... Read More
Rating: - El Diablo
El diablo is a funny western about a young school teacher who decides to rescue one of his students kidnapped by a natorious bad man. Knowing nothing of gun play he teams up with an old gunfighter who tries ... Read More
Rating: - Great movie - bad reproduction
This is one of my favorite movies ... I love it! BUT, I returned the DVD after finding out that it is not made in Widescreen or Dolby Digital. I know .. I should have looked first, but I assumed.:( Why does ... Read More
Rating: - Thoroughly Enjoyable Fun
I began watching this movie because there was simply nothing else on, and I like Lou Gossett Jr & Anthony Edwards. About 15 minutes into the film, I was hooked and really enjoying the ride. This is a very clever, ... Read More